Epoxy Flooring Business Names: How to Pick and Check One

Key takeaways

A good coating business name is easy to say and spell, doesn't box you into one town or one system, and is legally available.

Check three registers before you print anything: your state's business names, any assumed-name (DBA) filing your state or county requires, and the federal trademark database.

Floor coating installation is a construction and installation service (trademark Class 37); a federal application costs $350 per class.

On Google Business Profile, use your real business name exactly as on your signage and paperwork; adding keywords or cities to it can get the profile suspended.

Avoid manufacturers' brand names and claims such as 'certified' or 'licensed' unless they're true and allowed.

A good epoxy flooring business name is easy to say and spell, tells people roughly what you do, leaves room for the systems and towns you’ll add later, and is legally yours to use: not taken in your state, not too close to a federal trademark, and available as a web address. Once you choose it, use it everywhere exactly the same way, because Google only allows your real business name on your profile.

Below: what makes a name work, patterns with examples, the checks to run before you print a truck wrap, and the rules that catch new owners out.

What makes a coating business name work

Test	Why it matters	Example of a problem
Easy to say on the phone	Most jobs start with a call or a referral by word of mouth	A coined spelling people have to ask about
Easy to spell and type	Customers search for you after a neighbor mentions you	Doubled letters, hyphens, unusual spellings
Says what you do, or doesn’t mislead	A homeowner should guess you work on floors	A name that sounds like a painting or roofing company
Room to grow	You may add polyaspartic, metallic, commercial or a second metro	“[Town] Garage Epoxy” when you’ll coat warehouses in three counties
Distinct locally	Two similar names in one area confuse customers and invite disputes	A name one word away from an established local competitor
Clean legally	No one else’s trademark, no claims you can’t back	A manufacturer’s brand in your name; “Certified” with no certification
Works on a truck	Big, readable letters at a distance	A long name that shrinks to nothing on a door

Name patterns, with examples

Bracketed words are placeholders; check any name you like against the registers below before you use it.

Pattern	Example	Strengths	Watch out for
Surname + trade	[Surname] Coatings	Personal, trusted, easy to clear legally	Harder to sell the business later; in California, a name without your surname needs a fictitious name filing, so check how yours counts
Surname + “& Sons” or “& Co.”	[Surname] & Sons Concrete Coatings	Signals a family business	Words that suggest other owners can trigger an assumed-name filing
Place or landmark	[River or Mountain Name] Floor Co.	Local feel without tying you to one city	Make sure the landmark isn’t already in a local competitor’s name
City or region	[City] Concrete Coatings	Instantly local	Limits expansion; Google won’t let you add a city that isn’t part of your real name
Coined or abstract word	[Short invented word] Coatings	Distinctive and easier to trademark	Needs marketing to mean something; check spelling and pronunciation
Descriptive phrase	[Word] Garage Floors	Clear about the job	Hard to trademark; boxes you into garages
Initials	[Initials] Concrete Coatings	Short, fits on a truck	Forgettable unless you build the brand

Coatings, Concrete Coatings and Floor Co. leave you room to install epoxy, polyaspartic, metallic, quartz or polished concrete under one name. Epoxy in the name says exactly what many buyers search for, and it can narrow you later.

Check that the name is available

1. Your state’s business records

If you form an LLC or corporation, the name has to be available and distinguishable in your state’s business entity records, and your state may require a designator such as “LLC” in the legal name. Search your Secretary of State’s business entity database before you file; filing an LLC costs $35–500 depending on the state.

2. Assumed-name (DBA) filings

If you’ll operate under a name other than your own legal name or your entity’s registered name, most states require an assumed-name or fictitious-name filing. Two examples:

Texas: sole proprietors file an assumed name certificate with the county clerk in each county where they keep a business office; LLCs and corporations file with the Secretary of State. A certificate lasts up to 10 years.
California: a fictitious business name statement goes to the county clerk within 40 days of first doing business, must be published in a local newspaper once a week for four weeks, and lasts five years. For an individual, it’s required when the name doesn’t include your surname or suggests other owners (“& Company,” “& Sons,” “Brothers”).

Other states have their own rules; check your Secretary of State’s website.

3. Federal trademarks

Search the USPTO’s free Trademark Search system for your name, similar spellings and names that sound or mean the same, especially in Class 37, which covers construction, installation and repair services, the class floor coating installation falls under. A state registration or a DBA doesn’t protect you from someone else’s federal trademark. If you want to register your own mark, the base application fee is $350 per class; for a name you’ll put on trucks, signs and a website, a clearance search by an attorney is worth paying for.

Check that a short .com is available, without hyphens or numbers, and that the same handle is free on Facebook and Instagram. A name you can’t get online is a name customers will misspell.

5. Your service area on Google Maps

Search the name and close variants on Google Maps in your area. If an established company has a similar name, pick something else now; changing names after you’ve collected reviews costs far more.

Naming rules on Google Business Profile

Your profile name must be your real business name, as it appears on your signage, vehicles and paperwork. Google’s guidelines don’t allow adding keywords, service descriptions, city names or taglines, and profiles that break the guidelines can be suspended. “[Surname] Coatings” is fine; “[Surname] Coatings – Epoxy Garage Floors [City]” is not, unless that whole phrase is your registered, signed name. If you want “Epoxy” in your profile name, it has to be in your real name everywhere. Setup details are in Google Business Profile for epoxy contractors.

Names to avoid

Manufacturers’ and franchise brand names. Putting a coating brand or a franchise name in your company name invites a trademark dispute, even if you install that product.
Claims you can’t back. “Certified,” “Licensed” or “Bonded” in a name has to be true, and some states restrict how licensing terms are used. Say it in your marketing when it’s true instead.
Names that limit you. A single town, a single system or “garage” alone, if you plan to grow.
Near-copies of a local competitor’s name.
Hard spellings, puns that need explaining, and names that only work in writing.

Naming worksheet

Shortlist of three to five names, each said out loud on a pretend phone call
Secretary of State entity search: available and distinguishable
Assumed-name filing needed? Where, how long it lasts, publication required?
USPTO Trademark Search: name, similar spellings, Class 37
.com and social handles available
No similar company on Google Maps in your service area
Fits on a truck door and a business card
Same exact name on the entity filing, bank account, insurance, license, website and Google Business Profile

Naming is step one of “Set up,” the first of the Seven Systems. Add your filing fees to the startup cost calculator, and follow the full order of steps in how to start an epoxy flooring business. The Epoxy Playbook pairs recorded installation training, full jobs on video you can replay, with the business side, from setup to the first estimate.

Questions

Should I put 'epoxy' in my business name?

It helps people understand what you do, but it can box you in if you'll also install polyaspartic, polyurea, polished concrete or commercial urethane systems. 'Coatings' or 'Concrete Coatings' covers more. Whatever you choose, use the same name everywhere, because Google only allows your real business name on your profile.

Do I need a DBA for my epoxy business?

If you do business under a name other than your own legal name or your entity's registered name, most states require an assumed-name filing. In Texas, sole proprietors file with the county clerk and entities with the Secretary of State; in California, a fictitious business name statement goes to the county clerk within 40 days of starting and must be published in a newspaper for four weeks.

How do I check if a business name is trademarked?

Search the USPTO's free Trademark Search system for your name, similar spellings and similar meanings, especially for construction and installation services (Class 37). Also search your state's business records and Google Maps in your area. For a name you'll invest in, an attorney's clearance search is worth the cost.

Can I use my city in my business name?

You can, if it's your real name and you use it consistently. A local name helps locally but limits you if you expand to the next metro, and on Google you can't add a city to your name just for ranking.

Keep reading

Epoxy flooring business names: how to choose one that's clear, available and yours to keep

Key takeaways

What makes a coating business name work

Name patterns, with examples