Business Name Availability

Check the availability of your Business Name

Please type and check your preferred Business Name, so the system can check instantly the availability of the Business Name you have entered. Please, do not register your domain name yet, we strongly suggest you wait until you receive the confirmation email from the ATO with your registered business name.

! The form will not accept letters with an accent such as à, é or ç. Example: Lisa wants to register 'Lisa's Café. Although her name will need to be registered as 'LISA'S CAFE, she can still use 'Lisa's Café' on her marketing, signage and receipts.
Please type and check your preferred Business Name, so the system can check instantly the availability of the Business Name you have entered. Please, do not register your domain name yet, we strongly suggest you wait until you receive the confirmation email from the ATO with your registered business name.
Register Business Name Now

Rules for acceptable business names

There are separate rules for comparing a business name with company names and comparing a business name with other registered names, including other business names.

Key points

  • There are rules about what business names ASIC can register.
  • You cannot use a name that is identical or nearly identical to someone else’s business name or company name.
  • Only letters of the English alphabet, numbers and some special characters can be used.
  • Some words and expressions are not allowed to be used. These are called undesirable or restricted.
  • In some cases, you can apply for consent to use a name that would not usually be allowed.

Identical or nearly identical names

If someone else has registered an identical or nearly identical business name, you cannot use it. The name will also be unavailable if it is identical or nearly identical to a name that:

  • Someone has applied to register
  • Someone is transferring
  • Is already under review
  • Has been cancelled in the last 4 or 6 months (depending on whether it was cancelled by the business name holder or by ASIC)
  • Is reserved for or already registered to a company
  • Belongs to a government body or authority (for example, ‘Fair Trading NSW’)
  • Is registered to someone else on certain state or territory registers (for example, the Register of Incorporated Associations in NSW).

How identical or nearly identical names are tested

There are specific rules that must be used when comparing a proposed business name with other names to determine if they are identical or nearly identical. Business name availability tests take these rules into account. Below are the main rules and examples.

Plurals

Singular and plural forms are ignored. Example: “The Child Garden” and “The Children Gardens” are considered identical.

Articles (‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’)

Articles are ignored. Example: “A bird in hand”, “The bird in hand”, and “Bird in hand” are treated as identical.

Fonts, case, spaces and punctuation

Character case, font, accents, spaces and punctuation are ignored. Example: “Australian Holiday Apartments!” and “australiaholidayapartments” are considered identical.

Alternative words and expressions — (company names only)

When comparing to company names, certain words are treated as equivalent (e.g. “Australian” = “Aust”, “Company” = “Co”, “And” = “&”, “Australian Company Number” = “ACN”). Example: “Australian Garden Company” and “Aust Garden Co” are identical.

Legal structure terms — (company names only)

Words like “Proprietary”, “Pty”, “Limited”, “Ltd”, “No Liability” or “NL” are ignored when comparing to company names.

Order of words — (non-company names)

Word order is ignored. Example: “Green House” and “House Green” are considered identical.

Host and domain name elements — (non-company names)

Elements such as www, .com, .net, .org are ignored. Example: “www.myfirstbusiness.com.au”, “My First Business” and “myfirstbusiness.org” are identical.

Words taken to be the same — (non-company names)

There is a long list of words/expressions considered the same (e.g. bakehouse, baker, bakers). Example: “Fresh Bread Bakehouse” and “Fresh Bread Bakery” are considered identical or nearly identical. See the Names Determination for a full list of words and expressions that are considered the same.

Pronunciation — (non-company names)

Pronunciation is considered. If two names sound the same they may be treated as identical. Examples include:

  • “Creative@Work” and “Kre8tive at Work”
  • “100% Cats” and “100 percent Kats”
  • “Dollar Shop” and “$ shop”
  • “Hare of the Dog” and “Hair of the Dog”
  • “Color In” and “Colour Inn”
  • “Katz Hair Dressing” and “Kat’s Hair Dressing”

Acceptable characters

Business names may include letters of the English alphabet, numbers, spaces and common punctuation:

Common punctuation: . , ; : ! ? ‘ ’ “ ” ( ) - /

Allowed special characters (few): $ = % & | * \ { } @ _

Accented letters are not allowed.

Undesirable business names

A name is undesirable if it suggests an association that does not exist with, for example:

  • Any level of government in Australia
  • A foreign government
  • Royal patronage or a member of the Royal Family
  • A charitable organisation
  • Ex-service personnel organisations or ex-service personnel
  • Sir Donald Bradman, Saint Mary MacKillop or the United Nations

A name is also undesirable if it suggests members are incapacitated when they are not, includes words like “Commonwealth” or “Federal” (unless legitimately locational), or is likely to offend the public.

There are ministerial guidelines (PDF 264KB) that explain how to apply for consent to use an undesirable business name. If you meet the criteria, you can apply directly to ASIC.

Restricted words and expressions

Some words/expressions are restricted because they could mislead consumers. Abbreviations and synonyms may also be restricted. There are three groups:

  1. Group 1 — Apply directly to ASIC.
  2. Group 2 — Get consent from the relevant minister before applying to ASIC.
  3. Group 3 — Get consent from APRA before applying to ASIC.

There are ministerial guidelines (PDF 264KB) that outline the steps you need to take and the criteria you must address if you apply for consent to use a restricted word or expression in a business name. If you meet the criteria, you can apply for consent to use a name.