Check and choose a company name in Cyprus
Two quick tools and a plain-language guide to what the Registrar of Companies will and will not accept before you incorporate.
Check a company name
See whether a proposed name is identical or confusingly similar to an existing one in the Cyprus register.
Indicative guidance only. Final eligibility is decided by the Registrar of Companies.
Suggest a company name
Describe your business and we will propose distinctive names, each checked against the Cyprus register.
Indicative guidance only. Final eligibility is decided by the Registrar of Companies.
The two tools above do different jobs. The first reads a name you already have in mind and tells you whether something identical or close sits on the Cyprus register. The second works the other way, taking a short description of your business and proposing names checked the same way. Both give you a fast first read, and neither replaces the decision that matters, which is the one the Registrar of Companies makes when you file. It helps to know what that office is actually testing, because the rules that decide a company name in Cyprus are narrower in some places, and wider in others, than most founders expect.
What makes a name a good company name in Cyprus
Choosing a company name in Cyprus is not a marketing decision but, in substance, a regulatory one. Before a company can be incorporated, the proposed name has to clear the Registrar of Companies, and the test the Registrar applies is narrower in some places, and wider in others, than most founders expect. The same name can be perfectly marketable and still be refused, or be cleared and still leave you exposed to a competitor. What separates a name you can keep from one you will have to change is knowing what the Registrar weighs, and what its decision does and does not protect.
What the Registrar is actually deciding
The legal basis is the Companies Law, Cap. 113. Two ideas do most of the work. Under section 18 the Registrar will refuse a name it considers undesirable. Under section 19 it can require a company to drop a name that is "too like" one already on the register. "Undesirable" is deliberately open: it catches names that mislead as to scale or activity, names that falsely suggest a link to the Republic, the President, a ministry, a local authority or a foreign government, generic descriptions that do not distinguish you from anyone else, offensive names, and names carrying symbols such as @, % or €.
A name is examined on its own merits and not in the abstract. A name that points to scale, geographic reach or a particular activity is judged against whether the company's stated objects and its share capital actually justify it; a company with modest capital and narrow objects will not be allowed a name that implies a large, multinational or heavily resourced operation. The similarity test is the part the check above addresses, but the Registrar does not confine itself to the Cyprus index. It can refuse a name in order to protect an internationally known mark that has no Cyprus entry at all, which is why a "Coca-Cola" or "McDonald's" style name will fail with nothing similar showing locally. The practical lesson is that the companies register is not the only database that counts: the same word can be free in Cyprus and still be owned, as a Trademark, on the EU register at the EUIPO or in an international registration designating Cyprus through WIPO's Madrid system. What you obtain at this stage is a pre-approval. It reserves the name for six months, renewable once, and clears the way to file; final approval is the incorporation of the company itself. The pre-approval is administrative clearance, not ownership of the words.
Words you cannot use without someone's permission
A second layer sits on top of similarity. Certain words are restricted because they imply a regulated activity, a status the company does not hold, or a scale that would mislead. You may use them, but only after the competent authority confirms it does not object, and that consent has to be filed with the name application. The English system sets this out in its clearest published form, in the Companies House guidance split across Annex A (words needing prior approval), Annex B (words implying a government connection) and Annex C (words protected by other legislation), backed by the 2014 Sensitive Words Regulations. The mechanism there explains how Cyprus works in substance: the body does not endorse your company, it issues a statement of non-objection confirming the word is acceptable in your case.
Cyprus has no single regulation as granular as the English schedules, but the practice is recognisable from the Registrar's own restrictions list. "Bank", "Credit Institution", "Payment Institution", "Electronic Money" and "Bureau de Change" require the consent of the Central Bank of Cyprus. The fund terms, F.C.I.C., V.C.I.C., AIF, AIFLNP and RAIF, require a licence from CySEC. "Insurance company" and "Reinsurance Company" go to the Superintendent of Insurance. "University", "Polytechnic", "School", "Academy" and "College" go to the Ministry of Education and Culture. "Casino" goes to the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, and "radio" or "television" to the Cyprus Radio-Television Authority. The suffixes for incorporated professional practices, DLC, DELC and LLC, are reserved respectively to the Medical Council, the Dental Council and the Law Office of the Republic. Words that suggest a public or sovereign connection, among them "co-operative", "municipal", "privileged" and "recognised", fall under the Registrar's broader discretion.
| Word or term | Consent required from |
|---|---|
| Bank, Credit Institution, Payment Institution, Electronic Money, Bureau de Change | Central Bank of Cyprus |
| F.C.I.C., V.C.I.C., AIF, AIFLNP, RAIF | CySEC (licence) |
| Insurance company, Reinsurance Company | Superintendent of Insurance |
| University, Polytechnic, School, Academy, College | Ministry of Education and Culture |
| Casino | Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry |
| Radio, Television | Cyprus Radio-Television Authority |
| DLC | Medical Council |
| DELC | Dental Council |
| LLC (the Cyprus law-firm suffix, equivalent to Δ.Ε.Π.Ε.; not the American limited-liability company) | Law Office of the Republic |
| Co-operative, Municipal, Privileged, Recognised | Registrar's broader discretion (public or sovereign connection) |
There is one difference that catches out founders who rely on English guidance. In 2015 the United Kingdom removed a number of words from its list, so a UK company may now use "International", "European", "Group" or "Holdings" without prior approval. Cyprus did not make the same change. The Registrar's restrictions still treat "National", "International", "Republic", "European Union", "Europe" and "Euro", together with their Greek equivalents, as controlled words, allowed only where the company can show they are justified. The Registrar assesses each name on its own merits, and that justification turns on the company's stated objects and its share capital: a word implying scale, reach or a particular activity is allowed only where the objects and the capital actually support it.
A cleared name is not a brand
The most expensive misunderstanding is to treat name pre-approval as protection. Cyprus keeps three separate registers, and clearing one does not clear the others. The company name under Cap. 113 is your public-law identifier; it gives you a unique entry on the companies register and nothing wider. A business name under the Partnerships and Business Names Law, Cap. 116, is the "trading style" you use when you trade under something other than your registered corporate name, and it carries its own registration duty. A Trademark, registered nationally with CyIPO, at EU level through the EUIPO, or internationally through the Madrid system, is the only one of the three that gives you a proprietary right to stop others using the name on your goods or services. The check above looks at the companies register. It will not tell you that an EU Trademark, invisible to that register, already covers your chosen word, and the owner of that mark can act against you even though the Registrar pre-approved your name. For unregistered reputations, Cyprus applies the Common Law action in passing off, the same test the English courts use, resting on goodwill, misrepresentation and damage. A name can be administratively clean and still expose you to an injunction.
| Register | Legal basis | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Company name | Companies Law, Cap. 113 | A public-law identifier: a unique entry on the companies register, and nothing wider |
| Business name | Partnerships and Business Names Law, Cap. 116 | The trading style used when you trade under something other than your registered name; carries its own registration duty |
| Trademark | CyIPO, EUIPO, or WIPO's Madrid system | The only proprietary right to stop others using the name on your goods or services |
Treat the two tools above as a first filter rather than a verdict. Prepare two or three names in order of preference, because the second application after a refusal is where most of the delay comes from. If any word in your shortlist touches a regulated sector or a protected status, secure the regulator's consent before you file, not after. And run the Tradermark searches separately: a name pre-approval only confirms that the name is free on the companies register, it does not look at the Trademark registers, and it is a Trademark conflict or an established unregistered reputation, not a clash on the companies index, that usually ends up in court. Before you spend on a brand, search CyIPO, the EUIPO and WIPO's Madrid records for the same word. The Registrar has the final say on eligibility, and a short legal review at this stage is cheaper than a forced change of name once you are trading.
Frequently asked questions
The Registrar of Companies, part of the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property within the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry. The assessment turns on three tests: that the name is distinctive, lawful, and not misleading.
For private companies (Ltd), it usually takes two to three weeks. For business names, it can run from one to eight weeks, depending on the nature of the review and the Registrar's workload.
Not without the prior written consent or authorisation of the competent regulator. These are protected terms, and using them without that consent is a ground for refusal.
Start with the exact reason given for the refusal. Most cases are solved by amending the name or supplying the missing documents. If the refusal looks unjustified, you can seek a legal assessment with a view to a review or a court challenge.
Yes. Registering a company name on the register does not by itself give you any Trademark right. These are two separate processes and two separate rights. I recommend searching both registers at the same time, before you incorporate.
Usually for six months. If the company is not incorporated within that period, the reservation lapses and the name is released for others to take.