Company name check
See whether a company or trade name is already used by a registered Dutch business.
Type a name below. We search 170,311 companies in the directory by trade name, statutory name and KVK number, and show the KVK number, legal form and town for every match — enough to tell whether it is the same kind of business as yours.
Not found does not mean free
This directory holds part of the Dutch Trade Register, not a copy of it, so a name that does not appear here may well be in use. The reverse holds too: a name nobody trades under can still collide with a registered trademark, or with a similar trade name in the same sector and region. We are not a government body and decide nothing — KVK handles registration, and the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property handles trademarks.
What you do get here
Whether the name is taken
Every match on a trade name or statutory name, with its KVK number, legal form and town, so you can judge whether it is the same kind of business.
Who trades under it
A profile per match with the registration record: address, legal form, status and — where the register publishes them — the company's former names.
How crowded the name is
For a common word you can see at a glance how many businesses trade under something similar. That tells you more about your risk than a single yes or no.
Common questions about checking a company name
- How do I check whether a company name already exists?
- Type the name into the search box on this page. You will see every registered company trading under that name or part of it, with its KVK number, legal form and town. Two characters are enough to start.
- Is checking a company name free?
- Yes. Search and the basic registration record are free and need no account. Only the full profiles, change monitoring and API access are paid.
- What is the difference between a trade name and a trademark?
- A trade name (handelsnaam) is the name your business operates under, recorded in the Trade Register at KVK. A trademark is a separate right in a sign for goods or services, registered at the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property. A free trade name can still infringe an existing trademark, so check both.
- Can I reserve a company name in advance?
- No. The Netherlands has no advance reservation of a trade name: you use it and register it with KVK when you incorporate or when you change it. Whoever started actually using the name first has the stronger position if a dispute arises later.
- Does no match mean the name is available?
- No. This directory holds part of the Trade Register, not a copy. A name absent here may be traded under elsewhere, and even an unused name can collide with a trademark. Treat it as a first check, not a ruling.
- Where does this data come from?
- Company identity and ownership come from the Global LEI Foundation's LEI register, published into the public domain (CC0). VAT numbers are checked against the European Commission's VIES service.