Setting up
your business

Getting your business or company name right is important - it gives people a first impression of your company, and you might print it on stationery, business cards, a plaque for your office and even the company van if you have one. So you don’t want to change your mind later.

You don’t NEED a business name if you’re a sole trader or partnership - you can just trade under your own name. If you choose a business name, there are rules to follow when choosing one.

And if you’re a limited company, there are even more rules when choosing a name - plus you can trade under a different business name to your company name.

The rules on choosing a business and company name are all explained below. You should also check our advice on using business and company names.

Tips on choosing a business name

• What type of name do you want? Do you want something with your name in (Smith and sons), something that describes what you do or where you operate (Hackney Home Decorators) or something abstract (Orange, for instance).
• Make it memorable. Whatever you choose, try to make it easy to remember (Smith and sons probably doesn’t cut it …)
• Can you say that again …? Try to avoid anything that’s difficult to say or to spell. And short names will often work better than long ones (think about them appearing in adverts etc).
• Do you want a web address? If you want a website, make sure you choose a business name that still has that domain name free. If you end up having to use a strange extension like .biz or .ltd.uk, you won’t get easily found in search engines. Try to get .co.uk - and don’t get round the problem by abbreviating your name (EG Platinum training solutions is at www.platinum-ts.co.uk, which isn’t necessarily obvious).
• Test it Try it out on a few people - not just family and friends. Wander round a local cafe, ask people for help, tell them the company name and ask them what they think it means / conveys etc.
• Think about the future. It you call your company after your local village, what happens when you want to expand?

Choosing a business name - sole traders and partnerships

If you choose a business name (rather than operating under your own name(s)), then:

• It can’t be offensive
• It mustn’t contain the words Ltd, PLC etc (so you can’t imply your a limited company as you’re not).
• It must comply with the rules on senstive names (so no pretending you’re the National Federation of Charities).
• It mustn’t be the same as an existing trade mark or another local or national company (you can’t trade as Marks & Spencer, and you can only trade as A1 decorating in your town as long as there isn’t a business called that already there). Check the phone book, Companies House and the lists of trade marks.
• You must follow the rules on using a business name.

Choosing a company name - limited company

The rules are stricter for a limited company name. All the ones above apply - except the one about Ltd. You must have Limited / Ltd at the END if you’re a limited company.

You have to register a company name and it has to be unique - so you need to make sure there isn’t an existing company with a similar name (and, for instance, just one letter different may not be sufficient).

This is a stricter requirement than with business names, where you can get away with similar names as long as you don’t trade in the same area.

You can see the full rules for company names (and check the register for existing names) at Companies House. But remember, you can trade under a different business name to your company name as long as you follow the rules.

Example of similar names

This is the example Companies House gives of similar names.

If the name ‘Hands Limited’ is already registered, then these would be rejected:

• H and S Limited (or Ltd)
• H & S Limited (or Ltd).