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Names

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What restrictions are there on the name under which a company may register?

The Companies Act 2006 retains the existing prohibition of names:

  • that are offensive or where the use of the name would involve an offence;
  • that suggest a connection with any part of Government;
  • that include sensitive words and expressions (as listed in Regulations – the existing Regulations will be replaced from 1/10/09);
  • that are the same as a name that has already been registered. (The Company and Business Names (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1085) provide rules for determining whether two names will be considered as the same.)

Furthermore there will be a prohibition on names that suggest a connection to public authorities specified in regulations that will be made in late 2009. These controls are in addition to the requirement that generally a company’s name must end in “public limited company” or “plc” or “limited” or “ltd” or the Welsh equivalents.

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When will you publish draft regulations listing the words and expressions for which prior approval is required?

These regulations will not be published before they come into force.

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When will you publish draft regulations listing the public bodies so that prior approval is for company and business names that suggest links to them?

These draft regulations will be published when laid before parliament.

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