Trading names are not registered business names
Key points:
- Business names, company names and trading names are different things.
- If you conduct business under a name other than your own, you must register a business name. You may also need to register a company.
- A trading name is an unregistered name that businesses could use before ASIC’s business names register was established on 28 May 2012.
Business name
A business name is the name your business operates under. You must register a business name if you run a business in Australia and are not trading under your own name.
Learn about registering a business name.
Company name
A company is a separate legal entity registered with ASIC. You do not have to have a company name and can use the company’s Australian Company Number (ACN) instead.
If your company wants to operate a business under a name that is different to the company name, the company will need to register a business name.
Learn about registering a company:
Trading name
Before 28 May 2012, entities did not have to register business names. The names they chose to carry out their business activities under were known as trading names.
Trading names are not registered business names. If you do not operate a business under your own name, you need to register a business name to do business in Australia.