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The Masthead · Free checker
Business Name Checker
Describe your business and get name ideas, each with its .com checked live. Pick one and see whether it is free across 21 domain endings, asked directly of each registry from your browser, then open the trade mark searches for the UK, the EU, the US and 80 other offices in one click each.
1 Describe the business
2 Or check a name you already have
Pick a name to check it everywhere.
- Describe the business and get name ideas, each with its .com checked live.
- Pick one and see 21 domain endings, asked directly of each registry.
- Search the trade mark registers for it: the UK, the EU, the US and 80 other offices.
Questions
How do I check if a business name is available?
Check three things: the domain, the trade mark registers, and your company register. This tool does the first live and opens the second for you: the domain is checked with each registry directly, and the trade mark searches open on the USPTO, UK IPO and EUIPO sites and on TMview, which searches more than 80 offices at once. For a company name, check Companies House in the UK or your state’s business register in the US.
Is it safe to search domain names? I heard sites buy them after you search.
The fear is called front-running. Here the check goes from your browser straight to the registry that runs the ending, over RDAP, the protocol that replaced WHOIS. It does not pass through our servers or a registrar’s, so there is nobody in the middle to see the search.
The domain says available. Can I buy it at the normal price?
Usually. “Available” means there is no registration this minute. Some registries keep short or common names as premium or reserved, and only a registrar can quote those, so check the price at checkout.
If the domain is free, is the name free to use?
Not necessarily. Someone can own the trade mark without owning the domain, especially in the same line of business. Run the trade mark searches, and for a name you will build on, consider a clearance search by a trade mark attorney.
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