How to Register a Business With the Toronto Government

As Canada's biggest financial center, with access to 180 million Canadian and American consumers, Toronto is an attractive place to be an entrepreneur. With an array of services like Enterprise Toronto available, it's relatively painless to open a business in Ontario's capital city.

Instructions

Define Your Business Structure Before Registering

1. Locate a place to operate. You need an address where legal correspondence can be sent. A post office box will not do, but your home is OK.

2. Find the business structure that fits your entrepreneurial plan. Do you want to register a sole proprietorship, which is a business with one owner; a partnership, which is a business with two or more owners; or a corporation?

3. Name your business. A sole proprietor can operate under his legal name, for example "John Smith." If you do this, you aren't required to register your business at all. However, you must register if you choose a business name like "John Smith's Widgets."

Register Your Sole Proprietorship or Partnership's Name

1. Get a name search report. You can get one online using SeviceOntario's website or obtain one in-person at a ServiceOntario office.

   Alternatively, a NUANS report finds businesses whose names are similar to yours. You can get the report at Enterprise Toronto or through a private service provider.

2. Check the name search report to be sure that your name doesn't conflict with an existing name. Only corporation names are protected by law, but you might risk a lawsuit if your business can be confused with another one.

3. Register your business name. You can do it with help at an Enterprise Toronto office. Do-it-yourselfers can register online at ServiceOntario's website, in-person at a participating ServiceOntario office or through the mail.

   For the mail option, get the "Registration Form 1 under the Business Names Act--Sole Proprietorship / Partnership" form from the ServiceOntario website and follow the instructions on it.

Register Your Corporation

1. Register federally if you will operate outside Ontario. If you only see yourself operating in Toronto, for example, register provincially.

2. Get a NUANS name search report, unless you plan to create a corporation that has only a number and no name. NUANS is required for named incorporation. You can get one at an Enterprise Toronto office or through a private service provider.

   Be careful, it is forbidden to use a confusing name or one that is similar to an existing corporation.

3. File your articles of incorporation. You can get help for provincial and federal incorporation at an Enterprise Toronto office.

   You can incorporate in Ontario yourself by bringing a cover letter with your name, address and telephone number on it and your NUANS report, if that is applicable. Also bring an articles of incorporation form and $360 to a Land Registry Office or a participating ServiceOntario office. You can find the form on the ServiceOntario website. It's called "Articles of Incorporation -- Form 1." You can also mail these documents to the address indicated on the form.

   To incorporate federally, use the Corporations Canada Online Filing Centre. It costs $200.

Tips & Warnings

• You will probably need special permits or licenses. Use ServiceOntario's Bizpal wizard to determine which ones you need.

References

• City of Toronto: Toronto Facts, Business, and Economic Development
• Enterprise Toronto: Business Name Registration and Incorporation
• ServiceOntario: Business Services
• Canada Business: How to Register Your Business Name
• Industry Canada

Resources

• Enterprise Toronto: Office Locations
• ServiceOntario: Online Name Search and Registration Services
• ServiceOntario: Business Registration Forms
• Corporations Canada Online Filing Centre
• ServiceOntario: Bizpal