How to Reserve or Change Company Name in Singapore?

Company and brand names set the stage for your business success, and rightly so. Consider it like a first impression – your company name is one of the first things that customers see that could shape their overall brand perception.

The starting ground before you decide to incorporate a company is getting a name. Let’s go through the entire company naming reservation process, including how to check if your desired company name is available and procedures for changing them!

Before you select your company name, here are some important points to consider:

The Registrar also has their own set of criteria when choosing a company name:

If your proposed name violates these rules, the Registrar will reject the proposed name.

Decided on your company name? Check if your desired name is available on our free tool – company name checker now.

After checking your proposed company name is available, the next step is to get them reserved with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

It is important to note that usage of words such as bank, insurance, university, and education in a company name could be subjected to control and regulation by Government authorities. This will require permission and appeal before you can proceed to set up the company. The appeal process will take 1 to 14 days in general.

Even after approval, the Registrar still has the discretion to direct you to change your company name if anyone lodges a valid complaint within 12 months of your incorporation.

If you wish to reserve names that are identical to the names of inactive older companies or businesses, you can do so only after a certain period has passed from the date of their dissolution or cancellation. Section 22 of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2014 states that the Registrar will refuse an identical name of the company if:

It is very common for brands to change their company name. Check out the process to kickstart the process of changing your company name in Singapore below!

To successfully execute a name change, you will need to submit the following documents/ information to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS):

Once completed, IRAS will send a confirmation email noting that the change has been duly completed. This process is usually done by your company secretary.

Be it a Private limited company or a partnership, every legal entity can trademark their company names. It grants them the mark, the statutory right to use and exploit the mark in the jurisdiction of its registration and certain priorities and advantages in registering the trademark in other jurisdictions.

The benefits of trademarking your company include:

You can find out the process of Singapore trademark registration here.