Company name
Certain rules must be obeyed when looking for a suitable company name. A name and any additional elements (business or brand name, indication of the nature of the business) can only be registered as a company name if they are not misleading. Entrepreneurs or their legal representatives must also check the similarity with other trade names or signs, for example by searching the trade mark register, companies register, telephone books or the internet (domain name search).
Caution
In general, these rules also apply to entrepreneurs from EU Member States in Austria.
The minimum statutory requirements for company names are:
- Partnerships
- Corporations
We recommend seeking the opinion of the competent Austrian Federal Economic Chamber regarding the company name. Presenting this opinion when applying for registration in the companies register can speed up the registration process before the courts.
The forms for this must be requested from the competent economic chamber, completed and returned to it.
Tip
You can visit the portal of the Austrian Economic Chambers or arrange a personal meeting with one of its start-up advisors to obtain advice about choosing a company name.
Further links
- Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (→ WKO)German text
- Choosing a company name (→ WKO)German text
Legal basis
Sections 17 to 21 of the Unternehmensgesetzbuch (UGB)
- USP Editorial Staff
- Federal Ministry of Justice
