Free tools / Quill
Business name checker. Is your name taken?
Type a business name. We check the domains with the official registries, look for a company with the same name at Companies House, and flag any words you need permission to use.
Free, no sign-up. UK domains and Companies House.
Four checks before you choose a name
A business name is hard to change once it is on your van, your invoices and your Google listing, so it pays to spend five minutes checking it first. There are four things to look at.
- The domain. A matching .co.uk is the most trusted address for a UK business. A .com is worth having too if you might sell abroad, and both stop someone else using them.
- Companies House. If you are setting up a limited company or LLP, Companies House will refuse a name that is the same as one already on its register.
- Sensitive words. Words such as Royal, British, Bank, Trust, Institute, Association and Dental need permission before a company can use them.
- Trade marks. If someone has registered the name as a trade mark for the same kind of work, using it could mean a legal letter and a forced rebrand. Search the free UK trade mark register at the Intellectual Property Office.
"Same as" and "too like"
Companies House runs two tests. A name that is the same as an existing one, once you ignore punctuation and endings like Ltd, UK, Services and Group, is refused when you apply. A name that is "too like" an existing one, such as a different spelling that sounds the same, can be accepted at first but challenged later by the other company, and Companies House can then order you to change it. Our checker catches the first and shows close matches so you can judge the second.
Sole traders and partnerships
You do not register a trading name if you work for yourself, but you still cannot use a name that passes you off as another business. Search Google and Google Maps for the name with your town, and check the main social networks, before you commit.
Once your name is clear
Register the domain the same day, because good names go fast. Then set up email on it, claim your Google Business Profile and get a simple website live. We build small business websites from £595, and you can see what yours would cost with our website cost calculator.
Company data from Companies House, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Domain data from the Nominet and Verisign RDAP services. This is a quick check, not legal advice.
Questions
What does the business name checker look at?
Five domain names (.co.uk, .uk, .com, .org.uk and .net) straight from the Nominet and Verisign registries, the Companies House register for a company with the same name, and the Companies House list of sensitive words. It also links you to the UK trade mark search, which is the one check you should do yourself.
How does Companies House decide two names are the same?
It ignores capital letters, punctuation, "the" at the start and common endings such as Limited, Ltd, Company, UK, Services, Group and Holdings, and treats "&" and "and" as the same. So if Bright Spark Cleaning Ltd exists, Bright Spark Cleaning Services Limited will normally be refused. We apply the same idea when we compare names.
The company name is free. Am I safe to use it?
It means Companies House should accept it, but it does not mean nobody else trades under it. A sole trader or a registered trade mark owner can still object if your name causes confusion with theirs. Search the trade mark register and Google the name with your town before you commit.
What if the name was used before by a dissolved company?
A dissolved company no longer blocks the name at Companies House, so you can usually register it. It is still worth a look at what that company did, in case customers connect the two.
Why does a domain show as unclear?
Sometimes a registry is slow or does not answer. When that happens we look for signs the domain is in use, and if we still cannot tell, we say so rather than guess. Try again in a minute.
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