Companies Commission of Malaysia issues Revised Guidelines on Company Names

24 August 2026

On 14 July 2026, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (“SSM”) issued a set of revised Guidelines on Company Names (“Revised Guidelines”). The Revised Guidelines supersede the guidelines of the same name issued on 25 June 2024 (“Superseded Guidelines”).

As in the case of the Superseded Guidelines, the Revised Guidelines seek to assist applicants wishing to reserve a name for the purpose of incorporating a company or to change the name of an existing company. The Revised Guidelines apply to all applications for the registration of a name for the incorporation of a company or the registration of a foreign company and applications for the change of name of a local or foreign company.

This article highlights the main amendments introduced under the Revised Guidelines.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF A COMPANY NAME

1. Paragraph 4(b)

Paragraph 4(b) of the Superseded Guidelines provided that a name is available if it was not identical to an existing business entity’s name under the registers kept pursuant to laws administered by the SSM. This paragraph has been simplified under the Revised Guidelines and provides that a name is available if it is “not identical to an existing company, corporation or business entity.”

2. Paragraph 8(g)

This paragraph previously addressed the use of names of individuals as well as group of companies as part of a company’s name. Under the Revised Guidelines, paragraph 8(g) only deals with names of individuals as part of a company’s name. It provides:

“Only the names of directors stated in the incorporation application form may be used as part of the company name. The use of other individual names is limited to family members of the directors only. Proof of relationship must be provided (identity card, passport, utility bill, credit card)”.

3. Paragraph 8(h)

This paragraph, which permits the use of the names of local or foreign historical figures, has been modified with the introduction of an additional requirement that the name must be the full name of the historical figure.

4. Paragraph 8(j)

In relation to the use of an invented word with “no commonly known meaning”, paragraph 8(j) states that as a general rule, a letter of consent is not required from an existing company using the same word. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the SSM has cited instances in which a letter of consent is required from the existing company. The examples provided by the SSM in paragraph 8(j) are as follows:

No.	New Name	Existing Company	Consent Letter
1.	Jellex Assets Holding Sdn. Bhd.	Jellex Assets Sdn. Bhd.	Yes
2.	Jellex Trading Sdn. Bhd.	Jellex Assets Sdn. Bhd.	No
3.	Jellex International Sdn. Bhd.	Jellex Assets Sdn. Bhd.	No
4.	Jellex Assets (Penang) Sdn. Bhd.	Jellex Assets Sdn. Bhd.	Yes

The explanations provided in paragraph 8(j) are as follows:

The application for Jellex Assets Holding Sdn. Bhd. must include a letter of consent from the existing company, Jellex Assets Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. as it relates to a registered holding company, subsidiary or associated company.
The new application for Jellex Trading Sdn. Bhd. does not require a letter of consent from Jellex Assets Sdn. Bhd. as it is a different existing company.

5. Paragraph 8(k)

Paragraph 8(k) of the Superseded Guidelines stated that only five types of symbols may be used in a company’s name. A new condition is introduced under paragraph 8(k) of the Revised Guidelines requiring the symbols to be used according to common usage. Some examples provided by the SSM are as follows:

“.” (full stop symbol for titles)

Examples Mr. John Trade Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
Dr. John Trade Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
Hello.Chiro Sdn. Bhd. (No)

“-“ (hyphen symbol allowed only for standard hyphenated words)

Examples Kupu-Kupu Design Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
Focus Re-Engineering Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
ABC-DEF Management Sdn. Bhd. (No)
Wash-My Services Sdn. Bhd. (No)

“( )” (parentheses symbols allowed only at the end of the name)

Examples ZY Advertising (2017) Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
ZY (2017) Advertising Sdn. Bhd. (No)

“ ’ ” (apostrophe symbol to indicate possession)

Examples Mum’s Recipe Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
Dato’ Yusoff Trading Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
Blue’s Cuisine Sdn. Bhd. (No)

6. Paragraph 8(n)

The prohibition against the use of “Corporation”, “Corp”, “Perbadanan”, “Incorporated”, “Diperbadankan” and other forms of these phrases in paragraph 8(n) of the Superseded Guidelines has been expanded to include “Corp.”, “Incorp.” and “Inc.”. The requirements under paragraph 8(n) of the Superseded Guidelines that the government must have an interest in the company and that approval must be obtained from the relevant ministry have been maintained in paragraph 8(n) of the Revised Guidelines.

The exception under paragraph 8(n) of the Superseded Guidelines permitting the use of the terms stated in that paragraph for the registration of a foreign company or for a change of name of an existing company where such term is already part of the company’s name have been maintained. A new example of the latter is where an existing company known as “Bulan Jitu Corporation Sdn. Bhd.” will be permitted to change its name to “Bulan Jitu Corporation Machinery Sdn. Bhd.”

7. New paragraph 10

A new paragraph 10 of the Revised Guidelines requires a company name to contain a minimum of three characters (excluding symbols, numbers and spaces) and not exceed 100 characters. The number of characters does not include the words “Sendirian Berhad” or “Berhad” or the abbreviations “Sdn. Bhd.” or “Bhd”.

Examples

A7 Berhad (No)
200 Sdn. Bhd. (No)
BYK30 Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
ABC Berhad (Yes)
A7 Berhad (No)
200 Sdn. Bhd. (No)
BYK30 Sdn. Bhd. (Yes)
ABC Berhad (Yes)

UNACCEPTABLE NAMES

8. Paragraph 11

Paragraph 10 of the Superseded Guidelines conferred discretion on the Registrar of Companies (“Registrar”) to determine whether a name is “undesirable or unacceptable.” This has been amended in paragraph 11 of the Revised Guidelines to refer to a name that is “improper or unacceptable.” A new paragraph 11(e) confers discretion on the Registrar to deem a name to be improper or unacceptable if it contains any “controlled government slogan.”

IDENTICAL NAMES

9. Paragraph 12

Paragraph 12 of the Revised Guidelines sets out factors that are to be disregarded in determining whether a company name is identical to another.

The words “Sendirian”, “Sdn”, “Berhad”, “Bhd”, “PLT” and “Perkongsian Liability Terhad”. Paragraph 12(b) of the Revised Guidelines has added the following phrases to this list - “Pte Ltd”, “LLC”, “Pvt Ltd” or any suffix of a foreign company.
Symbols in the company name.

Examples A&J Atelia Sdn. Bhd. = AJ Atelia Sdn. Bhd. = A J Atelier Sdn. Bhd.
E-Tech Sdn. Bhd. = ETech Sdn. Bhd. = E Tech Sdn. Bhd.
MYS Co. Sdn. Bhd. = MYS Co Sdn. Bhd.

Paragraph 11(c) of the Superseded Guidelines stated that the following expressions at the end of a name are considered the same: “Company”, “Co”, “Syarikat”, “Corporation”, “Corp”, “Perbadanan”, “Incorporated”, “Diperbadankan”, “Incorporation”, “Incorp”, “Inc”, “Pemerbadanan”, “Holding”, “Group”, “Kumpulan”, “Malaysia”, “(M)”, “Msia”, “Consortium”, “Konsortium” and “Consolidated”. Paragraph 12(d) of the Revised Guidelines adds the following phrases: “Co.”, “Corp.”, “Inc.” and “names of place” to the list and states that these words are allowed for related companies that attach a letter of consent from the holding company.

Paragraph 12(d) of the Revised Guidelines also sets out three scenarios to determine whether the above-mentioned phrases are to be taken into consideration:

Example 1: The use of “Malaysia”, “(M)”, “MY”, or “Msia” (at the end of the name) does not distinguish a new name from an existing company. Therefore, a new application for the name “Zip Legacy Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.” will not be considered even with a letter of consent from an existing company, “Zip Legacy Sdn. Bhd.”

Example 2: A new application may be considered if a letter of consent from the existing company is provided. Words such as “Holding”, “Group”, “Kumpulan”, “Consortium”, “Konsortium” and “Consolidated” may distinguish the new name as a related company. Applications for a new name will not be considered if a consent letter from the existing company is not attached. An application for the name “Zip Legacy Consolidated Sdn. Bhd.” can be considered with a letter of consent from an existing entity, “Zip Legacy (M) PLT”.

Example 3: New applications can be considered if a letter of consent from the federal government/ state government/ relevant government agency is provided. Words such as “Company”, “Co”, “Co.”, “Syarikat”, “Corporation”, “Corp”, “Corp.”, “Inc”, “Inc.”, “Incorp”, “Incorporated”, “Incorporation”, “Perbadanan”, “Diperbadankan” and “Pemerbadanan” are prohibited unless the government has an interest in the company and a letter of consent from the federal government/ state government/ relevant government agency is attached. An application for the name “Zip Legacy Inc Sdn. Bhd.” will be rejected even if a letter of consent is obtained from an existing company, “Zip Legacy (Sabah) Sdn. Bhd.” as the word “Inc” is not permitted.

It is to be noted that the three examples provided by the SSM are slightly modified versions of the examples provided in paragraph 11(c) of the Superseded Guidelines.

Paragraph 12(f) of the Revised Guidelines (previously paragraph 11(e) of the Superseded Guidelines) has been amended to provide four examples of situations where a company name is the plural version of another company name.
Top Food F&B Service Sdn. Bhd. = Top Food F&B Services Sdn. Bhd.
BRB Creative Videos Sdn. Bhd. = BRB Creative Video Sdn. Bhd.
Happy Printing Family Sdn. Bhd. = Happy Printing Families Sdn. Bhd.
YLL Mega Properties Sdn. Bhd. = YLL Mega Property Sdn. Bhd.

A new paragraph 12(g) of the Revised Guidelines provides that the translation of the word representing the activity in a company name is to be disregarded. Examples provided are as follows:
Pembinaan Jaya Sdn. Bhd. = Jaya Construction Sdn. Bhd.
Restoran Mahmud Sdn. Bhd. = Mahmud Restaurant Sdn. Bhd.

Paragraph 11(f) of the Superseded Guidelines which stated that “root words that carry the same meaning” has been amended in paragraph 12(h) of the Revised Guidelines to state that “root words or abbreviations” with the same meanings are to be disregarded. One of the new examples cited in the Revised Guidelines is “Lubricant, Lube, Lubes”.
Paragraph 12(n) of the Revised Guidelines (previously paragraph 11(j) of the Superseded Guidelines) which permits the use of the previous name of a company or a limited liability partnership (“LLP”) has been amended in two respects. First, the use of a name previously used by a company or an LLP now applies only when the company or LLP has changed its status to an LLP (by conversion) and has changed its name to a new name. It is respectfully submitted that the foregoing requires clarification.

Second, it has been clarified that where the period of non-use of the previous name is within 12 months, the letter of consent to be included under paragraph 12(n)(ii) is to be obtained from the company which has used the said name.

CONTROL OF NAMES / WORDS

Paragraphs 15 and 16 are newly introduced into the Revised Guidelines.

Paragraph 15(i) states that federal/ state/ department/ local government agency (collectively “Authority”) may apply to control the use of certain names/ words based on (a) legal authority with “the act that is regulated”; or (b) an application and justification provided by the Authority to preserve the interests and public order or moral principles or to avoid confusion.

The list of entities comprised in the Authority and the checklist for the information and documents to be submitted by the Authority for an application to control the use of a name/ word are set out in Lampiran 1 and Lampiran 2 respectively of the Revised Guidelines.

The statements in Lampiran 1 appear to conflict with paragraph 15(i) of the Revised Guidelines. The former states that words listed in Lampiran 1 are controlled by the respective authorities named in Lampiran 1 and that supporting documents from the relevant Authority are to be attached before an applicant submits a name search application, whereas paragraph 15(i) suggests otherwise. Perhaps paragraph 15(i) ought to be clarified to state that: (i) the authorities named in Lampiran 1 already control the names/ words listed under their respective names; and (ii) in addition to Lampiran 1, an Authority may apply under paragraph 15(i) to the SSM for the control of other names/ words.

Paragraph 15(ii) permits a business entity or any party (including a foreign company) that has registered a word under the Trademarks Act 2019 with the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) to apply to the SSM to control the use of a name/ word. Lampiran 3 of the Revised Guidelines provides a checklist for an application to be submitted by a business entity or the proprietor of a registered trademark to the SSM for the control of a particular name/ word in respect of which the applicant is the registered trademark proprietor.

Paragraph 16 provides that an applicant for a new name or a change to a company’s name that contains controlled words must submit a letter of consent from the agency or business entity that controls the relevant word, for consideration by the Registrar.

LAMPIRAN 1

In addition to other slight variations in the listed phrases, a new paragraph 24 has been included in Lampiran 1 stating that the Prime Minister’s Office – Performance and Acceleration Coordination Unit (PACU) as the Authority for the phrase “MADANI”.

LAMPIRAN 3

Among others, the name/ word for which control is sought by a registered trademark owner must be an invented word or a combination of words, and must not be a common word or place name. In addition, the applicant must provide justification for seeking control of the name/ word.

OTHER AMENDMENTS

In addition to the above amendments, the drafting of certain parts of the Revised Guidelines has been refined and certain phrases have been changed.

COMMENTS

The most interesting revision under the Revised Guidelines is the introduction of paragraph 15(ii) which allows business entities and owners of registered trademarks to apply to the SSM for the right to control the use of words in respect of which they have a registered trademark.

It is hoped that the SSM will clarify the operation of Lampiran 1 inter se paragraph 15(i) of the Revised Guidelines.

Article by Tan Wei Liang (Partner) and Francine Ariel Paul (Senior Associate) of the Corporate Practice of Skrine.

This article/alert contains general information only. It does not constitute legal advice nor an expression of legal opinion and should not be relied upon as such. For further information, kindly contact skrine@skrine.com.

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Companies Commission of Malaysia issues Revised Guidelines on Company Names