It’s common practice for limited companies to use a trading name to run several businesses with different trading names from one registered company. This name is not your businesses official registered name but is what customers will see and associate with your brand.
Using a trading name
Even though a trading name is not an official name for your business, it still needs to abide by the Business Names Act of 1985, which includes:
- Not using the same or similar name that has already been registered.
- Not using sensitive words like ‘group’, ‘fund’, ‘trust’ and ‘LTD’. You can find more information on sensitive words on the government’s website here.
- Once you have decided on your trading name, and it falls within the regulations stated above, you need to display the appropriate information where you carry out business and, on all documentation. For example, on invoices and your website privacy policy. The format you should use is [registered company name] trading as [trading name].
Since your trading name isn’t your official company name, it won’t be registered with Companies House, meaning you won’t get the protection your registered company name does.
To protect your trading name from anyone copying it, you will need to register a trademark. Our expert trademark lawyers can help you there. Click here to book your free initial consultation to discuss your options.
If you need more information about protecting a trading name or even a company name, head to part 4 where we will discuss the 2 main types of protection you can use concerning your company name.
For more guidance on picking an awesome trading name, you could take a look at part 1 of this blog series which includes 5 tips to picking a company name, and what’s more, they still apply when picking a trading name!
Check out all the other parts of this blog series below:
Part 1: Choosing A Company Name