Choosing a company name is not easy. When registering a new company you can choose both its legal form – LTD, JSC (ООД, АД, ЕООД, ЕАД) and its name. A prerequisite for the registration of a new company is its unique name. In practice, the term “company” is associated with the registered office (address) of the company rather than its name. Legally, however, this is not the case. In fact, the term “Company” means the name under which a business operates.
What could be the name?
When choosing a company name, regardless of the form, you can be guided by the following:
- The name could be the scope of business (activity) of your future company with an addition of your choice;
- every company name must correspond to the truth and to the moral foundations of the society and must not be misleading;
- the name of the company must be written in Bulgarian, and the transliteration in another language is optional;
- the company name cannot be identical or similar to a trademark.
Your company name may also contain numbers (such as date of birth or year of establishment) and punctuation (such as “.com”). That is why it is possible to have two companies existing simultaneously with the name “Business Services” Ltd. and “Business Services 2017” Ltd. They will be perceived as completely different companies and each of them will operate on the Bulgarian market independently.
What should the name include?
When registering a new company, some mandatory legal requirements must be observed. For example, when registering a new sole proprietor (ET), the name must include a personal and family name or a personal and paternal name, without abbreviations. At the request of the proprietor additions to the name can be made. The interesting thing here is that the ownership over the company of ET is transferred only with its enterprise. You will find more information about these legal forms in one of the following articles.
If a new limited liability company (LTD – OOD) is established, the name is chosen at the discretion of the shareholders in it, but it must contain the designation “limited liability company” or abbreviated “Ltd./ OOD”. If the company is established by one person, then the designation “EOOD” is added for a single-member limited liability company.
When establishing a new joint stock company (AD), the name is chosen at the discretion of the shareholders, but it must contain the designation “joint stock company” or abbreviated “AD”.
One of the less common forms of a business company is a general partnership (SD). In this form, partners are two or more persons who are jointly and severally liable for the obligations of the company. The name of the general partnership consists of the surnames or companies of the partners, as well as the indication “general partnership” or abbreviated “SD”.
Reservation of company name
On the official website of the Commercial Register and NGO register you can check if the name you have chosen for your company is free. The Bulgarian Commercial Register makes it possible to reserve a company name before it is registered. You can refer to the List of reserved company names. The reservation of a company name is done with a separate application form. A state fee of BGN 40 is paid. This guarantees that the name you have chosen will not be taken by someone else for a period of 6 months. If you need help choosing a name for your company, you can contact our team!
Name change
No matter what name is chosen for the new company, it may be changed later. Of course, the new name must meet the above requirements. The change of name is done by submitting an application for change of circumstance to the Commercial Register and the NGO Register. To successfully change the name of your company, you must also submit the following documents:
- resolution of the General Meeting or the sole owner of capital;
- Declaration forms;
- Receipt for paid state fees;
- Power of attorney if the change is made by an authorized representative
