Company names

Company names

Company name legislation

Before you can register a company, you must choose a company name. There are a few requirements and restrictions – but generally, you have quite a lot of freedom when it comes to naming your new company. The main legislation that governs company names is:

The Companies and Other Business Entities Act (Chapter 24:31)

Rules and Regulations

You can not register a company or private business corporation with a name which—

• Is identical to that under which another company or private business corporation is already registered under the Companies and Other Business Act (Chapter 24:31), or which is so similar to any such name as to be likely to deceive unless the company is intended to be part of the same group; or
• Is likely to mislead the public; or
• Is blasphemous or indecent or likely to cause offence to any person or class of persons; or
• Suggests patronage of the Government or some other authority or organisation unless the consent thereof has been obtained; or
• Is undesirable for any other reason.

Checking the availability of a name

After completing your company registration application form, reviewing the application and payment, we will conduct a name search to determine if your proposed company name is not identical to the name of an existing company. This will also determine if the name is likely to mislead the public, is blasphemous or likely to cause offence to any person or class of persons or suggests patronage to the government.

You can also use our company name search service.

If you’re lucky, you can get your first choice of name. If your proposed names are taken, you will have to alter the names until you find one that is available. The use of qualifiers is highly encouraged such as group, enterprises, incorporated, investments, global, international or industry specific qualifiers such as logistics, pharmaceuticals, electronics, energy etc,

De-registered company names

You can register a company with the name of a dissolved company; however, we strongly advise thoroughly researching the dissolved company’s activities and history before doing so. The last thing any new business needs is negative association with an old company. You should first carry out an online check to see what comes up.

Changing a company name after registration

You can change your company name anytime after registration. This is one of the post-registration changes for which the Companies Registry charges a fee – Company Formations standard fee for change of company name is US$45.00. You will need to obtain the approval of the company members or directors (depending on the provisions of your articles of association), carry out the same name availability checks as during the company registration process and submit a request to Companies Registry. You can view our company name change service.