Companies House, which deals with the registration of businesses, has added 42 new words to a list of company names that are restricted, for having the potential to mislead or sound too official.
Among the words whose commercial use will now require permission, in order to stop businesses feigning some type of authority, are ‘adjudicator,’ ‘bank,’ ‘chamber of’ and ‘tribunal.’
Before any name on the restrictive list can be used, permission will need to be sought from Companies House the legislation states.
The organisation said in its guidance: “If you choose a name that includes any of these words you will need to write to the relevant body to ask whether they have any objection to the proposed name.”
Contractor UK recently reported that there are more than 70 words that remain from a previous list of names or expressions which are restricted, meaning permission must be sought before use, or that are banned outright.
Decades-old regulations on using company names “that are so misleading that they would be likely to cause harm to the public”, such as the 42 new entries on the list, were refreshed on October 1st.
As a contractor, a limited company is often considered the most prudent option if you are outside of IR35 (although it can also be an option if you are within IR35), as in many cases you will take home a greater proportion of your income than through an umbrella company.
Almost any firm of local accountants can help you to set-up a limited company for a fee, but they will almost certainly not have the specialist knowledge required to ensure you are compliant with specific contractor legislation such as IR35 and MSC.
For more information about the Limited Company Service we offer here at ICS, you can download a guide here.
