Company Name Reservation Tanzania: BRELA Rules, Fees and Rejections

Company name reservation in Tanzania is the first filing in every Mainland incorporation. It is also the step that most often sends a file back. A rejected name costs a second reservation fee and a week or more of redrafted documents, because the name runs through the memorandum, the articles, the board resolutions and the bank forms.

This guide sets out what the Companies Act, Cap. 212 R.E. 2023 says about names, how the BRELA online search and reservation work, how long a reservation lasts, and why names are refused. It ends with a worked budget for a foreign investor. The full incorporation route is in our guide on how to register a company in Tanzania.

What the law says

Company names on the Mainland are governed by Chapter II of Part II of the Companies Act, Cap. 212 R.E. 2023, headed "Company Names". The Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA) publishes the Revised Edition 2023 text. Five sections do the work.

• Section 32 lets the Registrar reserve a name pending registration of a company or a change of name. The reservation lasts thirty days, or up to sixty days where the Registrar allows a longer period for special reasons. No other company may register that name meanwhile.
• Section 32 also bars any name that, in the Registrar's opinion, is "the same as or too like" a name in the index of company names, or is otherwise undesirable.
• Section 33 allows a change of name by special resolution with the Registrar's written approval. A refusal must carry reasons.
• Section 35 lets the Minister direct a company to abandon a name that gives so misleading an indication of its activities as to be likely to harm the public.
• Section 36 makes it an offence to trade under a name ending in "limited" without being incorporated with limited liability.

Section 5 requires the memorandum to state the company's name. A private company limited by shares or by guarantee carries "limited" as the last word. A public company carries "public limited company". Section 34 is the narrow exception that lets the Registrar license certain non-profit companies to drop "limited".

One numbering warning matters here. Older consolidations of the Companies Act, 2002, including the TanzLII version as at 1 July 2016, number these provisions 30 to 34, and the memorandum rule section 4. The operative words are the same. Cite the R.E. 2023 numbers in any filing, and treat a law-firm article that cites section 30 for reservation as using the old numbering.

Who should read this

This guide is for anyone about to incorporate on the Mainland, and for companies planning a rebrand. It matters most to four groups:

• foreign investors forming a subsidiary, who often want the parent's brand in the local name;
• founders whose name contains a regulated word such as "bank", "insurance" or "microfinance";
• sole traders converting a registered business name into a company, covered in our guide to converting a business name to a company;
• companies told by BRELA after registration that their name is too like another.

It does not cover Zanzibar incorporations, which run through a different registry and a different statute. The Zanzibar section below explains the split.

How does name search and reservation work at BRELA?

BRELA runs the name step online. Its frequently asked questions guide says a company name is reserved by submitting the proposed name through the online system. The public search on the Online Registration System (ORS) lets anyone check registered companies and business names free of charge.

The system changed in 2026. BRELA began moving services to the BRELA Online Services platform (BOS) on 8 April 2026, starting with business names and industrial licences, according to Daily News. A BRELA statement of 27 May 2026, reported by The Respondents, said BOS replaces ORS for new company registration. It added a name clearance feature to check proposed names before registration starts. Applications already lodged on ORS finish there.

In practice the name step now runs in this order:

1. Search the public register for exact and near matches, including the Kiswahili and English forms of each word.
2. Run the proposed name through the BOS name clearance check.
3. Submit the name for reservation and pay the fee against a GePG control number.
4. Wait for the examiner's decision: approved, or returned with a reason.
5. Use the approved name, unchanged, in the memorandum, articles and incorporation application before the reservation lapses.

The exact screens and the order of BOS steps for companies are verify-tier. BRELA has not published a company-specific BOS manual that we could locate at 5 November 2026. A name search is not a reservation: a clear search result does not hold the name for you.

How long does a company name reservation last?

The statute and BRELA's guidance do not say the same thing, so plan to the shorter figure.

• The Act. Section 32 gives thirty days, extendable to sixty for special reasons the Registrar accepts.
• BRELA's FAQ. The Kiswahili FAQ says an accepted name "huweza kuhifadhiwa kwa siku 60" (may be held for sixty days) on payment of TZS 50,000. The FAQ is undated; BRELA uploaded it in February 2024.
• Independent reading. FB Attorneys read the same provision in 2010 as thirty days, longer only for special reasons.

Our reading: the Act sets thirty days as the default and BRELA's published practice appears to grant sixty. Confirm the expiry date shown on your reservation, and file the incorporation well inside thirty days. Whether an expired reservation can be renewed, and at what fee, is unknown; the fee register carries no separate renewal line.

What makes BRELA refuse a company name?

The legal test is the Registrar's opinion under section 32: identical, too like, or otherwise undesirable. BRELA's FAQ explains how it judges similarity in its business-names section. It looks at word-for-word matches, close resemblance, pronunciation (its example is "skuli" and "School"), appearance, and translation between Kiswahili and English. It advises keeping similarity below 50 percent. Treat that as a sound guide for company names too; the Act's "too like" test is no narrower.

The last row reflects the Registrar's discretion, not a published rule. The FAQ lists similarity as the stated rejection ground; it does not publish a list of banned words.

Which words need consent from another regulator?

The Companies Act itself does not list sensitive words. Sector statutes do the work. The clearest is section 13(1) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act, 2006. It says that, unless licensed under that Act, no person shall use the word "bank" or any of its derivatives in any language. Section 13(2) allows the word for a company being organised to apply for a banking licence, with notice to the Bank of Tanzania.

Other regulated words are verify-tier. Insurance, microfinance, capital markets and professional titles each sit under their own statute and regulator. We did not confirm a pinpoint section for each this session, so we do not cite one. The safe practice is to ask the sector regulator in writing before reserving a name that claims a regulated activity. Names suggesting a link to Government are refused under the Business Names Act and are likely to be treated as undesirable for companies too.

Does every company name have to end in Limited?

A private company limited by shares or by guarantee ends its name with "Limited". A public company ends with "public limited company". Section 36 makes it an offence to trade under a "limited" name without limited liability, or for a private company to call itself a public limited company. The fine and default fine attach to the company and every officer in default.

Section 34 is the exception. The Registrar may license a company formed to promote commerce, art, science, education, religion, charity or a similar object to omit "limited". It must apply its income to those objects and prohibit dividends to members. The licence can carry conditions and can be revoked. Few commercial investors qualify, and none should plan around it.

Changing only the ending is unlikely to distinguish a name, because the section 32 test asks whether the name as a whole is the same as or too like another. Our guide to one-person companies covers the single-shareholder form, which still ends in "Limited".

Can BRELA make a company change its name after registration?

Yes, on two routes. Under section 33, where a company is registered, by inadvertence or otherwise, with a name too like an existing one, the Registrar may direct it to change. The company must comply within six weeks, or a longer period the Registrar allows. Whether the Act limits how long after registration the Registrar may give that direction is unknown on our reading; confirm with an advocate if a direction arrives.

Under section 35, the Minister may direct a company to abandon a misleading name. The company has three weeks to apply to court to set the direction aside. Otherwise it complies within six weeks, or a longer period the Registrar allows. Ignoring either direction exposes the company to a fine and a default fine.

A voluntary change works the same way in both cases. The members pass a special resolution, the company files it, and the Registrar approves in writing. The company notifies the Registrar within fourteen days of the change. The Registrar enters the new name, issues a certificate of change of name and publishes notice in the Gazette. Contracts, debts and court cases continue under the new name. The fee is TZS 22,000 (register F0004). Our guide to changing a company name or office covers the downstream updates at TRA, the bank and the licensing authority.

Company names, business names and trademarks

A reserved or registered company name does not give you a brand monopoly. Three registers protect three different things, and only one of them protects a brand against copying in trade. Our guide Your Company Name Is Not a Trade Mark explains the gap in detail.

The Business Names Act, Cap. 213 R.E. 2023 has its own refusal list in section 9(1). It covers names implying government sanction, names misleading as to nationality, race or religion, names identical or similar to existing registrations, and undesirable names. Section 9(4) gives an appeal to the High Court. The Trade and Service Marks Act, Cap. 326 refuses marks identical or confusingly similar to registered marks for the same goods or services. Brand owners should file the mark as well; see our guide to trademark registration at BRELA.

Mainland and Zanzibar: separate registries

BRELA's name index covers the Mainland. Zanzibar companies are registered by the Business and Property Registration Agency (BPRA) under the Zanzibar Companies Act No. 15 of 2013. A name cleared or reserved at BRELA has no effect on BPRA's register, and the reverse is also true.

Mainland companies with a place of business in Zanzibar no longer have to incorporate a Zanzibar subsidiary. EY reported on 18 January 2023 that Zanzibar's Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2022 repealed section 238(3) of the 2013 Act. They may now incorporate locally or register a branch. Investor facilitation in Zanzibar runs through ZIPA's one-stop centre, described on eRegulations Zanzibar. The BPRA name procedure, period and fee are verify-tier for this guide. Our post Register a Company in Zanzibar: BPRA, Not BRELA covers that route.

Fees for name reservation and incorporation

All BRELA figures below come from Zatra's government fee register, which cites the BRELA Companies Fees schedule under section 458 of the Act. Foreign-owned companies pay the same BRELA fees as local ones. The control number amount governs on the day of payment.

The F0001 bands run by nominal share capital: TZS 95,000 up to 1 million; 175,000 to 5 million; 260,000 to 20 million; 290,000 to 50 million; 400,000 to 100 million; 450,000 to 500 million; 500,000 to 1 billion; 600,000 to 10 billion; and 1,000,000 above that. The TRA stamp duty page lists the memorandum of association at TZS 10,000.

Worked example: a foreign investor's name and incorporation budget

Example: a Kenyan parent company forms a Mainland subsidiary with a nominal share capital of TZS 250,000,000. Its first choice, a direct Kiswahili translation of an existing Tanzanian company's name, is refused for similarity. The second choice adds a coined word and is approved. Assume three documents attract the F0005 charge; the actual count depends on the BOS application and the control number.

At an illustrative rate of TZS 2,500 per US dollar, that is about USD 254. The refused first name cost TZS 50,000 and, more importantly, time. Whether BRELA refunds a refused reservation fee is unknown; budget on the basis that it does not.

If the same company rebrands two years later, the change of name fee is TZS 22,000 (F0004), plus any F0005 document charges, plus a new reservation of TZS 50,000 if BRELA requires one for the new name. These are government charges paid to BRELA and TRA at the official rate. Zatra's professional fee for the work is quoted separately in writing.

What to do now

1. Shortlist three names. Each should carry one distinctive word that is not a translation, plural or respelling of an existing name.
2. Search both languages. Check the public register for the English and Kiswahili form of every word, and for sound-alikes.
3. Screen regulated words. Remove "bank" and similar words unless you hold or are applying for the licence, and ask the regulator in writing where unsure.
4. Check the brand separately. Search the trademark register in the classes you trade in, and plan a mark filing alongside the company.
5. Reserve on BOS. Submit the first choice, pay TZS 50,000 (F0003) against the control number, and record the expiry date shown.
6. Draft documents to the exact name. Use the approved spelling, spacing and "Limited" ending in the memorandum, articles and resolutions.
7. File inside thirty days. Lodge the incorporation well before the reservation lapses, whatever period the system shows.
8. Route disputes to an advocate. A Registrar's direction to change, a Minister's direction, a passing-off claim or a court application belongs with an advocate.

Key dates and deadlines

Lyson Law also reported in June 2026 that BOS digitised name clearance and moved annual returns and company changes onto the platform.

How Zatra helps

Zatra's business registration team runs name searches in both languages, screens regulated words, reserves the name and drafts the constitutional documents to match. Our foreign investor setup service sequences the name, incorporation, TIN, licence and permits. For the constitution itself, see our guide to the memorandum and articles of association.

Government fees are paid to BRELA and TRA at the official rate against a GePG control number. They are separate from Zatra's professional fee, which we quote in writing before work starts. Zatra does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. The Registrar of Companies decides whether a name is reserved or registered.

Passing-off claims, objections to another company's name, court challenges to a direction and formal legal opinions are matters for an advocate of the High Court. We work alongside your advocate or introduce one. To start, contact Zatra with your three name choices and the parent company's details.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 5 November 2026.

• Companies Act, Cap. 212 R.E. 2023. BRELA, Revised Edition 2023. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Companies Act, 2002, consolidation as at 1 July 2016. TanzLII, 2016. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Maswali Yanayoulizwa Mara kwa Mara (FAQ). BRELA, undated, uploaded February 2024. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Online Registration System public search. BRELA, 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Banking and Financial Institutions Act, 2006. Bank of Tanzania, Act No. 5 of 2006. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Business Names Act, Cap. 213 R.E. 2023. TanzLII, 31 December 2023. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Trade and Service Marks Act, Cap. 326. TanzLII, 2023 revision listed. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Stamp duty. Tanzania Revenue Authority, 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Start a business in Zanzibar. ZIPA eRegulations Zanzibar, 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• BRELA launches upgraded online services platform. Daily News, 10 April 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• BRELA rolls out upgraded online system. The Respondents, 28 May 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• BRELA launches an upgraded BOS system. Lyson Law, June 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Q&A, 22 November 2010. FB Attorneys, 22 November 2010. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Mainland companies no longer required to register a Zanzibar subsidiary. EY Tax News, 18 January 2023. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• The reservation period: thirty days under section 32 against sixty days in BRELA's FAQ. Read the expiry date on your own reservation.
• Whether a lapsed reservation can be extended or renewed, and any fee for it: no separate line in the fee register.
• Whether BRELA refunds the TZS 50,000 (F0003) fee on a refused name: unknown.
• The number of documents charged at F0005 on a BOS incorporation: the control number governs.
• The current BOS screens for company name clearance and reservation, which BRELA has not documented in a published manual we could find.
• The BPRA name search, reservation period and fee in Zanzibar.
• The exchange rate of TZS 2,500 per US dollar is illustrative only.

This article is general information based on official sources available at the date of publication. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and notices change. Verify with the issuing authority or consult Zatra before acting.