Companies Weekly is a series of articles in which we enlighten interested persons in all matters relating to company law in Zimbabwe and the associated procedures in the Companies Office. In this week’s update, we focus on how to choose a company name. Often times various names have been rejected for reservation without sufficient explanation from the Companies Office. We address some of the probable reasons hereunder;

What to consider when choosing a name
• No name shall be reserved and no company shall be registered by a name which is identical with that for which a reservation is current or with that of a registered company or a registered foreign company or a private business corporation.

• The Registrar may, unless otherwise ordered by the Minister, refuse to register a company by a name which in his opinion is likely to mislead the public or to cause offense to any person or class of persons or is suggestive of blasphemy or indecency or which he considers to be undesirable for any other reason.

• No company shall be registered by a name that includes specified words or words which import or suggest that it enjoys the patronage of a particular person, government, or authority, for instance, Zimbabwe Medical Distributors (Private) Limited.

The name search process and requirements
• Name reservation is done online upon payment.
• A list of suggested 5 names has to be provided in their order of preference.
• The process of company name search takes 2 days upon payment. However, this is subject to the backlog in the Companies’ Office
• Once the name search has been processed a CV4 is issued confirming the name that would have been reserved or rejected.
• A successful reservation is valid for a period of up to 30 days.
Understanding these guidelines and applying them increases the chance of your proposed names being accepted by the registrar for reservation and registration.
In the next update of Companies Weekly, we shall advise on the different types of companies and their respective nature.