(a) A person may reserve the exclusive use of a corporate name, including a fictitious name for a foreign corporation whose corporate name is not available, by delivering an application to the Secretary of State for filing. Upon finding that the corporate name applied for is available, the Secretary of State shall reserve the name for the applicant's exclusive use for a 120-day period. Such 120-day period may be renewed no more than twice.

(b) The owner of a reserved corporate name may transfer the reservation to another person by delivering to the Secretary of State a signed notice of the transfer that states the name and address of the transferee. (Added 1995, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1997.)