How to Register a Business in Ontario

To register a business in Ontario, you first choose a legal structure, then file with the right government registry. A sole proprietorship or general partnership registers its business name through the Ontario Business Registry for a $60 government fee, valid for five years. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation, either with Ontario ($300) or with Corporations Canada ($200). After that, most businesses open a CRA business number, register for GST/HST once they pass $30,000 in taxable sales, and check for any municipal licences or employer registrations that apply.

Registering a business in Ontario is one of those tasks that sounds intimidating and turns out to be mostly paperwork. The harder part is the decision you make before the paperwork: what kind of business you are registering in the first place. Get that right and the rest follows. This guide walks through the whole path, start to finish, and points you to the more detailed guide for each step.

First, pick your structure

Before you register anything, you need to know what you are registering. In Ontario, most new businesses fall into one of three buckets: a sole proprietorship, a general partnership, or a corporation. Each is registered differently, carries a different level of personal risk, and comes with different ongoing obligations.

A sole proprietorship is you, operating as a business. It is the simplest and cheapest to set up. The catch is that there is no legal separation between you and the business, so the business's debts are your debts, and the business income is reported on your personal tax return.

A general partnership is two or more people carrying on business together with a view to profit. It has the same simplicity and the same lack of separation, plus the added wrinkle that each partner can be on the hook for the debts of the partnership, including obligations a partner took on without you. A written partnership agreement is strongly recommended even though the law does not require one. Limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships also exist in Ontario, but they are specialized structures used for investment vehicles and certain regulated professions, and they are registered under different rules.

A corporation is a separate legal entity. It owns its own assets, signs its own contracts, and is responsible for its own debts. It costs more and takes more upkeep, but it puts a wall between your personal assets and the business, and it can be more tax-efficient once you are earning more than you need to live on.

If you are not sure which one fits, that choice deserves more thought than the registration itself. We cover it in a separate guide on sole proprietorship versus incorporation.

Ontario business structures compared

Here is how the main options line up on the points that matter at registration time. Fees are the government filing fees only, as published by ServiceOntario and Corporations Canada.

Both types of corporation also file a corporate income tax return (T2) every year and keep a minute book. Those costs are not government fees, but they are the real difference in upkeep between a corporation and an unincorporated business.

Registering a sole proprietorship or partnership

Under Ontario's Business Names Act, an individual who carries on business under any name other than their own name must register that name. If you operate as "Jane Smith," you do not need to register. If you operate as "Jane Smith Consulting" or "Maplewind Studio," you do. Partnerships are stricter: the partners must register the firm name of the partnership, and register any other name they use with the public.

The registration used to be called a Master Business Licence. Today it is a business name registration, filed through the Ontario Business Registry. The process looks like this:

• Search the name first. Check the Ontario Business Registry and the Canadian Trademarks Database for the same or similar names in your industry.
• Gather your details: the business name, your legal name and address, the business address, and a short description of the activity.
• File online through the Ontario Business Registry. Online registrations are processed immediately. Mail filings take about 15 business days.
• Pay the $60 government fee. The fee is the same whether you file online or by mail.
• Keep the registration on file and calendar the expiry date. The registration is effective for five years and must be renewed before it expires, for another $60.

If anything in your registration changes, such as your address or the business activity, update it through the registry. Ontario expects changes to registered information to be reported within 15 days. If you would rather not handle the filing yourself, Korporex can file a sole proprietorship registration for you, or register a business name for an existing business.

Skipping registration has consequences. Operating under an unregistered name is an offence under the Business Names Act, with fines of up to $2,000 for an individual and up to $25,000 for a corporation. More practically, a business operating under an unregistered name cannot bring a lawsuit in an Ontario court in connection with that business without the court's permission. That matters the first time a client refuses to pay. For the full walkthrough, see our guide on how to register a sole proprietorship in Ontario.

Registering a corporation

Incorporating is a bigger step. You choose first whether to incorporate provincially in Ontario or federally under the Canada Business Corporations Act. Provincial is usually simpler if you plan to operate mainly in Ontario. Federal gives you name protection across the country.

A federal corporation that carries on business in Ontario still has to register in Ontario by filing an Initial Return within 60 days of starting business in the province, but it does not need an extra-provincial licence. In the other direction, an Ontario corporation that expands into another province registers there as an extra-provincial corporation under that province's rules.

Either way, incorporation follows the same basic sequence:

• Choose a named or numbered corporation. A numbered corporation uses the number the registry assigns, such as "1234567 Ontario Inc." A named corporation needs a name that is distinctive and not confusingly similar to existing names.
• For a named Ontario corporation, obtain an Ontario-biased NUANS name search report. Federally, a separate NUANS report is no longer required for a word name filed online, because the name search is built into the federal process.
• Decide your share structure: the classes of shares, their rights, and any restrictions on transferring them.
• Name your first directors and your registered office address in the jurisdiction.
• File Articles of Incorporation and pay the government fee: $300 in Ontario, $200 federally. Online filings are processed immediately in Ontario and typically within one business day federally.
• Complete the post-incorporation steps: organize the corporation by resolution, issue shares, set up the minute book, and file the Ontario Initial Return within 60 days of incorporation (no government fee).

This is the stage where doing it yourself can quietly cost you. The share structure and the articles are not just forms. They shape how you can bring in partners, pay yourself, and sell the business later. People often incorporate cheaply online, then pay more a year later to fix a structure that did not anticipate where the business went. Our guide to incorporating in Ontario covers each step in detail, and the guide on named versus numbered corporations helps with the first decision.

A corporation that wants to trade under a name other than its corporate name, such as a numbered company operating as "Maplewind Studio," must also register that operating name under the Business Names Act. Once incorporated, the corporation keeps filing an annual return through the Ontario Business Registry, due within six months of its fiscal year-end, and missing it can eventually lead to dissolution. Our guide to corporate annual returns explains the deadlines.

When you are ready, you can start an incorporation online in about 10 minutes.

CRA business number and GST/HST

Registering with Ontario and registering with the Canada Revenue Agency are separate steps. The CRA business number is a nine-digit identifier for all your federal tax accounts. A sole proprietor operating under their own name may not need one at first. You need one as soon as you open a program account: GST/HST, payroll, corporate income tax, or import and export. Every corporation needs one because it files its own tax return. A federal incorporation normally generates a business number for you; otherwise you register with the CRA online, by phone, or by mail.

GST/HST registration is mandatory once you stop being a small supplier. You remain a small supplier as long as your taxable sales do not exceed $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, or in a single calendar quarter. Once you cross the threshold, you have 29 days from your effective date of registration to register. Taxi and ride-sharing drivers must register from their first sale regardless of revenue. Below the threshold, registration is optional, and many businesses register voluntarily so they can claim input tax credits on their startup costs. In Ontario, the harmonized rate is 13%. Our guide on how to get a GST/HST number in Ontario covers the details, and Korporex can register your business number and tax accounts for you.

Municipal licences and other registrations

A provincial registration does not, on its own, authorize every activity. Depending on what you do and where you do it, you may need more:

• Municipal business licences. Many Ontario municipalities license specific activities, such as food service, personal services, trades, and vehicles for hire. Rules vary by city, and zoning bylaws can limit what you run from home. Check with your municipality, or use BizPaL, a government service that lists the permits and licences for your activity and location.
• WSIB. Most businesses must register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board within 10 calendar days of hiring their first worker. Construction businesses have their own rules, including for owners without employees.
• Employer Health Tax. Ontario's EHT applies to payroll. Eligible employers are exempt on the first $1 million of annual Ontario payroll, and must register once payroll exceeds that exemption. Employers with more than $5 million in Ontario payroll cannot claim the exemption.
• Payroll account. Before you pay your first employee, open a payroll (RP) account with the CRA to remit source deductions.
• Industry regulators. Regulated professions and activities, from real estate to food handling to the skilled trades, have their own licensing bodies. Registering your business does not replace them.

Common mistakes when registering a business in Ontario

• Treating a business name registration as name protection. It is a public notice of who is behind a name, not an exclusive right. Trademark rights come from use and from registration with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
• Operating under a trade name without registering it, including a corporation trading under a name other than its own.
• Letting the five-year business name registration lapse because nobody calendared the renewal.
• Choosing a corporation's name before checking availability, then paying for a second NUANS report after a rejection.
• Accepting a default share structure without thinking about future partners, family members, or a sale.
• Assuming registration with Ontario also registers you with the CRA, or waiting too long to register for GST/HST after crossing $30,000.
• Incorporating and then forgetting the Initial Return, the annual return, and the minute book.

After you register

Whichever route you took, a few things usually come next.

• You get a CRA business number if you do not already have one.
• You register for GST/HST if you expect to cross the $30,000 threshold, or voluntarily if input tax credits make it worthwhile.
• If you are hiring, you set up a payroll account and register with WSIB.
• You open a separate business bank account so business and personal money never mix.
• And if you incorporated, you start keeping a minute book, the corporation's required record of its own decisions, and you file the Initial Return within 60 days.

None of these are urgent on day one, but they pile up if you ignore them, and some carry penalties when missed. Our guides on the corporate minute book and opening a business bank account cover the two that people most often put off.

Where Korporex fits

You can register a sole proprietorship yourself in an afternoon through the Ontario Business Registry. To incorporate, Korporex handles Ontario and federal incorporation filings online, including the NUANS name search, the share structure, and the minute book, so you can register and incorporate in one place and have your documents within 24 hours. If you want to compare the total government cost first, our guide on the cost to incorporate in Ontario breaks it down, and when you are ready you can incorporate online.

This guide is general information about Ontario and federal registration rules, not legal or tax advice for your situation. For decisions about structure, shares, and tax planning, speak with a qualified lawyer or accountant.

Frequently asked questions