All about changing your legal company name

Changing your legal company name can be a tricky thing in the UAE. With the many formalities and obstacles, many people back off from this process, but with just guidance and politeness, the process can be fairly easy.

‍

What are some reasons for a name change?

1. Trademark issues: Another company may take up the same of a similar name as yours. This can result in the loss of customers due to confusion between the two companies that may operate in the same sector. Another unfortunate possibility is that t the other company can operate in fraud, resulting that your company with the same name, can be affected by this as well. In these cases, it would be best for you to start operating under another name.
2. Re-branding:When you plan on expanding your company with new products and/or services or just re-branding your business it might be logical to change your name to better match the new quality of your company.
3. Common name: Your name is the first impression you give to the outside world. It should be one of your main support systems, any generic name will definitely not benefit you or your business. It may cause customers to get your name wrong or even completely forget about it.

Things you should know about your legal company name change:

The UAE has some general laws regarding company name changes, but some of these laws do not influence all of the Emirate states. This is why it's important to know in which state your company operates before you begin your process.

Furthermore, you'll need to know that all companies usually register two names, the legal business name and the operating name for a name change. Depending on which state you're in in the United Arab Emirates, you may be required to register both names for a name change.

How the process will look like:

Possession of initial DED approval

This step is crucial in naming your business. Before you even get started with this, you will have to meet up to certain requirements. Some of these are:

• Providing proof of Trade Name Reservation
• A shareholders resolution stating a new name
• Original and copy of registration licenses and certificates issued by the commercial register
• Approval from the Ministry of the economy for public shareholding companies in the UAE.

Additional requirements can be added during this part of the process.

Securing initial approval

After you submitted these documents to the DED, securing the initial approval begins. What will happen first is that the local authorities will publish a company's name change. If after this there are no objections, an Amended Articles and Association Memorandum will be issued.

‍

Corporate bank accounts may be one of the thorniest processes you will go through while setting up your business in Dubai. While you won't have to worry about a thing as we will arrange everything for you, it's still handy to know how everything sets in place. This bank account is going to help you observe all of your transactions, deposits and loans if required. With challenges like:

-          Requiring a physical office

-          Should prove credibility at all times

-          Not easy to open when you come from a high-risk country

To open a bank account for an LLC of Free Zone each bank has its own timeline, all in all, it will take up to four weeks to complete this process.

‍

Opening your bank account in Dubai

The UAE doesn't allow the do business with a personal bank account, so aside from that, you will need to open a corporate bank account as well.

Your corporate account should be a current one, this means that this has to be a transaction account.This type of account comes with the ideal way to make daily transactions, this provides a chequebook, debit card, no limit on your withdrawals, and many other strong points.

Current accounts are the main ones that will be used for corporate accounts, this comes with one obvious reason and that is: the ability of many daily transactions.

When we open your bank account we will need a few documents, these documents contain:

1. Trade license which we already have provided for you
2. Certificate of the company's registration
3. Your and the shareholder's visas and passports
4. The company's memorandum and articles of association

What about credit cards?

Credit cards are very handy to be used for businesses, this allows you to make small or big purchases on credit, they are only to be used for business purposes only, any personal purchase is not allowed here. This card is very important and can be used as a metric that is associated with your company's prosperous health.

It's also crucial to know that this card can be used for emergencies within the company, however, we do suggest you to obtain a credit card for you to build a credit score for your business.

Other than this, choosing the right credit card for you is a valuable decision to make as an entrepreneur as many banks do have different settlements. We assist you in this decision, making sure your choice will meet up to your wants and needs. With this process, you will also have to fall in on some criteria.

-          A valid trade license

-          Your age

-          Income

Getting started on this is an exciting journey where we are at support and assist at all times, making it a trouble-free process for you. We will arrange this in a time span of 2 to 4 weeks, are you ready to jump in?

‍