Companies House name checker

Why the official search isn’t enough

The company search on the Companies House website is a text search. It will list names that contain the words you typed, but it does not apply the same-as rules the registrar uses when you actually file, it does not flag too-like names, and it says nothing about sensitive words or the statutory format rules. Founders regularly find a name looks clear in the search and then have the incorporation rejected.

This checker applies the rules from the Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business Names Regulations to your name and the register together, so the answer you get is the answer the registrar would give.

What gets a name rejected

• Same as an existing name once punctuation, disregarded words and legal endings are stripped.
• A sensitive word without the required approval letter. The full list is longer than most people expect.
• Format problems: characters outside the permitted set, more than 160 characters, or a name that opens with a symbol.
• Suggesting a connection with government or a public authority.

And what it won’t catch

Companies House does not check trademarks. Passing a name here is the start of clearance, not the end. The same form counts similar live marks in your trademark classes, and the full report screens them. Company name vs trademark explains why the two registers disagree so often.