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Seychelles Company Name Rules and Why Names Get Rejected
Seychelles company name rules: the required endings, 14 banned words, 30 words that need the Registrar's consent, and how the 30-day name reservation works.
Licensed auditor & chartered accountant · 6 years of experience in offshore accounting
The Registrar checks every proposed company name against the IBC Act, and a rejected one means choosing a new name before the company can be registered. The rules sit in Part III and the Third and Fourth Schedules of the International Business Companies Act 2016. In this post, we’ll walk you through all of them: the required endings, the banned and consent-only words, names in other languages, and how the name check and reservation work.
Quick Summary
A standard Seychelles IBC name must end in Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Company or Limited Liability Company, or the short form Ltd, Corp, Inc, Co or LLC.
14 words are banned outright, including Bank, Royal, Government and Police, along with any word of similar meaning.
30 more words, including Seychelles, Fund, Trust, Foundation, Insurance and Securities, need prior written consent from the Registrar, and sometimes another regulator, before they can be used.
The Registrar refuses names that copy or closely resemble an existing company, suggest a government link, or are offensive or misleading.
A name can be in any language with a certified English or French translation, and an English or French name can add a second name in foreign characters.
A licensed provider can reserve a name for 30 days, but registering a name gives the company no trademark rights over it.
Required Endings: Ltd, Inc, Corp, LLC and Co
Section 25 of the International Business Companies Act 2016 requires a standard company name to end with a word or abbreviation that signals limited liability. You can use the full word or the short form, and the company is legally known by either.
Full word | Short form |
|---|---|
Limited | Ltd |
Corporation | Corp |
Incorporated | Inc |
Company | Co |
Limited Liability Company | LLC |
A full stop is allowed after Ltd, Corp, Inc and LLC, as in Ltd. or Inc. Two specialist company types have their own endings: a protected cell company ends in Protected Cell Company or PCC, and a private trust company ends in Private Trust Company or PTC.
14 Words You Cannot Use in a Seychelles Company Name
Part I of the Third Schedule lists words that are prohibited under section 26(c). No consent unlocks them, and the ban extends to any word or abbreviation with a similar meaning.
Area | Banned words |
|---|---|
Finance | Bank, Building Society, Credit Union, Stock Exchange |
Government and public office | Government, Licensing, Municipal, Parliament, Police, Tribunal |
Status and associations | Chamber of Commerce, Chartered, Cooperative, Royal |
That rules out names like Pacific Bank Ltd or Royal Holdings Inc from the start, whatever the company plans to do.
30 Words That Need the Registrar’s Consent
Part II of the Third Schedule lists restricted words. Under section 26(d), a name can include one only with the Registrar’s prior written consent, plus the consent of any other regulator that Seychelles law requires. The Registrar can also add words to the list through guidelines.
Area | Restricted words |
|---|---|
Finance and insurance | Assurance, Bitcoin, Bureau de Change, Fund, Insurance, Insurer, Mutual Fund, Reinsurance, Securities |
Gambling | Casino, Gambling, Gaming, Lottery |
Trusts and charities | Charity, Foundation, Trust, Trustee |
Education and health | College, Hospital, Pharmacy, Polytechnic, School, University |
Public bodies | Council, Military, Sovereign, State, Union |
Other | Airline, Seychelles |
Most of the finance and gambling words match activities restricted for a Seychelles IBC, so use them only when the company is licensed for that activity where it operates. Seychelles is on the list too: a name like Seychelles Holdings Ltd needs consent, and a name without it skips that step.
Why the Registrar Rejects a Name
Beyond the two word lists, section 26 gives the Registrar four grounds to refuse a name. A name is rejected if it:
is identical to the name of a company already registered under the IBC Act or the Companies Act, which covers domestic Seychelles companies
is so similar to an existing IBC’s name that it is likely to confuse or mislead
suggests a connection with the Government of Seychelles or the government of any other country
is offensive, misleading, objectionable or contrary to public policy or the public interest
Similarity is the Registrar’s judgment, so a name one letter away from an existing company is a real risk. A rejected name is also one of the easiest Seychelles company formation mistakes to avoid, as long as every option is checked against these rules before you apply.
Naming a Seychelles Company in Another Language
Section 28 and the Fourth Schedule allow a company name in any language. If the name is not in English or French, a translation certified by an acceptable translator or by the company’s registered agent must be filed, and the Registrar prints both the name and its translation on the certificate of incorporation.
A company with an English or French name can also register an additional foreign character name, for example in Chinese characters, at incorporation or later. The same rules on identical and confusingly similar names apply to it. The Registrar can also refuse a foreign character name whose full meaning it cannot understand.
How the Name Check and 30-Day Reservation Work
Under section 29, a reservation request must come from a provider licensed under the International Corporate Service Providers Act. If the name complies, the Registrar holds it for 30 days. The same provider can extend the reservation in further 30-day blocks for a fee, provided it asks within 7 days after the current period expires.
The name check is one of the first steps of Seychelles company formation, so send two or three name options with your KYC documents. Name checks and the 30-day reservation are included in our US$850 all-in formation.
A Registered Company Name Is Not a Trademark
Section 27 says the Registrar does not have to consider trademarks when approving a name, and registering a company name gives the company no rights over it that it would not otherwise have. Another business can hold a trademark on the same words, in Seychelles or anywhere else.
If the name matters to your brand, run a trademark search in the markets where you will trade and register the mark separately.
Changing a Seychelles Company Name Later
A company changes its name by amending its memorandum and articles under section 30. The new name must pass the same section 26 test, and the change takes effect from the date on the certificate of change of name. It does not affect the company’s existing rights, obligations or legal proceedings.
If a name that breaks the rules gets through, section 31 lets the Registrar give written notice, within 2 years of the company taking that name, to change it by a date at least 30 days away. The Registrar can also ask the Court to order a change. Ignoring the notice is an offence with a fine of up to US$10,000, and the Registrar can revoke the name and assign a new one.
