The more unique your proposed company names are the greater your chances of CIPC approving your company name. By adding a descriptive word, it explains to potential customers what your business does while adding to its uniqueness; this will improve your chances of getting your company name approved.   

In general, you should stay away from your initials and surname for two reasons. Firstly, you will be surprised how many companies have already been registered with a similar surname. This could lead to your clients being confused. The second consideration is, if you ever want to sell your business then all the brand equity you built up over the years in your personal name will not be beneficial to the new buyer. However, if you registered a name that is not linked to an individual then all your brand equity becomes and asset which you could sell. 

No, CIPC does not allow symbols in a company name.  Any names using symbols will be rejected. Don`t do it. 

Usually the same day, assuming the CIPC is not experiencing problems.

A defensive name is a company name that you would like to secure but not immediately register the company. You must be able to prove that you have a material interest in securing the name. It costs more and is valid for two years after which it can be renewed. 

No you can’t - since the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act on 31 March 2011 companies may no longer TRADE AS.

If your company was ‘trading as’ prior to this date then in may continue to do so, however any company registered after this date may not ‘trade as’ and needs to formally change the company name.  

Dead easy – it is a two-step process, the first is the name approval and the second stage is the registration at CIPC.

We also recommend changing  the company’s share certificates to reflect the new company name. 

Yes it does - your company name is valid for period of 6 moths. During this time, the company registration needs to be completed as after this the name approval will expire.   It is possible to extend the name approval by 60 days at a time.

Yes, this often happens it when a customer registers a company under their profile and then request a specialist company such as SwiftReg to complete the registration for them. CIPC charges both the sender and the recipient when they transfer the name. 

Domain names are just as important as the company names. Domain names can be very similar to existing domain names while company names must be unique and can’t even sound similar to an existing company name. 

Yes, a company can object to a newly registered company name who they feel it is confusingly similar to their own company name that was registered before them. This objection must be lodged with Companies Tribunal. 

Yes, a Trademark infringement can be lodge against a registered company for up to a year after the company was registered. The Trademark will usually take precedence in a ruling.