BVI Business Companies (Restricted Company Names) Notice, 2011 (SI 2011 No. 57)

Summary

This is a 2011 Financial Services Commission notice issued under section 18(2) of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004. It designates a list of words and phrases that are restricted for use in the name of a BVI business company, meaning such names cannot be registered without the Commission's prior consent. The document's title indicates it has since been revoked, so it should be checked against current restricted-name rules before being relied upon.

• Restricted words: The Schedule lists numerous restricted words and phrases (e.g. Bank, Trust, Insurance, Chamber of Commerce, Royal, Government, Chartered, Fund, LLC, LLP, i-bank, e-gaming, Protected Cells) including derivatives, cognate terms, abbreviations, and singular or plural forms.
• Registration bar: The Registrar must not register a company whose name contains a restricted word or phrase unless the Commission has given prior written consent to its use.
• Abbreviations: Where a restricted name has an abbreviated form, a full stop may be placed at the end or between the abbreviated letters, and once approved the company may use either the full or abbreviated form.

The notice functioned as a compliance gate for company incorporation and name changes rather than an ongoing reporting obligation, applying at the point a name is submitted for registration.

Key obligations

• A company name containing a restricted word or phrase from the Schedule may not be registered by the Registrar unless the Commission has given its prior written consent to that use.
• Where a restricted name has an approved abbreviated form, the company may use either the full or abbreviated form as part of its registered name.

Applies to

BVI business companies, applicants for company incorporation or name registration, registered agents