Sensitive Words

When you come to naming your new company, you probably have a host of great ideas. You want something that tells customers what you do, sounds clever or even funny. You want to stand out from the competition. But there is one other aspect to consider that most company owners don’t realise until they run afoul of Companies House – there are some words you are not allowed to use in your company name.

What you must include

First up, there are the words that you have to include if you are establishing a certain type of business. For example, if you are a limited company then either the word ‘limited’ or the abbreviation ‘Ltd’ needs to be in your company name.

If you are forming a limited liability partnership, then LLP needs to feature while if you are forming a limited partnership then LP needs to be included in the name. If you are creating a public limited company, then either this phrase or the abbreviation ‘plc’ must be incorporated into your name.

You also must make sure you don’t use one of these in your name if you are not registered the corresponding type of business – in other words, saying you are Smith Ltd when you are not a limited company.

Basic name rules

You also need to check that the name isn’t already in use and this is done through Companies House in London. There are also rules about what are classed as ‘same as’ names – so if there is a company called Franks Design, you cannot call yourself Frank’s Designs, as this would be class as the same as the already listed company.

You cannot call your company something that is offensive or could be classed as an offence, although it seems strange to think anyone would want to offend potential customers! You also must ensure that you don’t use any characters, signs, symbols of punctuation that is unaccepted – smiley faces are great for text messages or Facebook but not for company names.

When choosing your company name, beware of anything that could indicate you are something you are not, especially if that something is related to the government, either central or local. You are also not allowed to use a name that makes out you are connect with some kind of public authorities, such as the police, fire service or armed forces.

Sensitive words

The final limitation on what you can name your company comes in the form of the sensitive words. These are a collection of words or phrases that companies cannot use unless they comply with strict criteria, which may be membership of a special governing body for a trade or a specific qualification that has been approved by a trade standard.

Accounts commission for Scotland – this can only be used if you have a letter or email confirming it from the Accounts Commission for Scotland
Accredit, accreditation, accredited, accrediting – you must have a letter confirming these phrase can be used from the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS)
Adjudicator – implies a legal role that must be supported with relevant documents
Alba, Na h-Alba, Albannach – implies a connection with the Scottish Government or departments
Archwilydd, Cyffredinol, Cymru – implies a connection with the Auditor General for Wales and needs a supporting letter
Association – implies a company limited by guarantee with a one-member, one-vote clause and non-profit distribution clause in its articles of association
Assurance, assurer – letter needed from Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Audit commission, auditor general – needs a letter from the National Audit Office or similar body
Banc, bank, banking – needs a letter confirming status from the FCA
Benevolent – only included in a company limited by guarantee that is a registered charity
Breatainn, Breatannach, Britain, British – implies connection with the British government, though it can be used if it is your surname, providing it isn’t the first word of the company name, which should be your initials or first name
Brenin, Brenhines, Brenhinol, Brenhiniaeth – implies connection to the Welsh government
Chamber of – implies connection to any chamber of such as commerce, business or enterprise and relevant letter confirming this is required
Charitable, charity – only used for registered charity
Charter – implies connecting with royal charter status unless in use such as charter flights or holidays
Chartered – implies a professional body has confirmed your qualifications and proof of this is needed i.e. chartered accountant
Child maintenance, child support – implies connection with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and letter needed to confirm this
Comhairle, coimisean, comisiwn – organisation must be an independent advisory body
Commission – organisation must be an independent advisory body
Comptroller and auditor general – letter needed from National Audit Office
Co-operative, Co-operative Society – society registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefits Societies Act 2014
Council, cyngor – organisation must be an independent advisory body
Dental, dentistry, dental surgeon, dental practitioner – letter required from the General Dental Council
Duke, duchess, diuc, ban-diuc, dug, duges – letter needed from the Protocol Team (Scotland), Public Administration and Honour Unit (Wales) or the Cabinet Office Constitutional Policy Team (England)
England, of England, English – implies connection with English government unless this is your name (see Britain)
Federation – company should be limited by guarantee
Financial conduct authority, financial services authority, financial reporting council – all need to be authorised by letter from the FCA
Foundation – must be limited by guarantee company with a pool of money or source of finance that is used to promote objects
Friendly society – only used by companies under the Friendly Societies Acts 1974 & 1992
Fund – letter required from FCA
Government – letter from relevant government department based on business type
Health and Safety, Health and Social care, Health centre, health visitor – must have letter from NHS
His/her Majesty, King, Queen, Prince, Princess, royal, royalty – letter from the Cabinet Office Constitutional Policy Team
House of Commons, House of Lords – letter from the relevant house of parliament
Inspectorate – implies a legal role
Institute, institution – fully functioning established organisation undertaking research, professional bodies or educational bodies
Insurance, insurer, reinsurance, reinsurer, underwriter, underwriter – must have letter from FCA
Judicial appointment – must have letter from Ministry of Justice
Licensing – letter form relevant body
Medical centre, midwife, midwifery, nurse, nursing – letter from Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)
Mutual – must have letter from FCA
National Audit Office – must have letter from National Audit Office
NHS – must have letter from NHS
Northern Ireland – implies connection with government of Northern Ireland, however can be used under certain conditions and if the company has a registered office in the country
Ombudsman, ombwdsmon – must be a certified ombudsman under the relevant association
Parliament, parliamentarian, parliamentary, parlamaid – must have a better from the Houses of Parliament
Patent, patentee – must have a letter confirming patent from the Intellectual Property Office
Police – you must have a letter from the Home Office
Polytechnic – you must have a letter from the Department for Business, innovation and Skills
Post office – you must have a letter from the Post Office
Reassurance, assurer – must have a letter from the FCA
Registrar – you must have a letter confirming relevant qualification as well as from government body
Registered society – can only be used by a society registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
Regulator – must have letter confirming regulatory role as well as from relevant government department
Scotland, Scottish – implies a connection with the government of Scotland unless this is your surname (see Britain)
Sheffield – must have letter from the Company of Cutlers
Society – must be a company limited by guarantee
Special school – must have letter from relevant department of education
Standards – implies a regulatory role so letter must prove this relevant to the business as well as from the applicable government body
Stock exchange – must have letter from the FCA
Trade union – trade unions are prohibited from being a registered company and so name cannot be used
Tribunal – implies a legal role, must have letter from relevant government body
Trust – must provide details of what type of trust, for example charitable trust, employee trust or academy trust
University – must have letter from the relevant department for education
Wales, welsh – implies connection to the government of Wales unless surname (see Britain)
Windsor – must have letter from the Cabinet Office Constitutional Policy Team

Other terms

There are also a number of other terms that may need to be checked before being used in a company name. One example is agency, which can imply a connection with a government body but as long as the name doesn’t do this, will likely be allowed. Finally, there are a category of words and expressions that count as a criminal offence if used. These are primarily occupations such as architect, health care professionals and legal professionals, unless you have the relevant qualifications to use these titles.