Change of Name — Correspondence with the Registrar

Why a Company Might Change Its Name

A company may wish to change its name for many genuine business reasons — a rebranding after a change of business activity, a merger, or simply correcting an earlier choice — but because a company's name is part of the public record the Registrar maintains, and because the name must never be identical or too similar to an existing company's or trademark's name, changing it needs the same statutory correspondence discipline as incorporating a company in the first place.

The Procedure, Step by Step

1. Board Resolution: The Board first passes a resolution approving the proposal to change the name and authorising an officer to take the necessary steps.
2. Checking name availability: The company reserves and confirms the availability of the proposed new name with the Registrar through the prescribed name-reservation service on the MCA portal, exactly as when the company was first incorporated — a new name must satisfy the same rules against being identical, too similar, or otherwise undesirable.
3. Special Resolution: The company then passes a Special Resolution at a general meeting, approving the change of name and the consequent alteration of the Memorandum of Association (since the company's name is stated in the Memorandum).
4. Application to the Registrar — Form INC-24: The company applies to the Central Government (whose powers here are delegated to the Registrar) for approval of the change of name, in Form INC-24, under Section 13(2), enclosing a certified copy of the Special Resolution and the altered Memorandum of Association.
5. Fresh Certificate of Incorporation: On being satisfied, the Registrar approves the change and issues a fresh Certificate of Incorporation, reflecting the new name, under Section 13(3). The change of name takes legal effect only from the date of this fresh certificate — not from the date the Special Resolution was passed.

After the Name Is Changed …