Choose a business name

Choose your business name with your customers in mind. A unique and catchy name is easy for them to remember. This helps them to recommend your business to others and search for it online.

Choose a name that is:

• easy to pronounce and spell
• short and simple
• descriptive – so it means something to your customers
• different to similar businesses – so customers don’t confuse you and your competitors.

It’s a good idea to get feedback on your business name from friends, family and potential customers. You want your business name to give them a positive image of your brand. Ask them if it:

• might offend someone
• has a negative meaning in other languages or cultures
• is too specific to a product or place – in case you want to expand your business in the future. 

You can’t use a business name that someone else has registered.

You can’t use a business name that someone has registered as a trade mark. It could get you into legal trouble.

Use TM Checker to check if there's a trade mark. 

You need to register a business name if it’s different to your own name.

You pay to register your business name. You need to renew your registration every year or 3 years.

You don’t need to register a business name if:

• you’re a sole trader and you trade under your own name
• your partnership trades under the partners’ own names
• your company trades under its legal name.

Even if your business name is the same as your own name, it’s a good idea to protect it with a trade mark.

You can’t change your registered business name, even if you only want to make a slight change. You need to register a new business name then cancel the one you no longer want to use.

Registering a new business name doesn’t change the legal name of your business or affect your contracts.

You can have more than one business name linked to your Australian Business Number.