Federal: Corporations Canada

How to search

Start with the official search. It is listed first because it comes straight from the registry.

1. Search for a Federal Corporation

   Cost

   FreeSource

   Login

   No login neededSource

What you get

A free corporate profile, with no login, shows the corporation's name, status, corporation number and Business Number, the act it is governed by, its registered office, its directors, its annual filings, its name history, and its certificates and filings.Source

Step-by-step guides

• Incorporate

Fees

Registering a business name

There is no federal business name registration. Sole proprietorships and partnerships register their name with the province or territory where they do business.Source

Registering a federal corporation in a province or territory

A federal corporation also registers in each province or territory where it does business, and pays that jurisdiction's fee.

• Ontario: Register in Ontario in the same application as your federal incorporation.Source
• British Columbia: Use the Start registration link for British Columbia on Corporations Canada's site.Source
• Alberta: Use the Start registration link for Alberta on Corporations Canada's site.Source
• Nova Scotia: Register in Nova Scotia in the same application as your federal incorporation.Source
• Quebec: Use the Start registration link for Quebec on Corporations Canada's site.Source
• Manitoba: Use the Start registration link for Manitoba on Corporations Canada's site.Source
• Saskatchewan: Use the Start registration link for Saskatchewan on Corporations Canada's site.Source
• New Brunswick: Register directly with New Brunswick's own registry.Source
• Prince Edward Island: Register directly with Prince Edward Island's own registry.Source
• Newfoundland and Labrador: Register in Newfoundland and Labrador in the same application as your federal incorporation.Source
• Yukon: Register directly with Yukon's own registry.Source
• Northwest Territories: Register directly with Northwest Territories's own registry.Source
• Nunavut: Register directly with Nunavut's own registry.Source

Good to know

• When to register a business name: Never federally. Sole proprietorships and partnerships register a business name with their province or territory.Source
• The federal search covers federally incorporated corporations only, not banks and other financial institutions or provincial and foreign corporations. Search by name, corporation number or Business Number.Source
• Most filings need an ISED account with identity verification, and some also need the corporation key.Source
• For a federal incorporation the NUANS search is part of the online application, so don't order a separate report first.Source
• A NUANS search result is good for 90 days and doesn't mean the name is approved.Source
• Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario require their own name search report, which the NUANS site does not sell.Source
• Check existing business names and trademarks too, not just corporation names.Source
• A trademark database search is only a first check: the trademarks office doesn't search for you.Source
• When Corporations Canada incorporates the company, it issues a certificate of incorporation. The company exists from the date on the certificate, which also shows its corporation number.Source
• The Business Number (BN) is a 9-digit number that identifies a business to the CRA. Programs run by provinces, territories, municipalities and other federal departments use that number too.Source
• A business has only one BN. Each CRA program account it adds, such as GST/HST or payroll, hangs off that same number.Source
• You need a BN if you incorporate, or if you need a CRA program account (GST/HST and payroll are the common ones). An unincorporated business needs one only when it signs up for a CRA program account.Source
• Once a federal incorporation is approved, the corporation gets a BN and a corporation income tax (RC) account. There is no separate CRA registration for these.Source
• Registering or incorporating with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island or Saskatchewan gives you a BN. Incorporating with one of them also opens a corporation income tax (RC) account.Source
• Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec and Yukon don't hand out a BN: businesses there register for one with the CRA themselves.Source
• A CRA program account number is the 9-digit BN, then a 2-letter code for the program (RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll, RC for corporation income tax, RZ for information returns, RR for registered charities), then a 4-digit reference number.Source
• To register directly, use the CRA's Business Registration Online (BRO) service, which needs a CRA account. If you can't use it, mail Form RC1 to your tax centre instead.Source
• BRO doesn't send your BN to you afterwards, so save or print it when you register.Source
• For a business located in Quebec, GST/HST is run by Revenu Québec, so you register for it there rather than with the CRA.Source