To check if a name is already trademarked in the UK, search the trademark register for your exact name and close variations, and check the class that covers your goods or services. It’s free, and you can do it in seconds — search the UK and EU registers here. Look for identical matches and similar names (spelled or sounding alike) in your field; a name can be free in one industry and taken in another.
Two things trip people up. First, registering your company at Companies House does not protect your brand — that’s a different register, and the IPO doesn’t check it. Second, a clear search isn’t a guarantee — the register doesn’t show every unregistered name with legal protection. Both are covered below.
Search the UK and EU registers — free
Start with the name itself. Our search checks the UK trademark register (national marks, plus international marks that designate the UK) and the EU trademark register at the same time, and returns a plain read on how crowded the name is.
Search a brand name now — free, no signup. Type the name, optionally pick the class for your industry, and see identical and similar marks across the UK and EU registers in seconds.
Check a name free →Search the obvious spelling first, then variations: plurals, hyphens, common misspellings, and how the name sounds (a name that sounds the same can conflict even if it’s spelled differently).
Which trademark class should you check?
Trademarks are registered in classes — 45 categories covering all goods and services. The same word can be registered by different owners in unrelated classes, so the class is as important as the name. Check the class that matches what you sell:
| Your business | Class to check first |
|---|---|
| Restaurant or café | 43 |
| Clothing and fashion | 25 |
| Software or app | 42 (often 9 too) |
| Online shop / retail | 35 |
| Cosmetics and skincare | 3 |
| Food products | 29 / 30 |
| Education or training | 41 |
| Financial services | 36 |
If you might expand — say a drinks brand that later sells merchandise — check the likely future classes now, while it’s free.
Identical isn’t the only risk: similar marks
The register won’t refuse only exact copies. The test the IPO and the courts apply is likelihood of confusion — would an average customer, seeing your name on similar goods, think it came from the existing brand? That covers three kinds of similarity:
- Visual — looks alike on the page (Klarna vs Klarrna).
- Phonetic — sounds alike when spoken (Feather vs Fether).
- Conceptual — means the same thing, even in another language.
So when you search, don’t stop at an exact match. A close, confusable mark in your class is the more common reason an application runs into trouble.
Does an EU trademark still matter after Brexit?
Yes — and this is widely misunderstood. A new EU trademark filed after 31 December 2020 no longer covers the UK. But every EU mark that existed on that date was automatically cloned onto the UK register as a comparable UK right. So an EU brand that never separately filed in the UK can still hold a UK trademark that blocks you. That’s why a UK-only search isn’t enough — you need to see EU marks too, which is why our tool checks both.
What a “clear” result does and doesn’t mean
A search that turns up nothing is encouraging — but it isn’t a clean bill of health. Here’s the honest picture:
A clear register search means no one has registered a conflicting mark. It does not mean the name is safe to use. Unregistered businesses can still stop you through “passing off” if they’ve built up reputation in the name. The register also can’t decide for you whether a similar mark is too similar.
Three traps to keep in mind:
- Companies House ≠ trademark. You can own “Bloom & Co Ltd” at Companies House and still have someone else register “Bloom & Co” as a trademark and enforce it against you. Company registration gives you no trademark rights.
- A domain isn’t protection either. Owning the .co.uk gives you a web address, not a brand right — and a later trademark owner can challenge the domain.
- Unregistered rights are invisible to the register. A well-known local business trading under a name, without ever registering it, can still have enforceable rights through passing off.
A practical rule: if a plain web search turns up an active UK business using your name in the same field, treat it as a possible conflict even if nothing shows on the register.
Checking is a snapshot, not a one-off
A search tells you what’s on the register today — but new applications are filed constantly, and once one is accepted there’s only a short window, two months, in which it can be formally opposed before it registers for good. If a name matters to you, re-check it periodically rather than searching once and moving on. Catching a confusingly similar filing early is the difference between objecting in time and finding out after it’s locked in.
If a name matters enough to watch, see how to find out if someone’s applying for a name like yours — it covers the two-month objection window and the free alerts you can set up.
What to do next
If your search is clear: consider filing to lock in your priority date — it’s £205 to register one class online, and the date you file is the date that counts. (See how much a UK trademark costs.)
If you find a possible conflict: check whether the class genuinely overlaps with what you do, and how old the mark is — a mark unused for five years may be vulnerable. If it’s close and in your field, that’s the point to get a professional clearance opinion before spending a non-refundable fee.
Either way, the search is free and takes seconds. It’s the cheapest, smartest thing you can do before committing to a name — or to a filing fee.