Register your business name with the right checks upfront

The main risk is assuming that a name being available to register means it is safe to use in the market. A proposed name can still create legal or commercial issues if it is misleading, too close to an existing brand, or likely to confuse customers. There is also an important difference between registering a business name and securing stronger brand protection. This service includes legal checks around availability and naming concerns, plus advice on whether a separate trade mark step may be worth considering before you invest in branding, domains or marketing.

It is commonly used by founders launching a new venture, existing businesses adopting a new trading identity, and companies entering a new market under a different name. It can also suit businesses that have shortlisted several names and want legal input before committing to signage, packaging, websites or advertising. If you only need a basic filing, a simpler option may be enough. If you want support on the name itself, the registration process, and the practical legal risks around using that name, this broader service is usually the better fit.

No. Registering a business name is not the same as getting exclusive trade mark rights. It may allow you to trade under that name, but it does not automatically stop another business from using similar branding in every context. That distinction matters if the name is central to your brand, product range or expansion plans. As part of this service, we can explain the practical difference between business name registration and trade mark protection, and help you decide whether a separate trade mark application is the sensible next step.

After registration, the next practical steps usually include using the name consistently across your website, contracts, invoices, marketing materials and business records where relevant. You may also want to secure matching domain names, social handles and consider trade mark protection if the brand has long-term value. Those follow-up actions matter because the legal position often depends on how the business actually uses the name in practice. This service can help you understand the immediate next steps, but broader brand protection work would usually be handled separately.

The fixed-fee usually includes a lawyer review of your proposed name, checks on availability and naming issues, preparation of the application, and online submission support. It also covers advice on what business name registration does and does not give you, including where clients often confuse it with trade mark protection. It can reduce avoidable risk by making the key legal issues clearer, but the outcome still depends on how the documents and processes are used in practice. Separate trade mark registration, ongoing representation, technical implementation and security remediation are not included unless separately scoped.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Business Name service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.