{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/companies-act-2006/section-85",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/companies-act-2006/section-85.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2006/46",
  "legislation_title": "Companies Act 2006",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/companies-act-2006",
  "path": "section/85",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "85",
  "heading": "Minor variations in form of name to be left out of account",
  "text": "(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, in considering a company's name no account is to be taken of—\n(a) whether upper or lower case characters (or a combination of the two) are used,\n(b) whether diacritical marks or punctuation are present or absent,\n(c) whether the name is in the same format or style as is specified under section 57(1)(b) for the purposes of registration,\nprovided there is no real likelihood of names differing only in those respects being taken to be different names.\n(2) This does not affect the operation of regulations under section 57(1)(a) permitting only specified characters, diacritical marks or punctuation.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Ss. 82-85 applied (with modifications) (1.10.2009) by The Unregistered Companies Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2436), regs. 3-5, Sch. 1 para. 4 (with transitional provisions and savings in regs. 7, 9, Sch. 2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "S. 85 applied (with modifications) (1.10.2009) by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/1804), regs. 2, 15 (as amended (31.1.2015) by The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/17), reg. 1(1), Sch. 5 para. 6)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 85 wholly in force at 1.10.2008; s. 85 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 1300; s. 85 in force at 1.10.2008 by S.I. 2007/3495, art. 5(1)(b) (with savings in arts. 7, 12 and subject to transitional adaptations in Sch. 1 para. 23)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/85",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:13:40.060156+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}