By default, you can't reuse the same or a similar name for 5 years.
But there are three genuine exceptions.
Section 216 of the Insolvency Act exists to stop a director quietly walking away from one insolvent Company and straight into an identical-looking one, leaving creditors confused about who they're dealing with. If none of the exceptions below apply, the restriction runs for 5 years from the date of liquidation.
Get this wrong and it's a personal, not just a Company, problem.
THE 3 EXCEPTIONS
You can apply to court for permission to use the name — but the application must be made within 7 days of the liquidation starting.
You're allowed to use the name from the day you apply, but if the court hasn't approved it within 6 weeks, you must stop. The court will check whether using the name would mislead creditors or seem unfair.
The fastest route, but on a strict clock.
If an independent person or company — not connected to you — buys the whole or most of the business from the Liquidator and continues to use the name, you can work for them as staff or a consultant.
This only works if you weren't involved in buying the business. It doesn't apply if you or anyone connected to you helped with the purchase.
Only if you're genuinely not the buyer.
If you were involved in another Company that had been trading under the same or a similar name for at least 12 months before this liquidation — and that Company wasn't dormant — you can carry on using the name without needing court permission.
You must have been involved with that Company at the time it was trading under the name.
Built on genuine prior trading history, not a new plan.
EXCEPTION 2 IS THE MOST COMMON ROUTE FOR DIRECTORS BUYING BACK THEIR OWN BUSINESS.
But it only works if the process below is followed exactly, in order. Miss a step, and you're in breach of Section 216.
THE GAZETTE NOTICE PROCEDURE
The notice procedure can only be used once the formal liquidation appointment has taken place. The Section 216 restriction begins on the date the liquidation commences — for example, the decision date or the creditors' meeting date.
You must not start using the prohibited name until every step below is complete.
The clock starts the day liquidation begins.
Your new Company must acquire the whole, or substantially the whole, of the insolvent Company's business from the Liquidator.
Acquiring it from any other party — a director, a shareholder, anyone but the Liquidator — doesn't qualify for this route.
It has to come from the Liquidator, not around them.
The notice must include your full name, a statement that you intend to act as a Director of the new Company using the old name (or a similar one), and confirmation that the new Company has acquired — or intends to acquire — the whole or substantially the whole of the insolvent Company's business.
This is a formal legal notice, not a courtesy letter — the exact wording matters.
Get the wording right before it goes anywhere.
The written notice must reach every known creditor of the insolvent Company before the name is reused — by recorded delivery post, email with a read receipt, or hand delivery with a signed acknowledgement.
Keep proof of delivery for every single one. You'll need it later.
No creditor can be missed.
The same notice, with the same wording as the creditor letters, must also be published in The Gazette (the London Gazette for England & Wales companies) at www.thegazette.co.uk. A publication fee applies.
It has to be published before the reused name is used in any capacity at all — trading, branding, marketing, or contracts.
Public and on the record, before you trade.
You can only start using the prohibited name once the creditor notices have been sent and the Gazette notice has been published — both, not either.
Any use of the name before both are complete is a breach of Section 216, with real personal consequences.
Jumping the gun here carries real risk.
Retain a copy of the creditor notice, proof of delivery for each one, a copy of the Gazette notice and entry, and the business acquisition agreement with the Liquidator.
This evidence may be needed to show compliance if there's ever a challenge, an Insolvency Service inquiry, or disqualification proceedings.
You may need to prove this years later.
NONE OF THIS SHOULD BE DONE WITHOUT ADVICE.
The notices, the timing, and the acquisition itself all need to line up correctly — get it wrong and the personal consequences can be serious. Talk to us before you start.
A confidential discussion today could help protect you tomorrow.
Tell us the basics and we'll call you back — free, confidential, no obligation.
THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES GENERAL INFORMATION AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL OR INSOLVENCY ADVICE. Your position depends on the individual circumstances of each Company and Director. You should obtain advice from an appropriately qualified professional, including a licensed insolvency practitioner where appropriate.
