Before starting a business or setting up a company, entrepreneurs can check the availability of the commercial brand name or company name they plan to use.

The availability request can be submitted online to the Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR).

When the request has been processed, the entrepreneur has 20 days to download the certificate of availability ("libre") or unavailability ("non libre").

Who is concerned

Each (future) entrepreneur, natural or legal person, who wishes to set up a sole proprietorship under a brand name or to form a company can first check the availability of the name with the LBR.

Preliminary steps

The user must first register on the website of the RCS:

• either with a username and password provided during the first connection to the website of the RCS;
• or with a LuxTrust certificate (Smartcard or Signing Stick).

Costs

Applications for certificates confirming the availability of business names are subject to the payment of administrative costs.

These costs are laid down in the RCS table of tariffs.

How to proceed

Application for a certificate of availability

The entrepreneur can check the availability of the company name (brand name or business name) that he wishes to use for his business by submitting an application for a certificate confirming the availability of the company name (electronically) to the Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR).

Downloading the certificate

When the certificate is available, the applicant can be notified by email. The certificate can be downloaded in PDF format during a period of 20 days from the personal space of the applicant on the website www.lbr.lu. The PDF documents can under no circumstances be delivered by email.

The certificate confirms the availability or not of the company name or names requested with respect to the business names already registered with the RCS.

Certificate types

There are 2 possible responses from the LBR:

• a 'certificate of unavailability of the company name' confirms that the name requested is not available and that another person is already registered under this name. Only the deregistration from the RCS of a registered legal or natural person makes a company name available again;
• a 'certificate of availability of the company name' is issued if the name requested has not yet been registered with the RCS. The certificate is valid as soon as it is issued but only until the name is officially registered with the RCS. However, it does not mean that the name in question is now reserved and it does not prevent another person from registering the same name meanwhile on his own behalf. 

Forms / Online services

Who to contact