Company names in France must be pre-approved for availability and acceptability.
The Centre de Formalités des Entreprises will refuse a name if it is identical, almost identical or phonetically the same as a name already registered, equally one that implies state sponsorship.
Use of certain words such as Bank, Insurance and Group will require special permission.
There are registers for all the different 'départements' (local administrative areas), each of which is separate. A name, such as 'Hôtel de la Gare SàRL' could be used in duplicated in 100 different administrative areas. There are two further complications to name searches in France:
| Timescale | Cost |
| 3 weeks | £ 3060 |