Name Search
Order a NUANS Preliminary Name-Search Report
A NUANS report cross-references your proposed Canadian corporate name against millions of registered business names, corporate names, and trademarks across the country. It is the standard pre-incorporation name check required by Corporations Canada for federal filings and by most provincial registries for named corporations.
How to enter your proposed name correctly
Type the name you intend to register, then pick the jurisdiction where the corporation will be filed. Each jurisdiction has its own naming conventions, so follow the rules below to make sure the registry examiner can evaluate your name without ambiguity.
Provincial filings (Ontario and others)
The proposed name must match the corporation name exactly as it will appear on the certificate of incorporation. Include a legal ending. Abbreviated endings such as Inc., Ltd., or Corp. must end with a period.
Federal filings (CBCA)
Do not include the legal ending in your search term. NUANS compares only the distinctive element of a federal name; including the suffix dilutes the match score and can cause valid names to be flagged.
Acceptable legal endings
Corp., Corporation, Inc., Incorporated, Incorporée, Ltd., Ltée, Limited, Limitée, plus their French-language equivalents where the jurisdiction permits French wording.