CanLaw
How To
Incorporate or Register Your Business
Canada Trusts CanLaw Online since 1996
BENEFITS OF AND HOW TO SET UP A FEDERAL INCORPORATION
Federal Incorporation
Federal Incorporation can easily be done online without a lawyer.
However you may still need a provincial incorporation as well.
Get a Federal Corporate Name Search (NUANS Report) in electronic (PDF) format
Register with the Click here Corporations Canada Homepage.
After you register with the Corporations Canada On-Line Filing Centre, you can file your business incorporation electronically.
Submit your Corporate Name Proposal online.
After your name is approved, file the Articles of Incorporation online. You will need a credit card to pay the $500 filing fee.
Provincial Incorporation filing fees are usually much less, so you may want to just register in your home province.
After you receive your Certificate of Incorporation, you will still be required to register your business in any province or territory where you carry on business.
Benefits of a federal incorporation
Source: Federal Government Incorporation Web Site
Once federally incorporated, business and not-for-profit corporations also benefit from:
Use Of A Name Across Canada
- registered office location anywhere in Canada
- recognition as a Canadian entity.
Incorporating at the federal level means that a corporation can operate under the same name across Canada. This flexibility can be very useful, especially if the corporation decides to have operations in different provinces or territories.
Registered office location anywhere in Canada
A corporation's registered office can be located anywhere in Canada. Canadian entities incorporated under other laws may not benefit from this latitude. Business corporations and not-for-profit corporations also enjoy flexibility with regard to the location of their annual meetings. They can even be held electronically or outside the country.
Recognition as a Canadian entity
Business corporations incorporated under the CBCA and not-for-profit corporations incorporated under the NFP Act benefit from international recognition as Canadian entities. This is an important consideration if the corporation has clients abroad or is considering operating there.
This is not legal advice it is information .