10 points to remember before choosing a company name

Before you settle on a name for your company, take into account these 10 important factors. They will help ensure that your chosen name not only follows legal guidelines but also sticks in people’s minds and fits well with your brand.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has provided the following rules for selecting a company name:

1. Easy to Remember: Your company name should not be too long or too hard to pronounce. Keep it simple. Ideally, the names should be divided into three parts. You can refer to the below-mentioned example:

2. Uniqueness Matters: The proposed name should not be identical to any existing company, registered trademark, or registered LLP. A different tense or spelling, the addition of punctuation or place, or a plural version will not make the name different.

3. Cultural Sensitivity: The proposed name should not include any words that are offensive and hurt the sentiments of a section of people, regardless of gender or religion.

4. Phonetic Variations: using different phonetic spellings or variations that do not distinguish one name from the existing company

For example, if the company name ‘K.M. Industries Limited’ is registered, then ‘K and M Industries’ or ‘Kay May Industries’ or ‘K n M Industries’ or ‘K&M Industries’ will not be allowed. Moreover, if a company name consists of a numeric character like ‘3’, resemblance needs to be checked with the alphabetical ‘Three’ too.

5. Avoid Geographical References: The proposed name should not contain the name of a continent, country, state, or city, such as Asia Limited, Germany Limited, Haryana Limited, or Mysore Limited.

6. No Trendy Additions: The addition of words like new, modern, nav, shri, sri, Shree, sree, om, jai, sai, the, etc., or the addition of a name of any place or region to any existing company name will not be allowed.

For example, if ‘Bata Shoe Company’ exists, ‘New Bata Shoe Company’ will not be allowed. Similarly, ‘Unique Tiles Delhi Limited’ will not be allowed if ‘Unique Tiles Limited’ already exists.

7. Distinct from Similar Names: Different combinations of the same words that do not make a name distinguishable from an existing name will not be allowed, e.g., if there is a company in existence by the name ‘ ABC Builders and Contractors Limited, then the name ‘ABC Contractors and Builders Limited’ will not be allowed.

8. Translations Consideration: If the proposed name is an exact Hindi translation of an existing company in English, especially a reputed existing company, it will not be allowed. The same applies to vice versa, where exact English translations are used for an existing company name in Hindi. e.g., ‘Hindustan Steel Industries Limited’ will not be eligible if ‘Hindustan Ispat Udyog Limited’ exists.

9. No Internet Classifications: Internet-related classifications, such as.COM, .IN, .NET, .EDU, .GOV, .ORG will not be allowed, even if (.) is spelled out as a ‘dot’.

10.‘Financial’ Term: The word “financial” will not be approved unless you are registering an NBFC company.

Over and above, it is also strongly advised to Check domain name availability for a cohesive online presence. Remember, a well-thought-out name can contribute significantly to your company’s success.

Importance of Checking Company Name Availability

Checking if your chosen company name is available holds significant importance for several reasons:

• Avoid Legal Issues: The main purpose is to prevent any clashes with existing companies and legal regulations.

• Stay out of Trouble: Using a name already taken by another company can lead to legal problems.

• Protect Trademarks: Ensuring that no similar names or logos have existing trademarks protects you from potential legal disputes.

• Avoid Domain Hassles: Thoroughly checking name availability helps you dodge domain issues where people grab names to sell them later at higher prices.

In essence, checking company name availability is vital when starting a new business. Research well and choose a unique name to steer your business clear of potential problems.

How do you check the company name on MCA’s Website?

The initial phase involves verifying the availability of the name you’ve selected for your company. This can be swiftly conducted through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) website. Here is the step-by-step process to ascertain the availability of a company name in India:

1. Visit the MCA website and click on the MCA services tab.

2. Access “Check Company name” under the MCA services tab

Home>MCA Services>Company Services>Check Company Name

3. Proceed to the subsequent page and input the intended name of your company into the designated ‘Name’ field. From the adjacent drop-down menu, opt for ‘Company’ as the category. Subsequently, click on the ‘Search’ button to proceed.

If the name you typed is free, you’ll see a message saying it’s available for use according to the Companies Act, 2013. But if the name is already taken, you’ll get a list of similar names used by other companies.

For more details, you may contact our business specialist.

You may also compare the types of companies