Frequently asked questions

It checks an Australian business name against the ASIC business-names register, ABR, trademarks and domains, then scores how brandable the name is — so you can judge a name before you commit to it.

Overallis how the name nets out. It's driven by two parts: Brand quality— how good the name is linguistically (pronounceability, length, distinctiveness, how "ownable" it is) — and Availability— whether the domains and the AU register appear clear. If the name is effectively taken — an exact AU register match, or both the .com and .com.au gone — the Overall is capped low, because however well it reads you can't actually use it.

They are indicative signals only — not definitive. NameStake is an automated tool: data can be incomplete, out of date or temporarily unavailable, and our checks don't cover every register, trademark or common-law right. Nothing here is a guarantee that a name is available, registrable or safe to use, and nothing here is legal advice. Always confirm directly with the official registers and your own professional adviser before relying on a result. See our Terms of Use.

No. A strong brand-quality score says the name reads well; it does not mean the name is available or legally safe. Scores are indicative, not definitive. Always check the exact and similar register matches and trademarks, and confirm with ASIC and IP Australia, before you rely on a result.

It means our automated checks found no registration — a signal, not a guarantee. Premium, reserved, or recently-registered names can still look free. Treat every result as a starting point, not legal advice.

We only ever reference the official government registers and authoritative records— never the many lookalike or paid “business name” sites that imitate them. Depending on the search (coverage can vary, and some checks may be temporarily unavailable), we draw on:

• ASIC Business Names Register — via ASIC's officially published dataset on data.gov.au, refreshed weekly. Each result shows the data's “as of” date, and similar names are matched with fuzzy search so typos and near-duplicates surface too.
• Domain availability— via RDAP, the domain registries' authoritative protocol, with a DNS fallback (including .au domains governed by auDA).
• Australian Business Register (ABR) — ABN Lookup, for registered business/entity names.
• IP Australia — the Australian Trade Mark Search, plus selected international trade mark offices, for potential trademark clashes.

The authoritative sources are asic.gov.au, abr.business.gov.au and ipaustralia.gov.au — always confirm there directly, as our coverage is indicative and not exhaustive.The ASIC Business Names data is © Australian Securities and Investments Commission, sourced from data.gov.au and used under CC BY 3.0 AU (reformatted for search). ASIC does not endorse NameStake.

A blend of linguistic heuristics — syllables, length, distinctive letters, pronounceability, and how much it works as a coined "empty vessel" name — plus an AI vibe check on connotation, verb-ability and ownability. Each dimension is weighted; hover the ⓘ next to any line in the breakdown to see what it measures and its share.

The free check shows a summary; entering your email unlocks the full report — the similar registered names, every domain, trademarks and the full score breakdown. We only email you naming tips if you opt in. See our privacy policy.

Yes — common TLDs including .com and .com.au, via RDAP with a DNS fallback. As with everything here, a domain is reported as "appears available", never guaranteed.

NameStake is developed by Promptive Group.