You register a business name with ASIC, through ASIC Connect, and you need an ABN (or at least an ABN application reference number) before you can start. You only need to register if you trade under a name that is not your own legal name — a sole trader called Jane Smith trading as "Jane Smith" needs nothing, but "Jane Smith Plumbing" is a business name and must be registered. Registration lasts one or three years and has to be renewed.
Do I actually need to register one?
Fewer people need one than think they do. You are exempt if you trade under:
- Your own name exactly, as a sole trader — first name and surname, nothing added.
- All partners' names, in a partnership, again with nothing added.
- A company's own registered name, which was already registered when the company was.
Add a single descriptive word and the exemption is gone. "Smith" is exempt; "Smith Consulting", "Smith & Co" and "J. Smith" are not. The test is whether the name you present to customers is your legal name, not whether it is close to it.
What registering a business name does and does not give you
This is the part that catches people out, and it is worth being blunt about. A registered business name is a disclosure mechanism — it lets the public find out who is behind a trading name. It is not ownership.
| It does | It does not |
|---|---|
| Let customers, suppliers and regulators find out which ABN sits behind a trading name. | Give you ownership of the words, or any exclusive right to use them. |
| Satisfy the legal requirement to register a name you trade under that is not your own. | Stop someone registering a similar name, or the same name in a different form. |
| Let you open accounts, sign contracts and advertise under that name. | Reserve the matching domain, social handle or trade mark — those are separate and unrelated. |
| Stay yours for as long as you renew it. | Survive a missed renewal, or the cancellation of the ABN behind it. |
If the name matters commercially — it is on your van, your packaging or your app — the protection you are looking for is a trade mark, registered separately with IP Australia. A registered business name will not stop a competitor trade-marking the same words and then telling you to stop using them.
Check the name before you commit to it
Do all four of these before you print anything. They take about ten minutes together, and each one has stopped someone rebranding six months in:
- ASIC's business names register — is it already registered, or so close to an existing name that ASIC will treat it as identical? ASIC ignores things like spacing, "the", "&" versus "and", and legal suffixes when deciding whether two names clash.
- ASIC's company register — a registered company name blocks a matching business name too.
- Australian Trade Mark Search at IP Australia — an existing trade mark in your class is the one that can actually force you to stop trading under the name.
- Domain and social handles — a .com.au requires an ABN, so check it is free at the same time you check the name.
ASIC will also refuse names that are restricted or undesirable — words implying a connection you do not have ("bank", "university", "Royal", "Incorporated", "Trust"), offensive language, or anything suggesting government endorsement. Some of these can be used with ministerial consent, which is a process, not a formality.
How to register, step by step
- Get your ABN first. The form asks for it. If your ABN application is still being processed you can use the reference number, but it is simpler to wait — see how to get an ABN.
- Set up a myGovID and link it to your ABN in Relationship Authorisation Manager, so ASIC Connect knows you are entitled to act for the business.
- Search the name in ASIC Connect and confirm it is available. The system tells you immediately if it clashes.
- Choose one year or three years. Three years costs less per year and saves you a renewal you might forget. ASIC indexes both fees annually, so take the amount from asic.gov.au on the day.
- Enter the holder details — the ABN holder is the registered holder, which for a sole trader is you personally, and for a company is the company.
- Pay and submit. Registration is usually immediate; you get a record of registration and the name appears on the public register.
There are commercial services that will do this for you for a markup. They are not necessary. ASIC Connect is the same form, at the ASIC fee.
Keeping it, and losing it
- Renew on time. ASIC sends a renewal notice before expiry. Miss it and the name is cancelled — and once cancelled, anyone can register it. This is the single most common way a small business loses a name it has used for years.
- Keep your details current. Address and contact changes have to be notified to ASIC, and the ABN behind the name has to stay active. Cancel the ABN and the business name goes with it.
- Transferring a name is possible but it is a two-step process — the current holder consents and cancels, the new holder registers. Build the timing into any sale of the business.
Business name, trading name, company name
Three phrases people use interchangeably that mean different things:
- Business name — a name registered with ASIC under which an ABN holder trades. National, since 2012.
- Trading name — the informal term for whatever you call yourself. Before the national register existed, trading names were recorded separately and shown on ABN Lookup; that arrangement has been wound back, so check your own ABN on ABN Lookup and register anything you rely on properly.
- Company name — the legal name of a registered company, ending in Pty Ltd or Limited. Registered with ASIC at the same time as the company, and it is the entity's actual name rather than a name it trades under.
Whichever you use, your ABN still has to appear on your invoices — a business name is not a substitute for it. See how to invoice with GST for what a valid tax invoice must show.
Related reading
- How to start a business in Australia — where this step sits in the order
- How to get an ABN — the registration this one depends on
- ABN vs ACN — how a company name differs again
- Sole trader, partnership, company or trust? — who the registered holder will be
Frequently asked questions
ASIC charges one fee for a one-year registration and a lower per-year fee for three years. Both are indexed annually, so check the current amount at asic.gov.au rather than relying on a figure you read somewhere. Registering directly through ASIC Connect costs the ASIC fee and nothing more — commercial filing services add a markup for the same form.
Yes. The ASIC form asks for an ABN, and the ABN holder becomes the registered holder of the name. You can use an ABN application reference number if your application is still in progress, but the simplest order is ABN first, business name second.
Not on the ASIC register — it will refuse a name that is identical or nearly identical to a registered business name or company name, ignoring differences like spacing, punctuation and words such as "the". Outside the register, similar names can and do coexist, which is why a trade mark is the only thing that gives you real exclusivity.
Only in the narrow sense that ASIC will not register the same name to someone else. It gives you no ownership of the words and no right to stop others using them. If the name is commercially important, register a trade mark with IP Australia — that is the right that can be enforced.
ASIC cancels it. Once cancelled the name returns to the pool and anyone may register it, including a competitor. ASIC sends a renewal notice to the address on the register, which is one more reason to keep your contact details current. Choosing the three-year term rather than one year removes two chances to forget.
Sources
Registration requirements, exemptions, restricted words and renewal rules come from ASIC; trade mark protection from IP Australia. ASIC fees are indexed annually — confirm the current amount and the current process at asic.gov.au or ipaustralia.gov.au. Balaana is bookkeeping software, not a legal or tax adviser — this article is general information, not advice about your situation.