In relation to forming a limited company, job primary is to choose an appropriate name to your latest business. That is the name that’s going to be placed on the Firms House register, in order you’d expect, there are particular rules that your organization name must adhere to.
On this post, we’ll pay particular attention to the ‘sensitive words and expressions’ rules, and what to do in case your latest company name includes any of those.
What are sensitive words and expressions?
Firms House has a listing of sensitive words and expressions which can be set out in ‘The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business Names (Sensitive Words and Expressions) Regulations 2014’.
The aim of this list is to make sure that an organization name ‘doesn’t mislead or harm the general public’.
There are 4 mains the reason why a reputation may not give you the chance for use:
- The name suggests business pre-eminence, a selected status, or a selected function – for instance, names that include “British”, “Institute” or “Tribunal”
- The name implies a reference to the UK Government, a devolved administration, or an area or specified public authority
- The name features a word that represents a regulated activity
- The name features a word whose use may very well be an offence
In case your proposed company name features a sensitive word or expression – and you’re feeling that you’ve got a rightful claim to make use of it – you possibly can seek written permission from the relevant authority.
This should be done before the corporate formation application is distributed to Firms House. Applications which can be sent without the vital supporting documentation will likely be rejected by Firms House.
Examples of sensitive words and expressions
Using the groups outlined above as a reference, listed here are some examples of sensitive words and expressions and who to hunt permission from to make use of it in an organization name.
Example 1: The name suggests business pre-eminence, a selected status, or a selected function
‘King’ is taken into account a sensitive word, because it implies a Royal connection or accreditation.
On this instance, you would wish to request a letter of non-objection from the Constitutional Policy Team on the Cabinet Office (if the corporate is being registered in England or Northern Ireland), the Branding Manager within the Communications Division of the Welsh Government (for a Welsh company), or the Protocol and Honours Team on the Scottish Government (for a Scottish company), stating why you think you should utilize the word.
Other words/expressions that fall into this category include:
- Bank
- Britain
- Federation
- Police
- Post Office
Example 2: The name implies a reference to the UK Government, a devolved administration, or an area or specified public authority
‘Court’ is taken into account a sensitive word, because it implies a connection to a court or tribunal.
On this instance, you would wish to request a letter of non-objection from the Ministry of Justice, stating why you think you should utilize the word.
Other words/expressions that fall into this category include:
- Assembly
- Border Agency
- Home Office
- National Health Service
- UK Government
Example 3: The name features a word that represents a regulated activity
‘Dentist’ is taken into account a sensitive word, because it implies a dentistry qualification.
On this instance, you would wish to request a letter of authorisation from the General Dental Council, providing proof of your dental qualification.
Other words/expressions that fall into this category include:
- Apothecary
- Chemist
- Optician
- Physician
- Solicitor
Example 4: The name features a word whose use may very well be an offence
‘Architect’ is a sensitive word, because it is taken into account an offense to make use of it without vital approval (unless getting used in the next contexts: ‘golf course architect’, ‘’landscape architect’ or ‘naval architect’).
On this instance, you would wish to request a letter of non-objection from the Architects Registration Board, providing proof of your architecture qualification.
Other words/expressions that fall into this category include:
- Anzac
- Geneva Cross
- Olympic
- Red Cross
- Spirit in motion (due to its Olympic Games connections)
How do I do know if my company name features a sensitive word or expression?
The next information applies to forming a limited company using our company formation services.
Once you’ve got entered your chosen company name in our company name search tool and chosen ‘Search’, we’ll immediately inform you if your organization name is out there (because it should be unique), and if it includes any sensitive words.
For instance, as we have now mentioned, ‘King’ is a sensitive word. If your organization name includes this, you’ll receive the below note immediately:
“EXAMPLE COMPANY NAME KING is out there. Please note: The word(s) King is deemed sensitive. It’s possible you’ll need to provide additional information to make use of it.”
You then have the choice to proceed with the corporate formation or pick one other name.
How do I do know who to hunt approval from?
The authorising body that you want to get permission from relies on the word or expression.
We’ll inform you who you want to contact and what information you want to provide on the ‘Particulars’ page of the corporate formation process (where you enter your organization information).
For instance, if your organization name included ‘Dental’, we’d provide the below information:
To make use of this word in your proposed name, please provide a letter or email of non-objection from the General Dental Council.
businessnames@gdc-uk.org
General Dental Council Registration Development, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8DQ
You may then exit your organization formation application and seek the vital approval.
Once you’ve got this, you possibly can revisit the appliance (see instructions below).
Again, if you happen to would moderately proceed with an alternate company name that doesn’t require any approval, you possibly can change the name at no extra cost. In fact, this only applies if the sensitive word or expression isn’t critical to the corporate (as ‘Dental’ probably could be).
Contact the authorising body via email if it’s an option
Some authorising bodies might be contacted via email.
For the sake of speed, if the choice is out there, we recommend contacting the body in query via email, moderately than a letter. In addition to initially being quicker, it’s going to also speed up the method if there’s any forwards and backwards.
No matter the way you do make contact, giving a timeframe for a way long it takes to receive the approval (or rejection) is tough, because it relies on the actual case.
How do I upload the e-mail (or letter) of non-objection/authorisation?
In case you receive the vital letter of non-objection/authorisation, the subsequent step is to upload it to your application.
To do that:
- Be certain that the letter is in PDF, RTF, DOC, or DOCX format
- Log in to you 1st Formations account
- Select ‘My Firms’
- Click on your organization name
- You will likely be directed straight to the ‘Particulars’ page
- Navigate right down to the ‘Supporting Document’ section
- Select ‘Browse’, locate the document in your computer and click on the ‘Attach’ button.
- Complete the corporate formation process and submit it to Firms House
That’s it. Your organization should then be formed with the sensitive word or expression included.
Our team will likely be available to assist, if you happen to encounter any issues.
Do I even have to pay any extra if my company name features a sensitive word or expression?
Forming an organization with a sensitive word or expression incurs no extra costs. Nonetheless, in some instances, the word or expression will only be permitted if you happen to are forming a selected variety of company.
For instance, ‘Association’ can generally only be used if you happen to are forming a limited by guarantee company. So, on this case, if you happen to are forming your organization through us, you would wish to buy the Limited by Guarantee Package.
What are the precise sensitive words and expressions?
You may view all of the sensitive words and expressions via the below pages:
Other rules about naming an organization
It’s not only sensitive words and expressions that you want to be careful for when selecting your organization name. It’s best to also pay attention to the next regulations:
‘Same as’ rule – Your organization name must be wholly unique, and shouldn’t even be just like one other name on the register. For instance, if Example Company Name Ltd already existed on the register, Firms House wouldn’t allow Example Company Name UK Ltd or Example’s Company Name Limited.
‘Too like’ rule – Your organization name shouldn’t even be broadly just like one other company on the register. For instance, if Let’s Form Your Company Ltd already existed on the register, Firms House may resolve you could’t use Letz Form Ur Company Limited. The ‘Too like’ rule is usually applied post-company formation, when the owner of the unique company complains to Firms House. When this happens, Firms House may request that the brand new company change its name.
The corporate name can’t be offensive – And maybe probably the most obvious rule. Firms House is not going to allow an organization name for use in the event that they imagine it could cause any offence. For instance, they’d reject an organization name if it included a swear word.
See Guidelines on limited company names for further information on naming your organization.
So there you’ve got it
It’s best to now have an excellent understanding of sensitive words and expressions, and the best way to go about forming an organization that features any of those.
In case your proposed company name features any of those, whilst it might same a nuisance on the time, it’s necessary to keep in mind that the regulation is in place to guard the general public from being misled or harmed.
We hope you’ve got found this post helpful. Please leave a comment if you’ve got any questions on naming a limited company or company formations usually. Thanks for reading.
