Choosing a unique business name

geek84

[FONT=&quot]Hi Folks[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I am about to start up a company and going to be a sole trader, and thought of a few unique business names. How do I make sure that nobody else is already trading under that company name? Do I need to do a 'Google' search and/or register the name with Companies House?[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Thanks in advice for your responses.[/FONT]

notanewuser

If you're a sole trader there is no company.

Pembroke

You only need to register with companies house if you're setting up a limited company, in the UK that's the only time you need to register a company name, a sole trade can start up today, called whatever they like, although as you say a check to make sure you're not using another company's name may be advisable. The only registering you must do is to tell HMRC that you're setting up as self employed, it's a simple form on their website.

As a sole trader you can call yourself whatever you like so you would be "Geek84 trading as XYZ Wonderful Products", you'll note no LTD, or PLC or LLC at the end. There are a few rules you need to follow, like putting your trading style (that's the bit above in inverted commas) on correspondence.

If you're looking for a unique name for yourself that can actually be quite hard but you can check the companies house website for similar names if you wish. It's also a good idea to check what web-names are available which you can usually do via a company that sells them like Go Daddy, Easyspace or my current favourite tsohost.

Companies house name checker is here:

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk//wcframe?name=accessCompanyInfo just type your chosen name in the 'Company name' box and hit search.