How to check business name availability in Australia

How to check business name availability with ASIC

Use ASIC Connect to run an ASIC business name availability search and find out whether ASIC considers your proposed name available for registration.

This result only tells you whether the name is available for registration as a business name. It does not confirm that the name is legally safe to use, so you should separately check trade marks and existing commercial use.

How to use the ASIC business name availability search

To complete an ASIC business name check, select "Search business names register," then choose "Check business name availability" from the drop-down. Enter the proposed name and select Go.

ASIC applies 14 automated tests and returns one of three results: available, unavailable, or requiring review by an ASIC staff member.

What the ASIC availability result means

Green: the name is available for registration.

Amber: ASIC needs to make a manual decision. This can also happen when ASIC's system does not recognise a word, such as an unusual spelling, a made-up word, or joined words.

Red: the name is unavailable.

An amber result means ASIC needs to assess the name manually before giving a final answer; it's not a rejection. A name may come back unavailable because it's identical or nearly identical to another name covered by ASIC's naming rules, or because it fails another ASIC naming requirement.

How to check if a business name is already taken

Use the ASIC business name search to see whether the proposed name is already registered in the Business Names Register. You can search by business name, by person or organisation, by ABN, or by ACN. For a breakdown of how the two identifiers differ, see our guide to ABN or ACN.

In this context, "taken" means the name already appears as a registered business name. Other commercial or online use requires separate checks when assessing business name availability.

ASIC's rules prevent registration of a name that's identical or nearly identical to certain other names covered by its comparison rules. A name that's merely similar to an existing one can still be registered; the law allows it. A similar name may still raise trade mark or other intellectual property issues, though, so passing ASIC's business-name test doesn't establish that the name is safe to use as a brand.

What does "identical or nearly identical" mean?

ASIC applies specific comparison rules rather than an exact character-for-character match. These rules account for spelling variations, plurals, pronunciation, punctuation, formatting, and, in certain comparisons, equivalent words or expressions. The equivalences apply only under ASIC's specific comparison rules, and some rules differ depending on whether the comparison is with a company name or another registered name.

Two examples: ASIC treats "Creative@Work" and "Kre8tive at Work" as nearly identical, as it does "Hare of the Dog" and "Hair of the Dog." For a borderline name, use ASIC's detailed rules for acceptable business names .

Should you check ABN Lookup?

Yes, ABN Lookup is a useful supplementary check because it helps you investigate entities and their business-name and historical trading-name associations. It does not tell you whether ASIC will approve a proposed business name, so it isn't a substitute for the ASIC Business Names Register or the availability search.

You can use ABN Lookup to search a business name, ABN, or ACN. Results can show the entity and business names linked to your search terms, where those details are available. A result reflects only what's in ABN Lookup's own records, so other commercial use of the name may still exist elsewhere.

ABN Lookup may also show historical trading names. The Australian Business Register (ABR) stopped collecting and updating trading names in May 2012, so these records are historical and aren't current business-name registrations.

How to check for trade mark conflicts

Check whether someone already owns trade mark rights in the name you want to use. Use IP Australia's TM Checker to get an early indication of potential conflicts in the relevant goods and services classes, but treat the result as an indication rather than legal clearance.

A registered trade mark can give you exclusive rights to use the mark for the relevant goods or services. Registering a business name with ASIC doesn't give you those exclusive rights.

Check for identical and similar marks, then consider whether the existing mark covers goods or services related to what you plan to offer. Trade mark rights depend on the mark and the goods or services covered. For a more detailed search, IP Australia also provides Australian Trade Mark Search, which lets you search registered and pending trade marks. A search of registered trade marks won't necessarily identify every unregistered trade mark or other rights in use, so consider professional advice if the name is commercially important.

A clear TM Checker result isn't a guarantee that the name is free to use or that a future trade mark application will succeed.

Check the domain name and social media handles

A name can pass every ASIC check and still be widely used online. The auDA domain search can help check the availability of relevant .au domains, while searches for other domain extensions and social media handles can help identify existing online use. These checks provide practical information about online availability alongside the regulatory and trade mark checks.

This tells you whether the domain name and social handles you want are already in use. It's a practical check, not an official availability test.

You can also search the web for the name and its variations to identify businesses using it outside the official registers. This is an informal check; it doesn't tell you whether that use creates legal rights.

What if the business name is unavailable?

If ASIC marks the name as unavailable, choose another name rather than making a minor spelling or formatting change. ASIC's comparison rules take spelling, punctuation and other differences into account, so a small tweak may still be treated as nearly identical.

Run the same checks again with the new name, including an ASIC business name availability search, existing registrations, trade marks and online use. Once you've chosen a name that passes the relevant checks, you can move on to registering your business name in Australia.