Knowledgebase

The main criteria of review of the application for name approval/change are:

• all fields of the application must be fully filled-in as follows:
  • name of applicant: indicate the name of the applicant which must be consistent with the name of the person to whom the receipt is issued;
  • address: indicate the address of the applicant;
  • contact telephone no.: for any clarifications and notification of a decision whereever deemed necessary;
  • application for name approval / change: specify within the application whether it relates to a name approval or to a change of name of a company with reference to the company registration number, by deleting accordingly;
  • acceleration yes / no: specify within the application whether the application is required to be processed as urgent or normal, by deleting accordingly;
  • suggested name(s): the proposed name(s) of the intented company to be written in capital letters;
  • nature of operations: precise reference to the activities of the intented company;
  • word interpretation: to be filled-in even when there is no specific interpretation as a conceivable concept;
  • names of directors or partners or owners: to be filled-in since, if the proposed name is the name of the director / partner / owner, it will be approved provided that it is their name. In case of a business name registration, it will be approved by adding the activity of the intented company or any other word;
• a consent of a company, trademark or Ministry or any other department is attached: in case a preliminary approval is required for such names (e.g. Schools, Colleges, Universities, Academies, Banks).

The main criteria of review of the questionnaire are:

• the questionnaire is filled-in in instances where it is deemed necessary by the examiner. The fields of the questionnaire must be fully filled in as follows (where applicable):
  • the amount of the authorised capital (mentioning whether it is a company limited by guarantee or a business name);
  • main objects;
  • details of any existing business to be acquired;
  • the area of in which operations will be carried out;
  • the names, addresses and nationality of the shareholders;
  • the names, addresses and nationality of directors;
  • the reason or reasons for choosing that particular name;
  • any other evidence justifying the use of the name;
  • existence of a foreign company – Relationship-Consent;
  • the existence of a previous Business Name, Partnership or other limited liability company.

Most common reasons for rejection of the application by the examiner:

• failure to fill-in the above elements as no decision can be made;
• similarity with existing approved names in Cyprus and abroad;
• when certain conditions are not met by other organizations and therefore the required authorization to use the name cannot be granted;
• when the name is undesirable in accordance with Article 18 of Companies Law CAP. 113;
• when the name contains only one general definition of the activity or quality or location provided and where the name is not distinctive;
• when the name is misleading. If, for example, the name implies that a company with limited resources performs large-scale or large-area work.

For further information regarding the relevant procedure, you are advised to refer to the following pages (depending on the purpose of your application):

• Incorporating a Company
• Changing Company’s Name
• Incorporating a partnership
• Change of partnership's name
• Incorporating a business name
• Change of name of business name
• Starting a European company and EEIG