Before you sign your SL’s deed, the Central Commercial Registry has to certify that the name you want isn’t already taken by another company. It’s the first step of the process, and a refusal costs you time. It’s worth spending a while on it.

How it works

You request up to five names, in order of preference. The Registry checks them in that order and reserves the first one available: they aren’t all reserved.

This gets you the name certificate, which gives two different time limits:

  • Three months to sign the deed before a notary with that certificate. If it expires, you must request a new one with the same name, attaching the expired one.
  • Six months for the name to be reserved for you at the Registry.

Why names get refused

There’s no way to know in advance whether the Registry will accept or refuse a name. These are the most common cases:

  • An identical or very similar one already exists. It’s usually refused even if a letter or the language changes.
  • It’s too generic. “Servicios Integrales”, “Consulting”, “Global” or “Gestión” are refused very often.

How to improve your chances

  1. Search for each name before requesting it, online and in the name search at rmc.es.
  2. Use specific, invented or combined words, or initials.
  3. Add numbers if needed, such as “Brotalia 27”.
  4. Prepare five real options. If they’re variations of the same name, they may all fail for the same reason.

There’s no need to write “SL” or “Sociedad Limitada”: it’s added automatically.

Company name and trade name

They don’t have to match. The company name is the legal one, which appears on the deed and invoices. The trade name or brand is what your customers will know you by, and it can be different.

Bear in mind that getting the company name doesn’t give you rights over a trademark. If the name matters to your business, also check whether it’s registered as a trademark and whether the web domain is available.

If you set up with us

You give us the five names in the form and we request them from the Registry. The application and certificate are included in the price. See how we set up your SL.