The availability of a limited company name is one of the first hurdles to cross once you have decided to form a limited company in Ireland. You should be armed with the information available to help you decide on the name, but remember, all is not lost if the Limited Company Name is not available.
Firstly, remember, it is not possible to use the work Limited if you are not a limited company. Many directors want to use the word limited as the trading name, and if you do, take time to check the availability of this name. There are certain rules associates with applying for a limited company name. The list is long, but it is worth reading. They are as follows:
- If your name is identical to another name on the register, if it offensive, or if it suggests state sponsorship it will not be allowed.
- It is recommended to use extra words in your limited company name to differentiate it against other names on the list. Certain words and their abbreviations such as “Co”, or “Company” are not enough to do this. Place names are also not enough to differentiate your name.
- Particular care should be taken with names considered to have a distinctive element i.e. names consisting primarily of made-up words or non-dictionary words. The inclusion of qualifying words may not be sufficient to create a distinction between company names.
- Names which are phonetically and or visually similar may also be refused. Also, a number on its own may not be accepted as a sufficient distinguishing mark, unless the company concerned is part of the same group.
- Names containing certain words cannot be used unless approved by relevant bodies. For example, the words “bank”, “banc”, “banking”, “banker” may only be used with the permission of the Central Bank of Ireland.
- Words such as “insurance”, ”re-insurance” and “assurance” cannot be used unless prior permission has been sought from and granted by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA).
- The word “society”, “co-op” or “co-operative” cannot be used unless permission has been sought from and granted by the Registrar of Friendly Societies.
- In the case of the word “Charity”, further information may be sought by the CRO to support the application such as a pending charity status application.
- If a name includes words which imply specific functions, e.g. “holding”, “group”, etc., further information may be required by the CRO to support the application.
- The use of the word “standard” is prohibited.
We are asked by clients to help them navigate through the application, and we always suggest applying for the name you want unless it is in clear breach of the rules.
As we are an agent of the Companies Registration Office we have the ability to do a deeper search for your desired name and can give clear advice from the start regarding its use. We provide a search tool on the top of every page of our site www.irishformations.ie that checks this for you to give you an initial idea if its available or not. For example, if you enter the word “Pepsi” you will notice that this word is not available.
If you find that your name is not available, and you require to trade with this name, call us 0n +353 21 4217322 and we can consult with you on how to get the name that you wish to use.