Registration
Registration
How do I register a business name?
You can now register a national business name using ASIC Connect, our online service portal. The process takes an average of 15-20 minutes to complete, and in most cases you’ll receive instant confirmation of your registration, if your application is successful. You will need to sign up for an ASIC Connect account to begin. See more information on registering a business name.
I’m not getting a result for my check name availability search. What should I do?
If ASIC Connect doesn’t give a result for your check name availability search, try the following:
- clear the check name availability field and enter your proposed business name again
- go back to the previous screen then proceed through to check name availability again, and/or
- go back to the home page and restart the transaction.
If you still do not receive a search result, and you wish to proceed with applying to register this business name, you can contact us.
Invalid characters in proposed business name
If your proposed business name contains invalid characters, you may be unable to submit it during an application to register a business name or a check name availability search. You will need to try a different name. You may also wish to view our list of valid characters.
I applied to register my company name as a business name and was told it is unavailable. Why?
The name is treated as unavailable to register because it is already registered as a company name. If you wish to register the business name, you can request a review. Select the transaction in the transactions list, then ‘other notifications’. Select ‘request a review of an ASIC decision’. Generally, if you are applying to register the business name using the company’s ABN, we will proceed with the registration of the name.
Once we bring our companies register into ASIC Connect, you will be able to register your company name as a business name online straightaway.
The review screen for my business name registration says my proposed business name may not be available as it is unknown to ASIC, but it only contains common words. What does this mean?
Your proposed business name may be unavailable – and therefore require manual review by an ASIC staff member – for a range of reasons. The reasons for this may include:
- the name contains words unknown to ASIC
- the name contains an undesirable word or expression, or
- the name contains a restricted word.
All of these will be taken into consideration during the review of your proposed business name. We are working to update the results you receive when you complete an application to register a business name, so you can get a better understanding of the reason for our review.
I received a ‘green’ result in my check name availability search, but the exact name appears in the similar names list. Can I register the name?
If you get a green result for a check name availability search, but the exact name appears in the similar names list, this may be a former name that is no longer registered.
You can still apply to register this name – you should rely on the green result provided.
The result for my proposed business name was ‘amber’, and the on-screen message said my name will be referred for manual review. But the background on the screen was green. What does this mean?
You should always rely on the written words on screen for your result. In this instance, the result would be ‘amber’ and your proposed business name will be referred for manual review by an ASIC staff member.
I received an email overnight confirming the registration of my business name, but no record of registration. How can I get a copy of this?
We will email your record of registration separately. This feature will be changed in the near future to allow both messages to be issued together.
How can I register a cancelled business name with a consent to transfer number?
ASIC Connect will not allow you to submit a registration application using a consent to transfer number until after the cancellation has taken effect, 28 days after the request to cancel was lodged.
If you wish to submit your application earlier than this and obtain evidence of your application, contact us.
This feature will be modified in coming weeks to enable the application for registration to be submitted before the cancellation takes effect.
Formatting of record of registration and other notices
During the first few weeks of our national business names service, you may notice some inconsistencies and other issues in the formatting of notices we send you, including the record of registration. This may include such issues as incorrect text spacing and alignment.
We are aware of these issues and are working to correct them, and we ask that you bear with us during this time of transition.
I paid my business name registration fee and received a receipt, then the system took me back to payment page. Do I need to enter my payment details again?
If you received a receipt number, your payment has been submitted. You do not need to enter your payment details again. If you submitted these details twice, the payment may be processed twice. Please contact us and we will refund the second payment. We are working to correct this issue as a high priority.
You can check the status of any transaction by going to myTransactions in ASIC Connect.
I entered my address details, then they appeared incorrectly on the next screen. Why?
This may be due to an address validation issue. You will need to go back and re-enter your address details before proceeding. We are working to resolve this issue.
I received a blank email from ASIC. Why, and what should I do?
If you have received a blank email from us, this may be due to a system compatibility issue. We are working to fix this issue as a high priority. If you have an ASIC Connect account, you can log in and view your message under ‘myMessages’. Otherwise, you can contact us.
I completed the 'Declare' step of my registration application and I am having difficulty resuming the transaction
We have detected a small group of customers who have completed their declaration, but have not been able to resume their transaction and pay for their business name. If you are one of these customers, you will receive an email from us containing an invoice for the business name within the next 24 – 48 hours. We apologise for the delay you have experienced.
A fix to ensure that this error does not occur again will be made within the next 2 -3 weeks.
I am stuck before the 'Declare' step and cannot resume my transaction
A small number of customers have been identified whose transactions have become stuck prior to the declaration step. We will be contacting these customers over the next three days to confirm whether they wish to continue with their application. We will then issue an invoice to pay for the business name.
I have paid for my business name but have not received my Record of Registration?
If you selected 'Pay now' and paid for your business name on-line using a credit card, you should receive an email containing a link to your Record of Registration within 48 hours of completing your transaction. If you have not received your Record of Registration, please contact us with your transaction reference number and email address, and we will re-issue it to you.
If you selected 'Pay later' and paid for your business name using BPAY, you should receive an email containing a link to your Record of Registration within 48 hours of ASIC receiving your BPAY payment. BPAY payments can take up to 3 business days to be received by ASIC. We will issue your Record of Registration within 48 hours from receiving your BPAY payment. If you have not received your Record of Registration within these time frames, please contact us with your transaction reference number and email address, and we will re-issue it to you.
I have tried again, but I am still having trouble.
If you have read the troubleshooting information and are still experiencing difficulty in registering a business name, please contact us with your transaction reference number and your contact email address. This will enable us to provide you with escalated assistance if you need to urgently register a business name. It will also assist us in investigating the underlying cause of the error.
We are committed to assisting you as quickly as we can, but we may need to investigate your individual transaction to determine that cause. We appreciate your patience and feedback while we identify and rectify these issues to ensure they do not occur again in future.