A limited company’s name can be changed due to any reason with the consent of all the shareholders. Regardless of reason and time, the name can be changed but it shall happen under the mutual approval of shareholders.

The reason can be anything like change in the vision & the mission of the company, change in management, conversion from private limited to public limited and so on. We shall discuss here the provision of the Companies Act,2013 which deals with the change in the name of the limited company. Provisions for the Change in Limited Company’s Name in India First, let’s go through the general provisions for the company’s name change which are as follows:

Section 13(2) & Section 13(6) – A company can change its name through a special resolution and under the written consent of the Central Government. However, the consent of the Central Government is not needed when in the case when the change in the company’s name in relation to the addition or removal of the word ‘Private’ to/from the company’s name which will lead to the conversion of the company from Private to public and vice-versa. Section 13(3) – When the company’s name is altered u/s 13(2), the old name of the company shall be replaced by the new name in the register of companies and this shall be done by the Registrar. Apart from this, the registrar must also issue a new certificate of incorporation with the new name. Such changes in the company’s name are incomplete and ineffective until unless the fresh certificate of incorporation is issued. Section 4(2) – The things which should be taken care of under this section are. The company name mentioned in the memorandum shall not be indistinguishable from the name of any other existing company which is registered under the Company’s Act or any company law prevailing before the Company’s Act. The company name mentioned in the memorandum shall not be that, the usage of which will create an offence under any law which is effective at that point in time. The company name mentioned in the memorandum shall not be undesirable in the Central Government’s opinion. Section 4(3) – This section states that a company shall not be registered with a name that has any word or expression which is likely to indicate that the company is associated or connected to or has the patronage of – the central government/ any state government/ local authority, corporation or anybody formed by state or central government under the law prevailing at that time.

You will need to file e-Form 1B when it is approved that the ROC will issue a new certificate of incorporation as a result of a name change. That date will be the name change date. Once you get this certificate, you can convert it to all the statutory authorities you have registered with, PAN Tan Service Tax, etc. Company nameplate, letterhead, common seal… etc.