LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) Name Guidelines

LLP Name approval and allotment process in India is administered by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) as per the LLP Name Availability Guidelines issued under Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008.

‘LLP Name’ is the name by which a registered LLP is being identified. Generally, name of the LLP depicts its Trade Name or Brand Name along with its main activities.

The LLP Name SHOULD

• Be unique
• Contain a noun and an activity word that reflects its objectives
• Be in line with LLP Name Guidelines issued by Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

The LLP Name SHOULD NOT

• Be same, similar, identical or resembling to the name of an existing Company or LLP registered. Phonetically similar names also to be avoided.
• Be similar of a registered trade mark or a trade mark for which an application has already been filed
• Be Offensive
• Be Undesirable in the opinion of the Central Government (Undesirability of names explained separately

LLP name approval and allotment process in India is administered by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) as per the Limited Liability Partnership Rules 2009.

A name shall not be allotted to an LLP if;

1. It includes any word or words which are offensive to any section of the people;
2. the proposed name is the exact Hindi or English translation of the name of an existing limited liability partnership in English or Hindi, as the case may be;
3. the proposed name has a close phonetic resemblance to the name of a LLP in existence, for example, J.K. LLP., Jay Kay LLP;
4. it includes the word Co-operative, Sahakari or the equivalent of word 'co- operative' in the regional languages of the country;
5. it connotes the participation or patronage of the Central or State Government, unless circumstances justify to, e.g., a name may be deemed undesirable in certain context if it includes any of the words such as National, Union, Central, Federal, Republic, President, Rashtrapati, etc;
6. the proposed name contains the words 'British India';
7. the proposed name implies association or connection with any Embassy or Consulate or of a foreign government which suggests connection with local authorities such as Municipal, Panchayat, Zila Parishad or any other body connected with the Union or State Government;
8. the proposed name is vague like D.I.M.O. Limited liability partnership or I.V.N.R. Limited liability partnership or S.S.R.P Limited liability partnership;\
9. it is different from the name or names of the existing limited liability partnership only to the extent of having the name of a place within brackets before the word ‘limited liability partnership’, for example, Indian Press (Delhi) LLP should not be allowed in view of the existence of the LLP named Indian Press LLP;
10. it includes name of registered Trade mark, unless the consent of the owner of the trade mark has been produced;
11. the proposed name is identical with or too nearly resembles the name of a firm or LLP or company incorporated outside India and reserved by such firm, LLP or company with the registrar in accordance with these rules;
12. it is identical with or too nearly resembles the name of the limited liability partnership or a company in liquidation or it is identical with or too nearly resembles names of the LLP or a company which is struck off, up to the period of 5 years;
13. it includes words like 'Bank', 'Insurance' and 'Banking', ‘Venture capital’ or ‘mutual fund’ or such similar names without the approval of the regulatory authority;
14. it is intended or likely to produce a misleading impression regarding the scope or scale of its activities which would be beyond the resources at its disposal;
15. the proposed name includes words like French, British, German etc., unless the partners satisfy that there is some form of collaboration and connection with the foreigners of that particular country or place, the name of which is incorporated in the name;
16. the proposed name of limited liability partnership includes the words company secretary, chartered accountant, advocates or such similar words as indicative of a profession, as part of the proposed name, the same shall be allowed only after obtaining approval from the Council governing such profession or such authority as may be nominated by the Central Government, in this behalf.

Reservation of Name by Foreign LLP

A foreign LLP or a foreign company can reserve its existing name (by which it is registered in the country of incorporation) for registering an LLP in India. Such reservation can be made initially for three years and can be renewed on a fresh application.