Company Name Availability Check & RUN Reservation
Before a company can be registered or renamed, the Registrar has to approve its name. We check your proposed names against the MCA register, the naming rules in Rule 8 and the trade marks register, and then reserve the best one on the MCA V3 portal for a fee of ₹1,000.
What it is
Name approval is the first gate in setting up a company. You propose a name; the MCA’s Central Registration Centre (CRC) checks that it is available and allowed. If it passes, the name is held for you for a fixed period while you complete the incorporation or the change of name.
The law is Section 4 of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rules 8, 8A, 8B, 9 and 9A of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014. A new company reserves its name through SPICe+ Part A; an existing company changing its name uses RUN (Reserve Unique Name); LLPs use RUN-LLP. All three run on the MCA V3 portal.
Who it applies to
Founders starting a company
Anyone planning a private limited company, public company, OPC or Section 8 company. The name is held for only 20 days, so have the incorporation papers nearly ready.
Companies changing their name
A rebrand, a new line of business or a name that no longer fits. RUN reserves the new name for 60 days, and then the change of name itself goes through a special resolution and ROC approval.
Converting businesses
A firm, LLP or proprietorship becoming a company, or a company becoming an LLP. The new name must clear the same rules.
Why it matters
A rejection costs time, not just the fee
The CRC gives one chance to resubmit, within 15 days. Fail again and you file afresh and pay again. In practice, a rejection pushes the whole incorporation back by a week or more.
A name can be taken away later
Here is the catch: CRC approval is not final. Under Section 16, a trade mark owner can seek a government order to change your name within three years of incorporation.
Your brand needs room to grow
The name goes on invoices, bank accounts, GST and licences. Picking one that is also clear as a trade mark avoids a costly rename later.
The naming rules in plain words
Section 4(2) bars a name that is identical to, or too nearly resembles, an existing company’s name, or is undesirable. Rules 8 and 8A give the detail. Here is where founders most often get caught.
| Rule | What it says | Example of a clash |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 8 — identical names | Private, Limited, LLP, Company and Corporation are ignored, as are plurals, punctuation, spacing, letter case and tense | Green Technology Ltd vs Greens Technologies Ltd |
| Rule 8 — sound and spelling | Different spelling or the same pronunciation counts as identical | Chemtech vs Chemtec vs Kemtech |
| Rule 8 — small additions | A domain suffix, changed word order, “a/an/the”, a place name or a number does not make a name new, unless the existing company gives its no objection by board resolution | Ravi Builders and Contractors vs Ravi Contractors and Builders |
| Rule 8A(1)(b) — trade marks | A name that includes a registered trade mark is undesirable unless the owner’s consent is produced | A registered brand inside your name |
| Rule 8A — regulated words | Bank, Insurance, Stock Exchange, Venture Capital, Mutual Fund need a declaration that the regulator’s rules are met | “XYZ Bank Private Limited” for a trading firm |
| Rule 8B — government words | Words like Board, Commission, Authority, National, Union, Central, Federal, Republic, Bureau need prior Central Government approval | “National Packaging Board Private Limited” |
Rule 8A also blocks names that are only a place name (“Asia Limited”), names that merely describe a common activity, and words showing another legal form, such as Trust, Society, Firm or HUF. A full Hindi translation of an existing English name also counts as identical.
Documents required
For every name application
- Two proposed names, in order of preference
- Significance of each name: what the words mean
- The proposed main business, in a line or two
Where a name needs support
- No-objection letter from the trade mark owner, if the name uses their registered mark
- Board resolution of the existing company, if the rules require its no objection
- Regulator’s approval or declaration for regulated words
For an existing company (RUN)
- CIN and current name
- DSC of the person filing
- Reason for the change
How it works
Shortlist five or six names
We test your ideas against Rules 8, 8A and 8B and drop the weak ones.
Search the MCA register
We search company and LLP names on the MCA portal for close spellings and sound-alikes. Exact matches are the easy part.
Search the trade marks register
We run a word and phonetic trade mark search on IP India’s public search tool, in the classes that match your business, to spot registered or pending marks that could clash.
File SPICe+ Part A or RUN
We file the two strongest names, with clear significance notes, on the MCA V3 portal.
Answer the CRC and lock the name
If the CRC raises a query, we resubmit within the 15 days allowed. Once approved, we file the next form before the reservation runs out.
Timelines
Fix a CRC query
15 days from the CRC’s remark to fix the defect, under Rule 9.
Use a new company’s name
20 days from approval, under Section 4(4). Rule 9A allows paid extensions up to 60 days in all (see the fee table below).
Use a changed name
60 days from approval, under Section 4(5)(i). The special resolution and the change of name filing must follow inside that window.
What happens if the name is wrong
The name is rejected
The ₹1,000 is not refunded. A fresh application means a fresh fee.
The facts given were wrong
Under Section 4(5)(ii), if a name was reserved on wrong or incorrect information, the reservation is cancelled and a penalty of up to ₹1 lakh can apply. If the company is already registered, it can be directed to change its name within three months, or face strike-off or winding up.
A trade mark owner objects
Under Section 16, a registered trade mark owner can apply within three years. If the Central Government agrees, you must change the name within three months; if you don’t, the government allots a new name.
Frequently asked questions
How many names can we propose?
Two names per application. In SPICe+ Part A filed on its own, you can propose two names in order of preference; if Part A is filed together with Part B, only one name is allowed. RUN for an existing company also takes two names. We test five or six ideas first, so the two that go in are the likeliest to pass.
What is the government fee for name reservation?
The MCA fee is ₹1,000 per application, under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014. If the reserved name for a new company needs more time, Rule 9A allows paid extensions of ₹1,000, ₹2,000 or ₹3,000, up to 60 days in all. We tell you upfront if an extension is likely, so nothing comes as a surprise.
How long does name approval take?
Two to three working days at the Central Registration Centre, in most cases. A query from the CRC adds time, and you then have 15 days to resubmit. Names that need a no-objection letter or Central Government approval take longer. Most delays come from weak significance notes or a clash that a proper search would have caught.
Does MCA approval protect our brand?
No. Name approval only stops another company or LLP from registering an identical name. It gives no rights against a business that uses the same word as a brand without being a company. For that you need a trade mark. Many founders file a trade mark soon after incorporation, so the name and the brand are both covered.
Can we use a word that is already someone’s trade mark?
Only with the owner’s consent. Rule 8A(1)(b) treats a name containing a registered trade mark as undesirable unless the owner’s no-objection is produced. Even where the CRC approves a name, the owner can apply under Section 16 within three years of incorporation to have it changed. A pending application is a risk too, so we flag it and suggest alternatives.
Can we add a city name or a number to make a name unique?
No, not on its own. Under Rule 8, adding a place name, a number, “a/an/the” or a domain suffix such as “.com” does not make a name different from an existing one. So a Faridabad founder who files “Sunrise Faridabad Private Limited” will clash with an existing “Sunrise Private Limited” unless that company agrees by board resolution.
What happens if the reservation expires?
The name lapses and is open to others again. A new company’s reservation lasts 20 days; a change of name, 60 days. If you need more time for a new company, the Rule 9A extension must be paid before the current period ends. If it lapses, you can apply again with a fresh ₹1,000 fee, provided no one has taken the name.
Can a struck-off company’s name be reused?
Not for a long time. Rule 8A blocks a name identical to a company dissolved in liquidation until two years have passed, and the name of a company struck off from the register for 20 years. Names released after a change of name are also blocked for three years. So an old, struck-off family company name is rarely available.
What it costs
Our fee plus the government fee that applies to your case, quoted before you commit. Tell us the situation and we will price it exactly.
| Government fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Name reservation (SPICe+ Part A, RUN or RUN-LLP) | ₹1,000 |
| Extension to 40 days in all (new company, paid within 20 days) | ₹1,000 |
| Extension to 60 days in all (paid before day 40) | ₹2,000 |
| Extension to 60 days in one go (paid within 20 days) | ₹3,000 |
Ready to begin?
Send us your name ideas and a line on your business. We will tell you which will pass before you spend a rupee on filing.