How to Register a Business in Canada

Do not start with the form

A lot of founders type "register business Canada" into a search box and assume the next form is the beginning. It isn't. The beginning is deciding what you're trying to create: a simple operating name for a side business, a corporation that separates ownership from you personally, a partnership, or a federally incorporated company that will also need provincial or territorial registration where it carries on business.

A sole proprietorship can be quick and inexpensive, but the business isn't legally separate from you. A corporation is a separate legal person with more records, filing, banking, and governance, but it can help with liability boundaries, ownership, investors, and continuity. Which one fits is its own decision — the full trade-off is in Sole Proprietorship vs Corporation. If you have partners, regulated work, employees, contracts with real liability, or outside investment, get advice before filing something just because it's cheaper today.

What it costs, and how long

Before the concepts, the part every other guide leads with — the actual fees and thresholds, so you can plan from this page. These are official figures, verified July 2026; government pages change without notice, so confirm the current number on the source before you file.

Two of those trip people up. The NUANS report is often unnecessary now for a federal online filing, so don't pay for one before you check. And the B.C. "$40" is only the bare registration — a sole proprietorship trading under a business name still needs the $30 name request.

Choose the name path before you pay

There are usually two paths: a named business or a numbered corporation. Corporations Canada says a federal corporation can use a word name or a numbered name; a numbered name is simpler because the number is assigned. A word name takes more care because it has to be approved, and it still doesn't mean you own every possible trademark, domain, social handle, or provincial business-name conflict.

Here's how the deciding is actually done. Federally, the name-search tool is NUANS. A word (named) corporation traditionally needed a NUANS name-search report — $13.80 ordered directly from the official NUANS site, more through a private search house — but a federal online incorporation of a word name now builds the search into the application, so on that path you usually don't buy a separate report. A numbered corporation skips the search entirely, because the number is assigned.

In B.C., a named business submits a Name Request through BC Registries for $30; once approved, the name is reserved for 56 days while you file. A numbered B.C. company skips it. And whichever registry approves your name, that approval isn't a trademark — it doesn't stop someone else using a similar brand. Brand protection is a separate registration through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).

Federal and provincial are not interchangeable

Federal incorporation creates a federal corporation. Provincial incorporation creates a corporation under that province's law. A federal corporation may still need to register in provinces or territories where it does business. A provincial corporation may need extra-provincial registration if it expands. The point isn't that one is always better. The point is that the registry should match where you'll operate, how you'll raise money, and what your accountant or lawyer expects you to maintain.

For many local service businesses, a provincial path is enough. For companies expecting to operate across Canada, raise money, or use a name nationally, federal incorporation may be worth comparing. Do that comparison before contracts, invoices, bank accounts, and tax accounts are already tangled around the wrong entity.

The business number is not the whole setup

The CRA business number is an identifier. CRA program accounts are the account suffixes attached to that identifier for specific tax or reporting jobs. You may need GST/HST, payroll, corporation income tax, import-export, or other program accounts depending on what you do. Opening every account too early creates filing obligations you may not need yet; waiting too long creates penalties and cleanup.

Use the CRA page to decide whether you're registering as a Canadian resident business or a non-resident doing business in Canada. If your SIN starts with 9, if you don't have a SIN, or if your company is incorporated outside Canada, don't guess your way through the wrong path.

Registration is the start of your evidence file

Once the business exists, build a small evidence file: registration documents, articles, shareholder or partnership records, business number confirmation, program account confirmations, municipal licence, professional licence if relevant, insurance, bank account, bookkeeping chart, and key contracts. This isn't bureaucracy for its own sake. It's what a bank, buyer, grant program, procurement officer, accountant, or immigration professional will ask for when the business has to prove it's real.

The cleanest setup is boring: one legal owner, one bank account, one bookkeeping system, one folder of official documents, and no mystery about who is allowed to sign. When you open that bank account, what the bank actually asks a new business for is its own short checklist.

Sources to keep open