Business Names Act 1985
| Year | 1985 |
Business Names Act 1985
1985 CHAPTER 7
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the names under which persons may carry on business in Great Britain.
[11th March 1985]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Persons subject to this Act.
(1) This Act applies to any person who has a place of business in Great Britain and who carries on business in Great Britain under a name which—
(a ) in the case of a partnership, does not consist of the surnames of all partners who are individuals and the corporate names of all partners who are bodies corporate without any addition other than an addition permitted by this Act;
(b ) in the case of an individual, does not consist of his surname without any addition other than one so permitted;
(c ) in the case of a company, being a company which is capable of being wound up under the Companies Act 1985 , does not consist of its corporate name without any addition other than one so permitted.
(2) The following are permitted additions for the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a ) in the case of a partnership, the forenames of individual partners or the initials of those forenames or, where two or more individual partners have the same surname, the addition of ‘s’ at the end of that surname; or
(b ) in the case of an individual, his forename or its initial;
(c ) in any case, any addition merely indicating that the business is carried on in succession to a former owner of the business.
2 Prohibition of use of certain business names.
(1) Subject to the following subsections, a person to whom this Act applies shall not, without the written approval of the Secretary of State, carry on business in Great Britain under a name which—
(a ) would be likely to give the impression that the business is connected with Her Majesty's Government or with any local authority; or
(b ) includes any word or expression for the time being specified in regulations made under this Act.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the carrying on of a business by a person—
(a ) to whom the business has been transferred on or after 26th February 1982; and
(b ) who carries on the business under the name which was its lawful business name immediately before that transfer,
during the period of 12 months beginning with the date of that transfer.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to the carrying on of a business by a person who—
(a ) carried on that business immediately before 26th February 1982; and
(b ) continues to carry it on under the name which immediately before that date was its lawful business name.
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.
3 Words and expressions requiring Secretary of State's approval.
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations—
(a ) specify words or expressions for the use of which as or as part of a business name his approval is required by section 2(1)(b ); and
(b ) in relation to any such word or expression, specify a Government department or other body as the relevant body for purposes of the following subsection.
(2) Where a person to whom this Act applies proposes to carry on a business under a name which is or includes any such word or expression, and a Government department or other body is specified under subsection (1)(b ) in relation to that word or expression, that person shall—
(a ) request (in writing) the relevant body to indicate whether (and if so why) it has any objections to the proposal; and
(b ) submit to the Secretary of State a statement that such a request has been made and a copy of any response received from the relevant body.
4 Disclosure required of persons using business names.
(1) A person to whom this Act applies shall—
(a ) subject to subsection (3), state in legible characters on all business letters, written orders for goods or services to be supplied to the business, invoices and receipts issued in the course of the business and written demands for payment of debts arising in the course of the business—
(i) in the case of a partnership, the name of each partner,
(ii) in the case of an individual, his name,
(iii) in the case of a company, its corporate name, and
(iv) in relation to each person so named, an address in Great Britain at which service of any document relating in any way to the business will be effective; and
(b ) in any premises where the business is carried on and to which the customers of the business or suppliers of any goods or services to the business have access, display in a prominent position so that it may easily be read by such customers or suppliers a notice containing such names and addresses.
(2) A person to whom this Act applies shall secure that the names and addresses required by subsection (1)(a ) to be stated on his business letters, or which would have been so required but for the subsection next following, are immediately given, by written notice to any person with whom anything is done or discussed in the course of the business and who asks for such names and addresses.
(3) Subsection (1)(a ) does not apply in relation to any document issued by a partnership of more than 20 persons which maintains at its principal...
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