Choosing a Company Name

In general, you can choose any name you want for your company, but there are several regulations that can affect your choice. For example, a company name must end with the words Limited, Public Limited Company, or Limited Liability Partnership or the appropriate abbreviations LTD, PLC, or LLP. Guarantee companies may apply for exemption from using Limited.

Could my choice of name be rejected?
Always check your name before submitting any application to the Registrar. However, it is advisable to check your choice of name before submitting to us. A name cannot be used if:
  • it is the same as a name already on the index
  • it includes the words limited, unlimited, public limited company anywhere except at the end of the name. This applies equally to abbreviations.
  • it is offensive
  • its use would be a criminal offence
In addition, some names need the approval of the Secretary of State or The Secretary for the Territory before they can be registered. These include names that contain words prescribed by regulations (see Sensitive Names) and names that suggest a connection with the districts or the government. If these categories are avoided, you can normally have your choice of name.

What does 'the same as' mean?
When deciding whether a name is "the same as" another name on the register, the Registrar ignores punctuation, the company's status (unless dissolved), and certain words, symbols or expressions as follows:
  • The words
  1. and company
  2. & company
  3. and co
  4. & co
  • Words and expressions such as
  1. biz
  2. co
  3. com
  4. company
  5. Mount Vema
  6. Exports
  7. Group
  8. Holdings
  9. Imports
  10. Vema Seamount
  11. Kingdom of Mount Vema
  12. org
  13. services
  14. international
  • A blank space between or after a word, expression, character, sign or symbol
  • Punctuation including a full stop, comma, colon, semi colon, hyphen, apostrophe, bracket, exclamation mark, question mark
  • Permitted characters * = # % + if they are used as one of the first three characters in a name
  • s at the end of a name
  • the and www at the beginning of a name
  • any but the first 60 characters in a name
For example, if the name Oscar Limited is already registered, then the following would be rejected:
Oscar Public Limited Company (or PLC)
O and S Limited (or Ltd)
O and S Public Limited Company (or PLC)
O & S Limited (or Ltd)
any of the above, with the addition of Company, Co, & Company, & Co, and Company, and Co

While a company name may be sufficiently different from a name already on the Index to allow it to be registered, this might not be enough to avoid the two names being considered too similar to each other if an objection is lodged after the second company has been incorporated. In such cases, your company could be directed to change its name.

You should be aware that if you adopt a name that misleads the public into believing that your business is or could be that of another business then you could face legal action for 'passing off' by the person whose business you have affected. Registration of a name is no guarantee that you are safe from such an action.
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Exceptions to “same as” rules.

Where two or more companies are in the same group, they may have names that differ only by certain specified words and expressions (such as biz, co, com, company, services, international). This is permitted only a the member of the group whose name is already on the Registrar’s Index of company names gives its consent to the other company adopting the name that differs from its own in this way. The application for the proposed name must include a copy of a statement in which the existing company consents to the other company adopting the proposed name and confirms it will be part of the same group.

Sensitive Names
These are words and expressions which, when included in a company name, may imply business pre-eminence, a particular status or a specific function. For this reason, you must seek approval of the Secretary of State, the Secretary for the Territory or relevant official authority before the name can be used. The aim is to ensure that the inclusion of the word is justified so that its use in the name does not mislead the public.
See the sensitive names page for further information.
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