Shelf company in Poland: How to create and choose a company name?
Creating the business name of a company registered in the National Court Register is subject to specific rules. The company name is a marketing tool, it should be memorable and unique, but it also must contain some required elements. So, how do you create the correct company name and verify if someone else doesn’t use it already?
Rules for creating a company name in Poland
Choosing a company name is an important part of the business registration process. Before the future entrepreneur starts to conquer the market, it must register its company in the National Court Register (KRS), and for this it is necessary to provide the business name.
The name of the company registered in the National Court Register depends on the chosen legal form, so there is no absolute freedom of choice. The main rule is that a business name must include the entity’s legal form at the end of it. The entrepreneur can choose whether provide a full or an abbreviated form.
The following table presents the rules for creating business names and abbreviations for companies and partnerships registered in the National Court Register:
| Full name — rules of creation | Abbreviation |
| General partnership — the business name should include the surnames or business names of all the partners, or the surname or business name of one or more partners with additional designation “spółka jawna” [general partnership], for example “Kowalska spółka jawna” | sp.j.
“Kowalska sp.j.” |
| Professional partnership – the business name must contain the surname of at least one partner with additional designation “spółka partnerska” [professional partnership], “i partner” [and partner] or “i partnerzy” [and partners] e.g. “Radcowie Prawni Kowalska i partnerzy” [Legal advisors Kowalska and partners] | “sp. p.”. |
| Limited partnership — the business name must contain the surname or business name of at least one general partner, the general partner may also be another company, for example “Czarny Kot sp. z o.o. spółka komandytowo-akcyjna”, “IBIT Kowalski spółka komandytowa” | “sp. k.”
“IBIT Kowalski sp. k.”. |
| Limited liability company — the business name does not have to contain the surname of shareholder, but additional designation “spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością” [limited liability company] | “sp. z o.o.” |
| Joint-stock company — the business name does not have to contain any surnames, but additional designation “spółka akcyjna” [joint-stock company] | “S.A.” |
An exception to these rules are business names of:
- entities providing certain services, no entity may use words such as “clinic”, “bank”, “insurance company” in its business name unless it provides such services;
- entities after conversion, in such entities, for at least one year after conversion, when providing the new business name, in brackets should also be given the previous business name with additional designation “dawniej” [formerly], for example “Biały Kot sp.p. (dawniej Czarny Kot sp.j.)”;
- entities after death of a partner, in such entities, after the death of a partner whose name appeared in the business name, the name of the deceased partner may only be retained in the business name with the consent of the deceased’s family.
Availability of company name in Poland — how to avoid possible violation of rights?
When choosing a company name, you should also check its availability, i.e. verify whether the name is no longer used by another entity and whether it is not a registered trademark. According to Article 433 of the Civil Code — “The entrepreneur’s business name should differ sufficiently from the business names of other entrepreneurs conducting activity on the same market.”.
Using a unique name will not only allow to avoid possible disputes or legal objections from competitors, but also to stand out on the market and attract interest of customers, as well as speed up the registration process.
Verify the uniqueness of the business name by:
- using the search engine of the National Court Register (you can easily search for entities by name, locality, NIP number, REGON and KRS, but remember to tick “Przedsiębiorcy” [Entrepreneurs] box before entering data);
- checking the list of VAT payers (entities can also be searched by name);
- verifying whether the company has a domain name on the Internet;
- checking the Patent Office search engine whether a given name is not a registered trademark.
Ready-to-sale companies in Poland — change of business name
Ready-to-sale companies are a good alternative to registration of an entity “from scratch”. The future entrepreneur will save time and money, and when buying a ready-made company, it can easily and quickly change its business name to the chosen one, of course having regard to the rules of company naming described above.
In addition, when creating a new unique name of a ready-to-sale company, it is worth trying several proven ways of naming. By creating a company name, for example, you can:
- look for associations with the company’s activities,
- use brainstorming (the more people, the better),
- appeal to word formation and let your creativity run free,
- use a business name generator, for example, Business Name Generator,
- ask for the help of specialists,
- appeal to emotions, benefits of the conducted activity for the recipients,
- try to convey the company’s key intentions.
When choosing a company name, before the final decision, it is worth checking the reactions of potential recipients, whether they react positively, whether the name is easily memorable, whether it is easy to pronounce in any language (important when entering foreign markets), whether it is short but well thought through. For a good name of the company is an important element of its image and marketing strategy.
We encourage you to get to know our offer of ready-to-sale companies: Choose a package
