Free tool
Is your company name available?
Check before you print anything. A name too close to an existing registration gets declined, which is the single most common reason a registration takes longer than it should.
Check whether your company name is available
Enter a proposed company name to search.
Before you search
How to pick a name that gets approved
Invent something
Ordinary dictionary words and surnames are usually declined. Made-up or combined words go through far more often.
Bring four, in order
If your first choice is declined we move straight to the next one instead of coming back to you and losing days.
Too similar counts as taken
It is not only exact matches. A name confusingly close to an existing registration gets refused too.
The ending is set by type
A private company ends in (Pty) Ltd, a non-profit in NPC, a personal liability company in Incorporated.
A name is not a trademark
Registering the company name does not stop a competitor trading under a similar brand. That is a trademark.
Reservation is not registration
Reserving the name holds it. The company only exists once the registration is lodged and issued.
After the name
Found one? We will register the company
Name reservation, your CIPC registration documents, the MOI, share certificates and a free accounting officer appointment, on a fixed fee of R895. Typically 2 to 3 business days once the name is reserved.
Then it goes straight onto Compliance Essentials, so the annual return that becomes due on your first anniversary is already handled before you have even thought about it.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is the name search free?
Yes. Search as many names as you need before you commit to one.
Does searching reserve the name?
No. A search tells you whether it looks available. Reserving it is part of registering the company, and until it is reserved, somebody else can still take it.
Why do you ask for four names?
Because CIPC declines names that are too similar to an existing registration. Having your next choice ready means we move straight on instead of waiting on you.
What kinds of names get declined?
Ordinary dictionary words, surnames, and anything confusingly close to a company already on the register. You could not register Carpenter, but something invented like Dynamic Carpentings has a real chance, provided nothing similar exists already.
Ready to register?
Fixed fee of R895, typically 2 to 3 business days once your name is reserved.
Office 071 687 1601 · support@businessneeds.co.za · Pretoria