Most founders treat the company name as the easy part of incorporation. You type it into Bizfile, it comes back approved, and you order the signage.
Two things make that riskier than it looks. ACRA approval is not a trade mark clearance, and the name can be taken off you afterwards, on an application by somebody else.
Fees and processing times below are those published by ACRA and current as at August 2026. Check the current position on the ACRA website before relying on them.
What ACRA will refuse
Under section 27 of the Companies Act, the Registrar must refuse to register a company under a name which, in the Registrar’s opinion:
- is undesirable
- is identical to the name of another company, LLP, limited partnership or corporation, or to a registered business name
- is identical to a name already reserved by someone else
- is of a kind the Minister has directed the Registrar not to accept
Separately, the Registrar must refuse a reservation where the company is likely to be used for an unlawful purpose or one prejudicial to public peace, welfare or good order, or where registration would be contrary to national security or interest.
Names of dissolved companies are locked for years
This catches people trying to revive a name they remember, or one a competitor abandoned.
| Situation | Name unavailable for |
|---|---|
| Company dissolved following winding up | 2 years from dissolution |
| Company dissolved after being struck off | 6 years from dissolution |
| Business name whose registration was cancelled or ceased | 1 year |
Identical is a narrow test
Notice what section 27(1) actually says: the Registrar must refuse a name that is identical. It does not require the Registrar to refuse one that is merely similar.
So a name close enough to confuse the market can clear ACRA without difficulty. That is not a loophole you have found; it is a risk you have taken, and the next section is why.
You can be ordered to change it later
Under section 27(2), where a company has been registered under a name that:
- was not permitted to be registered in the first place; or
- so nearly resembles the name of another company, corporation, LLP, limited partnership or registered business name as to be likely to be mistaken for it; or
- has been restrained by an injunction granted under the Trade Marks Act,
the Registrar may direct the company to change its name. The company must comply within 6 weeks of the direction, unless the Minister annuls it. Failing to comply is an offence carrying a fine of up to $2,000 plus a default penalty.
The twelve-month window
Under section 27(2A), any person may apply in writing to the Registrar for such a direction.
There is one time limit, and it matters in both directions: on the “so nearly resembles” ground, the Registrar must not consider an application unless it is received within 12 months from the date of incorporation.
For you, that means the first year is the exposed one. A competitor who notices you in month eleven can still act. After twelve months, that particular ground closes.
For a business whose name is being copied, it means the opposite: the clock is short. If a new company has registered something confusingly close to your name, twelve months from their incorporation is the window for this route, and it is easy to spend that year deciding what to do.
Note that the trade mark injunction ground carries no such time limit.
ACRA approval is not trade mark clearance
These are separate systems answering separate questions.
ACRA asks whether the name can be registered as a company name. It is a register of entities.
A trade mark governs whether you can use a sign in trade for particular goods and services. It is enforceable against you regardless of what your company is called on the register.
A company can therefore be perfectly properly registered and still be infringing. And section 27(2)(c) closes the circle: where use of the name has been restrained by an injunction under the Trade Marks Act, the Registrar can direct the change of the company name too.
So the sequence that actually protects you is: search the name, search the trade marks register, clear both, then commit to branding. Rebranding after a demand letter costs a great deal more than a search. See intellectual property.
Reserving the name
A name application costs $15.
Timing. Straightforward names are typically approved within about three working days. Where the name has to go to a referral authority, an application can take up to 15 working days. Names touching regulated fields, finance, education, medical services, law, media and the like, are the ones referred, and a founder who has assumed same-day approval can lose a fortnight.
Reservation. An approved name is reserved for 120 days, after which it is released for others to use. The statute frames this as 60 days, extendable by a further 60 on an application made in good faith, so if you are running close to the edge, the extension is something you apply for rather than something that happens.
Appeal. A person aggrieved by a refusal to approve a name, or a refusal to extend the reservation, may appeal to the Minister within 30 days, and the Minister’s decision is final.
Choosing well, practically
Search properly before you fall in love with it. ACRA’s entity search, the trade marks register, and an ordinary web search. Ten minutes, and it is the cheapest ten minutes in the whole incorporation.
Avoid names that are only distinctive by punctuation or spacing. They will clear the identical test and fail the “likely to be mistaken for it” test, which is the one that bites later.
Avoid purely descriptive names if the brand matters to you. They are hard to protect and easy for competitors to sit next to.
Check the domain and the social handles at the same time. Not a legal point, but the cost of discovering this later is real.
Watch regulated words, which trigger a referral and sometimes a licence.
Use the 120 days. The reservation exists to give you time to sort out the resident director, the shareholders’ agreement and the bank account before the name is locked in. Reserve early.
If someone takes a name close to yours
Move quickly, because of the twelve-month limit. The options are a section 27(2A) application to the Registrar, a trade mark claim where you have a registration, and passing off where you do not, which is harder because it means proving reputation, misrepresentation and damage.
Which route fits depends on what you have registered and how long it has been happening. Our civil litigation team handles the contested end.
Where this sits
Name clearance is part of how we handle incorporations under company registration. The wider process, the resident director requirement and what follows registration are covered in registering a company in Singapore.