Before one even begins, you will need to have 5 or 6 proposed names in mind for your business. The reason you need to submit a few names, is because CIPRO will put th names through a validation process, basically testing each name to ensure that it does not conflict with any other registered cc.
Basically they are looking to prevent two business having the same, or even very similar names. This reason for this is fairly obvious - you can't have two businesses or brand names out there with the same names. This will cause a considerable amount of confusion in the market place.
Now, it is important to keep in mind that some kind of names are not appropriate for use. Business names containing the words "global" or "worldwide" will need to be validated to make sure that the business will indeed have a "global" or "worldwide" reach.
When submitting your proposed business names you should also avoid making use of words such as "incorporated" etc. When thinking of names, try to be as descriptive of the nature of your business as possible. The more descriptive the name is, the better your chances of getting an approval without too much fuss.
The CIPRO website does have a tool which may help you identify a potential or identical conflict, BUT this is not an exhaustive, which basically means that the final say will lie with the registrar after you have submitted your names for processing.
Checking Name Availability
To check whether your proposed business name may be in conflict with another registered business, simply go to:
http://www.cipro.co.za/products_services/search.asp
This link will take you directly to the CIPRO website, where you can select one of the three options displayed to do a search. Search option 1 will only return exact name matches, so this will be a good place to start. Option 2 will not be applicable for this search, so we will not elaborate on option 2.
You may also use option 3 which may prove less useful, as this option will check for similar names, but it will not really tell you much in terms of name availability. If option 1 does not return an exact conflict with your proposed business name(s), then the best thing to do is to then go ahead and start the registration process of your close corporation by submitting your 5 or 6 proposed names to the registrar for processing. This can be done electronically through CIPRO's website, and our next section will show you how to do exactly that.
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