How to Check Company Name Availability on Fletcher Kennedy

Fletcher Kennedy offers a free company name check with no commitment required, accessible directly from its website. You can use it before deciding whether to proceed with incorporation, and the result helps you judge whether a proposed name is worth submitting. The check is a preliminary step: it tells you whether a name appears available, but it does not itself register the company or reserve the name.

What the name check does

The site states you can check a name for availability "now free of charge and without any commitment." That means:

• No payment is required to run the check.
• Running a check does not obligate you to buy any formation or corporate service.
• The check is positioned as a pre-formation step, so you can test one or several candidate names before committing.

Fletcher Kennedy describes itself as a company incorporation specialist with 25 years of experience, incorporating limited liability companies in the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus International Business Companies in other jurisdictions. The name check sits at the front of that process.

How to run the check

1. Go to fletcherkennedy.com.
2. Locate the Company Name Check entry, listed in the site's navigation alongside Company Formation and Corporate Services.
3. Follow the link to the name check tool.
4. Enter the company name you want to use.
5. Review the result: available, or not available.

The expected outcome is a yes/no signal on availability. If the name is clear, you can move on to choosing a jurisdiction and starting incorporation. If it is not, you adjust the name and check again.

Where it fits in the formation process

The name check is the first decision point, not the last. After a name passes, the next step depends on the jurisdiction you choose:

The most common UK and Scottish structure is a Private Company Limited by Shares (a "Limited" or "Ltd"). Irish Limited Companies can be used for any commercial purpose, including as holding companies, and may be trading or non-trading.

Practical points to keep in mind

• Availability is not reservation. A clear check result does not lock the name in. Until the company is actually incorporated, someone else could register a similar or identical name.
• Check the name in the right jurisdiction. UK, Scottish, and Irish companies are registered in different registers, so a name that is free in one may not be free in another. Decide where you intend to incorporate before or alongside the check.
• Have backups ready. Because the check is free and unlimited in principle, test two or three alternatives in the same session so a rejection does not stall your plans.
• The check is separate from corporate services. Fletcher Kennedy's post-formation corporate services — Company Secretary, Registered Office, preparation and filing of annual accounts, and preparation and filing of confirmation statements — come into play after incorporation, not during the name check.

What happens after the name is confirmed

Once you have an available name and a chosen jurisdiction, you proceed to incorporation. Fletcher Kennedy states it provides full expert assistance at every step of the incorporation process and continues to give advice for as long as you need it after incorporation. If you want ongoing support with filings and statutory duties, the corporate services listed above are the relevant next step.