Just like every human being has a name, every company has its own name. This name is the legal identity of a company which represents the Company on each and every legal document. One of the most important differences between the name of a human being and a Company is two or more human can have the same name but two companies can never have the same name. Each and every company has a unique name of its own.

Synonyms: Corporate Name

Rules of a Company Name:

The very first and mandatory thing in a Company Formation is to decide the Company’s name.  The Companies House has specific rules to be followed while setting up a company name. If the rules are not met, the Companies House can reject a proposal of registering a Company.

  1. The Company name must be unique.
  2. “Same as” names are not allowed until the company is registered under the same group of companies as the Existing name.
  3. “Too Like” names are not allowed. If a Company’s name is “Too Like” with an existing Company, the Companies house can reject the proposal.
  4. Sensitive Words cannot be used in a name unless the company gets permission from the Offensive Words cannot be used.
  5. The Company name should be according to the nature of the Company.
  6. Each Private Limited Company must add “LIMITED” or “LTD” in the name. A Welsh Company can use a Welsh Suffix “CYFYNGEDIG” or “CYF”.
  7. Each Public Limited Company must add “PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY” or “PLC” in the name. A Welsh Company can use a Welsh Suffix “CWMNI CYFYNGEDIG CYHOEDDUS” or “CCC”.
  8. A Limited Company by Guarantee is exempted in adding Limited or LTD in the name.
  9. The numbers 0 – 9 may be used in the part of the name.
  10. The punctuation characters full stop, comma, colon, semi-colon, hyphen are allowed
  11. The following characters are allowed: A À Á Â Ã Ä Å Ā Ă Ą Ǻ Æ Ǽ B C Ç Ć Ĉ Ċ Č D Þ Ď Đ E È É Ê Ë Ē Ĕ Ė Ę Ě F G Ĝ Ğ Ġ Ģ H Ĥ Ħ I Ì Í Î Ï Ĩ Ī Ĭ Į İ J Ĵ K Ķ L Ĺ Ļ Ľ Ŀ Ł M N Ñ Ń Ņ Ň Ŋ O Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ō Ŏ Ő Ǿ Œ P Q R Ŕ Ŗ Ř S Ś Ŝ Ş Š T Ţ Ť Ŧ U Ù Ú Û Ü Ũ Ū Ŭ Ů Ű Ų V W Ŵ Ẁ Ẃ Ẅ X Y Ỳ Ý Ŷ Ÿ Z Ź Ż Ž & @ £ $ € ¥
  12. Certain characters and punctuations and symbols are not permitted. 

Check the proposed Company Name

Before reserving a Company name, it is important to check if the proposed name is already existing or any other Companies have any similar names. The Company name availability checker is easily provided by Companies House or any Formations Companies.

For Example:

  1. A search with “SEED Formations” in availability checker says:

The company name “SEED FORMATIONS” is considered to be the ‘same as’ the existing names shown below:

SEED FORMATIONS LTD

11420683 – Incorporated on 18 June 2018

Private limited company

  • A search with “Formation” in availability checker says:

The company name “FORMATION” is considered to be the ‘same as’ the existing names shown below:

FORMATION LIMITED

05195583 – Incorporated on 2 August 2004

Private limited company

THE FORMATIONS COMPANY LIMITED

05510444 – Incorporated on 15 July 2005

Private limited company

FORMATIONS.CO.UK

SL003598 – Registered on 29 September 1999

Limited partnership

Reserve a Company Name

A Company’s name can be reserved only by registering a business with Companies House. If a Company formation is still in process and will start trading in future, but it has decided a name, the company can still be registered at Companies House to preserve the name. Company formation helps in adding the selected Company name in the Company names databases held by the Companies House.

Formations Companies take very minimum time to reserve a company name on the Companies House.

Also, they offer various facilities to reserve a Company name such as Non-Trading Formations, where a dormant company can be created with a Company name. The Formations Companies usually charge a very minimal fee for such processes.

In order to reserve a Company Name by creating a Dormant / Non-Trading Company, A Formations Company can help in creating the dormant accounts if necessary. They also manage the dormant Company until it is ready for Trading.

Change a Company name

Any existing Company name can be changed with the Companies House by using the Form NM01.

Trade Mark Registration

One more way to fully protect the brand name being used by someone else is by registering the trademark. Trademark registration in the UK can only protect the brand name in the UK and no other parts in the world.

Reserve a Company Name on Web:

As soon as a Company name is reserved at the Companies House, the name should also be reserved at the Web. The web addresses can be bought by anyone with the Company name in it, so to protect the Identity of the Company name it is always recommended to Reserve the same name on Web using the best domain registering costs.

Cost of Registering a Company

There are various ways of registering a Company:

  1. Online Registration

The cost of online registration is £12. It can be paid through Credit/ Debit cards or PayPal account.

  • By Post Registration

The cost of online registration is £40 – £100. It can be paid by Cheque made to “Companies House”.

The standard process takes around 8 – 10 days and charges £40 through the post.

The Post service also had a same-day delivery process which cost £100, if the application is submitted before 3 PM.

  • Through an Agent

People generally believe that the addition of agents increases your cost. But in the process of Company Formations, the addition of a formation Company is usually cost-effective.

When a Formations Company comes into the picture, they take care of additional jobs while setting up a Company name.  The formation Company provides various packages to select from according to individual needs like bank accounts, Company legal documents, Dormant Company paperwork and maintenance, etc.

Moreover, all the hard work will be taken care of by the experts in the field, which reduces the chances of rejection.

The Cost of formation agents depends on packages/deals selected.

How Seed Formations is Cost-effective for New Businesses?

According to the Financial Times in 2017, UK reached the highest amount of company formation ever, with almost 1,800 companies formed per day, however it also released that only 50.1 per cent of companies formed in the UK in 2013 endured for three years.


To help the growth of the UK’s economy we need to increase the durability of the new businesses. We believe the first 2 years are the crucial phase for a business where it would either make or break. 
Our goal is to offer support to the new businesses during their early-stage live cycle starting to bet on their durability and success. We value quality business formation and not only formations of thousands of business a month.

To help new businesses in their early stage we aim to create a one-stop-shop where they would be able to manage every aspect of their business in only one platform. We are hereby offering Cost-effective deals for new businesses which helps them grow in future.