Is my business name taken in United Kingdom? Check the official register
Before you register a company or business name in United Kingdom, buy a domain or print a sign, check whether someone already uses it. The register to search is run by Companies House. This guide shows where to search, what that search can and cannot tell you, and how to check the matching domain names in one batch.
The official United Kingdom search
Search for the exact name and for close variants (with and without "The", "&" versus "and", "Ltd" versus "Limited", singular and plural). Note every hit, its type and its status.
What the official sites say
Companies House runs a company name availability checker, and its page says the names it treats as the same as yours would prevent the name being registered. (Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company-name-availability, read 2026-11-01.)
What a register search misses
- "Not found" is not the same as "approved". A registry usually refuses a name that is too close to an existing one, which is a wider test than matching text. Only the registry decides when you file, and its rules are on its own site.
- Companies House covers registered companies. A sole trader or partnership trading under a name does not appear there, so a clear result is not a clear name.
- Trademarks are a separate system. A name can be free on the company register and still infringe a trademark. Search UK Intellectual Property Office for the same strings in your line of business. Unregistered use of a name can matter too, so search the web and app stores.
- Domains and social handles are on no company register. That is the next step.
Check the matching domains in bulk
List the name variants from your search, pick the extensions you would use, and let the Bulk Domain Availability Checker ask the registries through RDAP. Example input (illustrative; the names are made up):
{
"domains": ["acmeplumbing", "acme-plumbing", "acmeplumbinguk"],
"tlds": ["com", "co.uk", "net", "org"]
}That is 3 names x 4 extensions = 12 checks. Each row comes back with status (available or registered) plus registrar and dates for registered names. The price is $0.001 per domain answered, so this input is at most $0.012. Rows the Actor cannot answer come back as unknown and are free, which can include country extensions whose registry does not answer; .co gets a labelled DNS guess. "Available" means the registry holds no record; premium pricing and a registration a minute later are still possible.
A short order of work
- Search the United Kingdom register for the name and its variants.
- Search the trademark database for the same strings.
- Check the domains in one batch.
- Search the web for unregistered users of the name.
- Only then file, or buy the domain.
Other countries, Canadian provinces and territories, and all US states are listed on the business name check outside the US page and the US state page. This is general information, not legal advice; for a brand you will build a business on, a trademark attorney's clearance search is worth the fee.
Try it: Bulk Domain Availability Checker on Apify. $0.001 per domain answered, unknown rows free. The Apify free plan includes monthly credit, so a test run costs nothing out of pocket.