Check name eligibility

Every formation Palm files runs a name-eligibility check automatically, so a non-compliant name is caught before it ever reaches the state. This endpoint exposes that same check on its own: call it earlier in your flow, the moment your customer proposes a name, and surface problems before they commit to it. It covers all 50 US states and DC, across LLCs, PLLCs, corporations, and professional corporations. Naming problems are the leading reason formations get rejected: a missing suffix, a restricted word, a name already taken. Catching them up front turns a would-be filing rejection into an inline correction in your onboarding flow.

What it does

Given a prospective name, a jurisdiction, and an entity type, Palm returns a single answer: is this name eligible to register? Two things go into that answer: whether the name follows the jurisdiction’s naming rules, and whether it is still available in the state registry. When a name has a problem, Palm explains it in plain language, and where the fix is unambiguous (a missing or misspelled entity designator), the violation carries a fix describing the correction. Ask for suggestions with suggest=true and Palm returns ready-to-use candidate names in alternatives. Not every problem is a hard block: some issues stop registration outright, while others, such as a word that needs a regulator’s sign-off, come back as warnings rather than blocks. So a name can be eligible and still carry a caveat worth showing your customer.

When to use it

Earlier in your flow: Check a name the moment your customer proposes it, before they commit and before you build a formation request.
Inline validation: Validate the name field in your formation flow in real time, and surface the correction inline.
Name exploration: Ask for eligible alternatives when the requested name does not work.
Content screening: Pass screen=true to also flag content problems the naming rules can’t catch: obscenity, or a name deceptively similar to a government agency. These come back as advisory violations and increase response time.

The response

The response is the decision layer: one eligibility answer, the reasons behind it, and, when a violation is auto-fixable, a fix that describes the correction.

Field	Type	Description
`eligible`	boolean	`true` when the name is both compliant and available. The headline answer.
`compliant`	boolean	`true` when the name has no blocking naming-rule violations.
`available`	boolean	`true` when no active registered business holds this exact name.
`violations`	array	Naming-rule problems, each with a `severity` and a plain-language `message`. An auto-fixable problem — a missing or misspelled designator — also carries a `fix` (`reason` and `message`). Empty when compliant.
`alternatives`	array of strings	Eligible alternative names, when you request suggestions.

Each violation carries a severity:

Severity	What it means
`error`	A hard block. The name is not compliant and cannot register as submitted.
`needs_approval`	The name is usable, but only with sign-off from a named agency. Does not affect `eligible`.
`advisory`	A softer content concern from screening (only when `screen=true`). Does not affect `eligible`.

A name can return eligible: true and still carry a violation. A restricted word means your customer must secure agency approval before the state will register the name, and a screening advisory flags a content concern worth a look. Read violations even when the name is eligible.

Eligible

The name satisfies every rule and is free in the registry.

JSON

{
  "eligible": true,
  "compliant": true,
  "violations": [],
  "available": true,
  "alternatives": []
}

Not eligible, with a fix

Maple Street Ventures is missing the required LLC designator, so it is not compliant. The violation carries a fix describing the correction.

JSON

{
  "eligible": false,
  "compliant": false,
  "violations": [
    {
      "rule": "required_designator",
      "severity": "error",
      "message": "Texas LLC names must end with an accepted designator such as 'Limited Liability Company' or 'Limited Company' or 'LLC' or 'L.L.C.' or 'LC' or 'L.C.'.",
      "fix": {
        "reason": "append_designator",
        "message": "Add the required 'LLC' designator."
      }
    }
  ],
  "available": true,
  "alternatives": []
}

Eligible, but needs agency approval

Golden Bear Bank Trust uses restricted financial-services words. The name is eligible, but registration requires sign-off from the named agencies: a warning to surface, not a block.

JSON

{
  "eligible": true,
  "compliant": true,
  "violations": [
    {
      "rule": "restricted_word",
      "severity": "needs_approval",
      "message": "Using bank, trust, trustee, insurance, insurer in a California corporation name requires approval from Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation; California Insurance Commissioner."
    }
  ],
  "available": true,
  "alternatives": []
}

Eligible, with a content-screening advisory

With screen=true, Federal Reserve Holdings clears the naming rules and the registry but trips content screening for implying an affiliation with a government agency. The name is eligible; the advisory is a concern to review, not a block.

JSON

{
  "eligible": true,
  "compliant": true,
  "violations": [
    {
      "rule": "deceptive_agency_similarity",
      "severity": "advisory",
      "message": "The name may imply an affiliation with a government agency."
    }
  ],
  "available": true,
  "alternatives": []
}

With alternatives

When you request suggestions on a name that is not eligible, Palm returns eligible alternatives alongside the violation’s fix. Alternatives are generated and vary between calls.

JSON

{
  "eligible": false,
  "compliant": false,
  "violations": [
    {
      "rule": "required_designator",
      "severity": "error",
      "message": "Texas LLC names must end with an accepted designator such as 'Limited Liability Company' or 'Limited Company' or 'LLC' or 'L.L.C.' or 'LC' or 'L.C.'.",
      "fix": {
        "reason": "append_designator",
        "message": "Add the required 'LLC' designator."
      }
    }
  ],
  "available": true,
  "alternatives": [
    "Maple Street Holdings, LLC",
    "Maple Street Capital Limited Liability Company",
    "Maple Street Partners, LLC",
    "Maple Avenue Ventures, L.L.C.",
    "Maple Street Group Limited Company"
  ]
}

For the full request and parameter reference, see the API Reference.

From check to formation

The same rules run again when you submit a formation, so a non-compliant name is rejected before a filing is created rather than after. A name that passes here is not re-litigated at filing, so once a name is eligible, carry it straight into Form a business.

Introduction

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Verify

Monitor

Comply

Webhooks

Check name eligibility

What it does

When to use it

The response

Eligible

Not eligible, with a fix

Eligible, but needs agency approval

Eligible, with a content-screening advisory

With alternatives

From check to formation

Next steps

​What it does

​When to use it

​The response

​Eligible

​Not eligible, with a fix

​Eligible, but needs agency approval

​Eligible, with a content-screening advisory

​With alternatives

​From check to formation

​Next steps

What it does

When to use it

The response

Eligible

Not eligible, with a fix

Eligible, but needs agency approval

Eligible, with a content-screening advisory

With alternatives

From check to formation

Next steps