Companies House (CH) are running stronger checks on company names which may give a false or misleading impression to the public and to improve the accuracy and quality of the data they hold and help tackle the misuse of company names.
CH can now reject an application to register a name where they have reason to believe:
- the name is intended to facilitate fraud
- the name is comprised of or contains a computer code
- the name is likely to give the false impression the company is connected to a foreign government or an international organisation whose members include two or more countries or territories (or their governments)
CH can also direct companies to change their name. If a company fails to change its name within 28 days, CH can now determine a new name for the company, for example, changing the company name to its registered company number.
If a company does not respond to a direction to change their company name within 28 days, an offence is committed.
For further information please select the following link: Changes at a glance - Changes to UK company law Companies House changes