How can Organization markup distinguish legal and public names?

Definition: In Organization structured data, name records the organization's name, alternateName records another common name, and legalName records the registered legal name when it is applicable and different from name. Google documents all three as recommended properties for an Organization item.

Key facts

• Google's Organization documentation, updated 8 September 2026, says that the general Organization type has no required properties.
• The same documentation defines alternateName as another common name that the organization uses, when applicable.
• It defines legalName as the registered legal name when it is applicable and different from name.
• Google describes name as the organization's name and says to use the same name and alternateName values used for the site's name.
• Schema.org's Organization definition describes alternateName as an alias and legalName as the official name of the organization, such as a registered company name.

What does each property mean?

Google's Organization documentation uses name for the organization's business name. It describes alternateName as “Another common name that your organization goes by, if applicable.” This is the field for a public name used alongside the main organization name, such as a common short form or another name by which the organization operates.

legalName has a narrower role. Google describes it as “The registered, legal name of your Organization, if applicable and different from the name property.” The Schema.org Organization page gives the corresponding definition as “The official name of the organization, e.g. the registered company name.” The two definitions support a direct mapping: name identifies the organization as presented to users, alternateName records an additional common name, and legalName records the registered identity when that value differs.

How should the values be written together?

A JSON-LD object can carry the three values on the same Organization item:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Public business name",
  "alternateName": "Common short name",
  "legalName": "Registered legal name"
}

The labels in this example are placeholders. Use name for the organization's main name, add alternateName when the organization has another common name, and add legalName when the registered name is applicable and differs from name. Google's table lists each of these properties as recommended for Organization; it also says that name and alternateName should match the values used for the site's name.

Schema.org places name and alternateName among the properties inherited from Thing, while legalName is an organization property. Its Organization type covers an organization such as a school, NGO, corporation or club.

Where should the markup go and how can it be checked?

Google's Organization documentation recommends putting Organization markup on the home page or on a single page that describes the organization, such as an About page. The documentation says that it does not need to appear on every page. The markup should therefore describe the organization from a page where the name information is relevant.

Google's documented workflow includes validation with the Rich Results Test and correction of critical errors. After deployment, the URL Inspection tool tests how Google sees the page. The page must be accessible to Google and cannot be blocked by a robots.txt file, a noindex tag or login requirements. Those checks apply to the name, alternateName and legalName values as part of the page's Organization item.

Related terms

• Organization structured data
• Structured data
• JSON-LD

FAQ

Can alternateName contain the registered legal name?

Google's Organization documentation defines alternateName as another common name. It assigns the registered legal name to legalName when that name is applicable and different from name.

Is legalName required for every Organization item?

No. Google's Organization documentation says that there are no required properties and describes legalName as applicable when it differs from name.

Should name and alternateName match the site's name?

Yes. Google says to use the same name and alternateName values that you use for the site's name.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "Organization (Organization) structured data", 8 September 2026
2. Schema.org, "Organization", undated

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