Name check

Check Your Company Name for UAE Business Setup

Before you can register a company in the UAE, your chosen name has to be approved.

The basics

What is a trade name?

Your trade name is the official commercial name of your company, the name that appears on your trade license, contracts, invoices, and signage. It's approved and registered by the government before you receive your license.

It's worth knowing the distinction between three things people often confuse:

Trade name

Also called the commercial name, the official name approved by the Department of Economy or free zone authority and printed on your license.

Brand name

Your marketing identity, which can differ from the registered trade name.

Trademark

Separate legal protection for a brand, registered with the Ministry of Economy.

Only the trade name requires government approval to trade. Protecting a brand is a separate trademark process.

Send it to us

We check it against the live register and reply the same day.

FIRST CHOICE

Leave the legal suffix off — we add the right one once the jurisdiction is chosen.

SECOND AND THIRD CHOICE

Alternatives save a resubmission if the first is already taken.

WHAT THE BUSINESS DOES

The name is judged against the activity on the license.

HOW TO REACH YOU

Only used to send the answer back.

Request this name Reserve it for 30 days — AED 1,000The reservation fee comes off your license if you go ahead with us.

The rules it is judged against

What gets a name refused

Most of the rejections we see come from the first three. Read them before you settle on a name and you will usually clear on the first submission.

Structure

Name must reflect the activity (Trading, Consulting, Services, etc.) but cannot be only the activity word. It must start with a distinctive word.

✔ Phoenix General Trading FZCO✘ General Trading FZCO

Word and length rules

Minimum 2 words (Dubai free zone rule). First word minimum 3 letters; no word under 3 characters. Cannot start with a 2-letter word, and no triple-identical-letter words. Sharjah exception: initials allowed.

✔ RR SPC, FGH SPC✘ AB Trading FZCO✘ AAA Trading FZCO

Numbers

Not allowed alone, but fine combined with a name.

✔ AKA 21 Marketing FZCO✘ 123 FZCO

Restricted words

Need approval or a specific activity: Limited/Ltd (branches only), Trust (trust companies only), Finance/Financial (licensed only), Capital (Central Bank), FX/Forex (DGCX), plus Holding, University, Hospital, School, Hotel, Mall, Institute, Center, College, Factory, Union, Shop, Palm, Expo, United, Charity, Credit, Bonds, Fund, Asset Management, Revenue, Profit, Exchange, Islamic.

Cannot start with

International, Middle East, Global, Universal, Corporate, Group, Gulf, The. These words can appear later in the name.

✔ Kitchen Gulf Trading FZCO

Conditional words

Group: investment/management activities only. Clinic / Studio: only if tied to the activity. Crypto: must be combined with another word. Commodities: only if trading more than one commodity or general trading.

✔ Crypto Trading FZCO

Prohibited content

No obscene, discriminatory, or offensive words; no religious wording or names of God; no political, sectarian, or organization references (FBI, etc.).

Names

Personal: only if the person is an owner/shareholder, and must be the full name (First + Middle + Last) — family name alone is not allowed. Geographic: no UAE/emirate names, countries, cities, neighborhoods, or airport codes; nationalities are fine. Brands/duplicates: cannot match reserved names, registered brands, or government projects. Franchises need an agreement; branches must carry the exact parent name; subsidiaries must differ enough.

✔ Italian Design Services FZCO✘ Toyota Trading✘ Emaar Consulting

Translation

Write as-is or transliterate phonetically. No literal translation.

✔ Al Saqer Properties✘ Falcon Contracting

Technical

No punctuation, symbols, or spaces except "&". No web domains. No excessive abbreviations (ME, CO) unless part of a full word.

✔ ATCO

What happens next

1 · We check it

Against the register and the naming rules, in the jurisdictions that suit your activity. Same day, in writing.

2 · We reserve it

If you want it held while you decide, AED 1,000 holds the name for 30 days and is credited against your license.

3 · We register it

The trade name is filed as part of your formation, with the correct legal suffix for the structure you choose.