- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Companies Act 2006
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
Changes over time for: Section 69
Alternative versions:
Changes to legislation:
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Companies Act 2006, Section 69.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
69Objection to company's registered nameU.K.
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)A person (“the applicant”) may object to a company's registered name on the ground—
(a)that it is the same as a name associated with the applicant in which he has goodwill, or
(b)that it is sufficiently similar to such a name that its use in the United Kingdom [F1or elsewhere] would be likely to mislead [F2members of the public in the United Kingdom or elsewhere] by suggesting a connection between the company and the applicant.
(2)The objection must be made by application to a company names adjudicator (see section 70).
(3)The company concerned shall be the primary respondent to the application.
[F3Any of the following may be joined as respondents—
(a)any member or person who was a member at the time at which the name was registered;
(b)any director or person who was a director at the time at which the name was registered.]
(4)If the ground specified in subsection (1)(a) or (b) is established, it is for the respondents to show—
(a)that the name was registered before the commencement of the activities on which the applicant relies to show goodwill; or
F4(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c)that the name was registered in the ordinary course of a company formation business and the company is available for sale to the applicant on the standard terms of that business; or
(d)that the name was adopted in good faith; or
(e)that the interests of the applicant are not adversely affected to any significant extent.
If none of those is shown, the objection shall be upheld.
(5)If the facts mentioned in subsection (4)(a) F5... or (c) are established, the objection shall nevertheless be upheld if the applicant shows that the main purpose of the respondents (or any of them) in registering the name was to obtain money (or other consideration) from the applicant or prevent him from registering the name.
(6)If the objection is not upheld under subsection (4) or (5), it shall be dismissed.
(7)In this section “goodwill” includes reputation of any description.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 69(1)(b) inserted (26.10.2023 for specified purposes, 4.3.2024 in so far as not already in force) by Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56), ss. 15(2)(a), 219(1)(2)(b); S.I. 2024/269, reg. 2(k)
F2Words in s. 69(1)(b) inserted (26.10.2023 for specified purposes, 4.3.2024 in so far as not already in force) by Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56), ss. 15(2)(b), 219(1)(2)(b); S.I. 2024/269, reg. 2(k)
F3Words in s. 69(3) substituted (26.10.2023 for specified purposes, 4.3.2024 in so far as not already in force) by Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56), ss. 15(3), 219(1)(2)(b); S.I. 2024/269, reg. 2(k)
F4S. 69(4)(b) omitted (26.10.2023 for specified purposes, 4.3.2024 in so far as not already in force) by virtue of Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56), ss. 15(4), 219(1)(2)(b); S.I. 2024/269, reg. 2(k)
F5Word in s. 69(5) omitted (26.10.2023 for specified purposes, 4.3.2024 in so far as not already in force) by virtue of Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56), ss. 15(5), 219(1)(2)(b); S.I. 2024/269, reg. 2(k)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Ss. 69-74 applied (with modifications) (1.10.2009) by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/1804), regs. 2, 12 (as amended (4.3.2024) by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Company Law) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/234), regs. 1(2), 10(2); S.I. 2024/269, reg. 2(a))
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Chapter
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
You have chosen to open The Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules as a PDF
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act without Schedules
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open Schedules only
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.