You’ve picked the perfect name for your business. Now make sure it’s actually yours — and that nobody else can use it, challenge it, or confuse customers with it. Here’s how to register a business name in the UK: the difference between trading names, company names and trade marks, what each protects, and the checks to run before you print the business cards.

Most new business owners conflate three different things — and the distinctions matter, because each gives you different rights. Let’s untangle them.

How to Register a Business Name in the UK

Level 1: Trading name (sole trader) — free, minimal protection

As a sole trader, you can trade under any name you like — no registration required. “Joe Bloggs” can trade as “Bloggs Plumbing” tomorrow, no paperwork. But:

• You can’t use “Limited”, “Ltd”, “LLP” or similar in the name (implies a company structure you don’t have).
• You can’t use words implying professional status you don’t hold (“Architect”, “Solicitor” are protected titles).
• You must display your real name and business address on paperwork, invoices and your website (it’s the law for sole traders using a trading name).
• Protection: essentially none. Anyone else can trade under the same name. Your only recourse is common-law “passing off” — expensive to enforce.

Level 2: Company name (limited company) — £50, solid protection

When you incorporate with Companies House (see our cost breakdown), your company name is registered and protected — nobody else can incorporate the same or a confusingly similar name. Rules:

• The name must be unique on the Companies House register — check with their free name availability search.
• It must end in “Limited” or “Ltd”.
• Sensitive words (“British”, “Royal”, “Bank”, “University”, etc.) need approval or supporting evidence.
• You can’t use a name that’s “too like” an existing company — Companies House will reject it, and existing companies can object to confusingly similar names after registration.
• Protection: strong within company law — but it doesn’t stop someone using the name as a sole trader, or as a brand (that’s what trade marks are for).

Level 3: Trade mark — £170+, the real protection

A registered trade mark (via the UK Intellectual Property Office) gives you the exclusive right to use the name (and/or logo) for your goods/services across the UK — and the power to stop others using it, whatever their business structure. This is the protection that actually matters if your brand has value.

• Cost: £170 for one class online (£50 per additional class). Most small businesses need 1–3 classes.
• Classes matter: trade marks are registered per class of goods/services (there are 45). A café trade-marking “Sunshine” for food services doesn’t stop a software company using it — unless they registered the software class too. Choose your classes carefully.
• Protection: the strongest available — enforceable against companies, sole traders, and domain squatters alike. Lasts 10 years, renewable indefinitely.
• See our guide to protecting a business idea for the full IP picture, and gov.uk’s IP overview for the official guidance.

How to Register a Business Name: The Checks (Do These First)

Before committing to a name, run these checks — in order:

1. Companies House name search (free) — is the exact or similar name taken as a company? Even as a sole trader, you want to know.
2. UK IPO trade mark search (free) — is it trade-marked in your classes? Using someone else’s trade mark, even innocently, can get you a cease-and-desist.
3. Domain check — is yourname.co.uk (and .com) available? Check a registrar like 123 Reg or GoDaddy. If the .co.uk is taken by a competitor, reconsider the name.
4. Social media handles — check Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, LinkedIn. Consistent handles matter for branding.
5. Google the name — what comes up? You don’t want to share a name with something notorious, or be unfindable under a sea of identical names.
6. Say it out loud, spell it on the phone. If you have to spell it every time (“it’s Kwik with a K, Kreative with a K…”), it’s a bad name. The best business names are obvious in speech and spelling.

Step by Step: Registering Each Type

Trading name (sole trader)

No registration needed — just start using it (after running the checks above). Remember the legal requirements: display your own name + business address on invoices, website, and business correspondence. Our invoice template guide shows compliant layouts.

Company name (limited company)

1. Check availability on Companies House.
2. Incorporate online (£50) — the name is registered as part of incorporation.
3. Consider also registering the name as a trade mark if the brand matters (see below).

Trade mark (UK IPO)

1. Search the UK IPO trade mark database for conflicts.
2. Choose your classes — use the IPO’s classification guidance; when in doubt, cover your current activities plus obvious near-term expansion.
3. Apply online at gov.uk (£170 for one class) — the IPO examines the application (4–6 weeks), publishes it for opposition (2 months where others can object), then registers it if unopposed.
4. Use the ® symbol once registered (™ can be used anytime to claim the name as your brand, but ® is reserved for registered marks).

Common Naming Mistakes

• Too generic to protect: “London Plumbing Services” can’t be trade-marked (it’s descriptive) and is unfindable on Google. Distinctive beats descriptive — “Pimlico Plumbers” is protectable; “London Plumbers” isn’t.
• Too clever to understand: if customers can’t spell it, pronounce it, or remember it, it’s a liability. Test it on five people outside your industry.
• Geographic limits: “Manchester Web Design” is fine until you want clients in Leeds. Think about where the business is going, not just where it starts.
• Not checking trade marks: the most expensive mistake — building a brand for two years, then receiving a cease-and-desist from the trade mark owner. The checks above take an afternoon; rebranding takes months and thousands.
• Forgetting the domain: falling in love with a name whose .co.uk belongs to a competitor. Check domains before falling in love.
• Ignoring Companies House “too like” rules: “Bloggs Plumbing Ltd” vs existing “Bloggs Plumbers Ltd” — Companies House will likely reject it, wasting your application.

What About Business Names and Branding Costs?

The name itself is cheap to secure (£0–£220 depending on level). The expensive part is everything around it — logo design, domain, branding. Keep it lean at the start: a clean wordmark, the .co.uk domain (£10/year), consistent social handles. Rebrand later when revenue justifies it, not before. And if you’re starting the business itself, the name checks fit naturally into week-one admin.

The Bottom Line

As a sole trader: pick a distinctive name, run the checks (Companies House, IPO, domains, Google), start using it — no registration needed. As a limited company: the name registers automatically on incorporation (£50), with solid protection against copycats. And if the brand will carry real value: spend the £170 on a UK trade mark — it’s the cheapest meaningful legal protection in business. An afternoon of checks now saves a rebrand nightmare later.