Changing the name of a business is completed for a variety of reasons. For example, two businesses might merge into one and change the name to reflect the change for the businesses. Every state has its own requirements and specifications before a business can change its name, including Georgia. The Corporations Division of the Georgia Secretary of State Office says that a company must file an amendment to the articles of incorporation to change the name of the company. Georgia does not have a form to file the articles of incorporation; instead, it requires filing an informative sheet in the appropriate format to the secretary of state's office.

Write the current name of the company. This is the original company name as it is unchanged, or the old name of the company. There is no form for the amendment in the state of Georgia, so filing requires using plain paper and drafting it in the appropriate order.

Write in the new name of the company, which is also called the text of the amendment. This tells the state the proposed new company name.

Put the date of the change when the amendment was adopted by the company.

State that the board of directors or the shareholders voted on the change and approve of the change. If the board of directors approved the change, the statement should include that the shareholders did not give approval as it was unnecessary. If the shareholders voted on the change, the statements should say that the shareholders approved the name change.

Tell the state in the name change amendment that the Notice of Change of Corporate Name has been filed or that it will be files depending on whether it is already filed or not. The notice is filed with newspapers to announce the change. The Notice of Change of Corporate Name can be filed either before drafting the amendment or afterward as long as the state is informed of the intent to file the notice.

Sign the document. The signer must be the chairman of the board of directors, an officer or an attorney for the corporation, and the document must have the position noted beneath the signature.

Pay any registration fees the company owes under the old name. The amount for old registration fees will vary depending on the company. Pay the $20 filing fee, which is applicable to any business name change.

Send the document to the Secretary of State in Georgia. The state website lists the address as: Corporations Division 315 West Tower, # 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Atlanta, GA 30334

Publicize the change. Contact the local newspapers and file a Notice of Change of Corporate Name according to the newspaper's specific requirements, which will vary depending on the newspaper. This is a public announcement that the business is changing it name. If the notice was filed before the amendment to the articles of incorporation, the publication should already have taken place. There is a fee to the newspapers for publication, which the Georgia Corporations Division lists as $40.