Business name registration smart form

Welcome to the business name registration smart form service. This service allows you to lodge a business name registration application online.

Before lodging a business name registration application through our smart form service, we recommend that you first try to lodge your application through our new and preferred online service, ASIC Connect. By using ASIC Connect to lodge your application, in most cases you will receive confirmation of your registration straight away. You can also pay online and search ASIC's national registers. Benefits of registering a business name through ASIC Connect:  The easiest and quickest way to lodge and receive confirmation of your business name registration.  In most cases, you will receive confirmation of your registration straight away.  You can pay the registration fee online using a credit card (Visa or MasterCard only) or choose to pay later.  More help information and quick links are available on ASIC Connect, making it easier to find the information you want.  Check name availability is part of the ASIC Connect business registration application

If you are unable to lodge your business name registration application through ASIC Connect, you can still lodge online using our smart form service. Please note, once you complete a business name registration application using the smart form service, it will be sent to ASIC for manual processing. ASIC will assess your application and contact you shortly to notify you of the outcome of your application.

ASIC will not request payment for business name registration applications lodged through the smart form service until we have assessed the application and a decision to register the business name has been made.

If your application is successful we will send you an invoice requesting payment, which must be paid within the fee payment period. To lodge a business name registration application through our smart form service, select 'Smart form business name registration application'.

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What is a business name?

A business name is the name or title under which a person or entity conducts a business.
Once registered, the business name appears on the public register so people can identify the individual, company, registered body or other entity that is carrying on business under the name.

Registering a business name?

Generally, you need to have an Australian Business Number (ABN) to apply to register a business name. If you have applied for an ABN but are still waiting to receive it, you can apply for a business name using your ABN application reference number; however, your business name will not be registered until you receive your ABN. Once you have your ABN, you can easily submit an application for business name registration using our online services.

If your business name registration is successful, some information about your business name will be available to the public via the public register. This includes the business name, the ABN, the period of registration and certain details about the business name holder (such as principal place of business and address for service of documents).

Should I register a business name?

If you carry on business or trade within Australia you must register your business name unless you trade under:
   - your own individual name
   - all of the individual names of the partners in a partnership, or
   - a company or registered body name.

If you are not sure whether you need to register a business name, or need help to choose the right structure for your business, you can see more information here. You may also wish to obtain advice from a professional adviser such as a lawyer or accountant or access free information for small business: Learn more about business names.

Is my business name available for registration?

You can see if a name is available by performing a Check Name Availability search which will compare your name against an index of Australian corporate and registered business names.

You should also consider existing trademarks and the availability of a domain name, as it can be very expensive to change once your business is established. You can check this by performing a search with IP Australia.