Business name search
Check a name against recent Australian registrations and against the national register at the same time. Free, and no sign-up.
Before you register a name
This search tells you what already exists. It cannot tell you what ASIC will let you register — that also depends on names similar enough to be refused, on restricted words, and on trade marks held by IP Australia. Treat a clear result here as a reason to keep going, not as a clearance.
If you are checking a name because a business you are dealing with gave it to you, the ABN lookup is the better tool: it confirms the entity behind the name and whether its ABN is still active.
Questions
Does a clear result mean the name is available?
No, and no free tool can tell you that. This shows what is already registered. Availability also depends on trade marks held by IP Australia, on names close enough to an existing one that ASIC will refuse yours, and on ASIC's own rules about restricted words. Search here first, then check availability with ASIC before you commit.
What is the difference between the two sets of results?
The first is drawn from the registrations we hold, so it leans recent and tells you the industry we put each business in. The second is the Australian Business Register's own name index, which covers every name recorded against an ABN however long ago. A name can be absent from the first and present in the second.
Why is there no readiness score on these results?
The score is what subscribers pay for. Everything else shown here is published by ASIC or the ABR and is free to anyone; the score is the one field that is ours. You can see scores on the browse screen, five at a time, on the free plan.
Can I use this to build a list of new businesses?
Not really, and that is deliberate. This tool needs a search term, returns at most twenty rows, and has no filters for industry, state or date. Getting a filtered list of new registrations is the paid product.
How recent is the recently-registered data?
ASIC publishes the business names register weekly, typically on Wednesdays. A new business shows up within days to a week of registering. We do not claim a same-day feed, because the source data does not support one.
My business is listed and I would rather it were not.
Use the removal form and we will suppress it across the product within 48 hours, then confirm by email. Note that this removes it from us, not from ASIC's public register, which we have no control over.