Rules
Business Entity Search Canada: Registry Lookup Step by Step
Business entity search Canada, step by step: the federal and provincial registries by name, the joint portal, and what a NUANS report costs.
What to take away
- Canada has no single company registry. The federal government and each province run separate databases, so one business can appear in two places under two numbers.
- The federal corporation search is free and covers federally incorporated companies. Provincial registries cover provincially incorporated and extra-provincially registered ones.
- Canada's Business Registries, the joint federal–provincial search portal, searches several registries at once, but it is no substitute for the provincial record itself.
- A NUANS report clears a name for registration. It does not verify a supplier. It costs roughly CAD 25 to CAD 150 and expires.
- Start every lookup with the free registries. Pay only when you plan to register a name or need a dated status document.
Why Canada splits its registries
Canada incorporates companies at two levels. Corporations Canada handles federal incorporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act. Each province and territory runs its own registry under its own statute — Ontario's Business Corporations Act, British Columbia's Business Corporations Act, Alberta's Business Corporations Act, Quebec's Business Corporations Act and Manitoba's The Corporations Act among them.
Federal vs Provincial Incorporation
Federal
- Law
- Canada Business Corporations Act
- Who uses it
- Larger firms
- Extra step
- Register in each province
- Records
- Two filing numbers
- Search screen
- Federal database
Provincial
- Law
- Provincial statute
- Who uses it
- Smaller firms
- Extra step
- None
- Records
- One database
- Search screen
- Provincial database
A federal company that carries on business in a province usually has to register there too. That step is called extra-provincial registration, and it creates a second public record. One business can end up with two filing numbers and two file histories.
Provincial incorporation is more common for smaller firms, and each provincial registry has its own name, its own search screen and its own fee schedule. British Columbia's is BC Registries and Online Services. Ontario's is the Ontario Business Registry, run by the Companies and Personal Property Security Branch. Alberta's is the Alberta Corporate Registry, Quebec's is the Registraire des entreprises and Manitoba's is the Companies Office.
The Yukon Corporate Registry, the Northwest Territories Corporate Registries and Nunavut's Legal Registries cover the three territories, which are separate databases again.
That split shapes any business entity search in Canada. A search that returns nothing at the federal level is not proof the business does not exist. It may only be registered provincially. The federal corporation search page explains what the federal database holds and what it leaves out.
Step by step: a Canadian corporate registry search
Canadian Registry Lookup Steps
- Collect exact legal name and number
- Run federal entity registry lookup
- Move to the province registry
- Match the number format
- Pull full profile or status report
- Decide if name clearance needed
- Collect the exact legal name. Ask for the incorporation number too, since two companies can trade under one name.
- Start with the entity registry lookup in Canada's Business Registries, the joint federal–provincial portal, and confirm the record in the federal database. Note the number, status and registered office province.
- Move to the province. Ontario's Ontario Business Registry, BC Registries and Online Services, the Alberta Corporate Registry, the Registraire des entreprises in Quebec and the Manitoba Companies Office all publish searchable records.
- Match the number format. Federal corporations use a seven digit number with a trailing digit for the type. Every province issues its own number on its own pattern, so a provincial number will not resolve in the federal database.
- Pull the full profile, or order a status report if you need a dated document. Each registry publishes its own fee schedule for profiles, status reports and certified copies.
- Decide whether name clearance is needed. If you plan to register your own name, order the required NUANS search before filing.
Reading what a registry record shows
Free View vs Full Record
Free registry view
- Legal name
- Shown
- Registry number
- Shown
- Status
- Shown
- Incorporation date
- Shown
- Registered office
- Shown
- Directors
- Hidden
- Financials
- Hidden
Not in free view
- Legal name
- Hidden
- Registry number
- Hidden
- Status
- Hidden
- Incorporation date
- Hidden
- Registered office
- Hidden
- Directors
- Shown
- Financials
- Shown
A status of dissolved or struck off means the entity lost the capacity to carry on business. Paying a company in that state is a real credit risk, and a deposit is hard to recover.
The registered office is often a lawyer's address or a mailbox. That is normal for a corporation and not a warning sign by itself.
Ontario's public registry also lists out of province companies that have filed to do business there. Those filings are made under the Extra-Provincial Corporations Act through the Companies and Personal Property Security Branch of Ontario's Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery. If a federal company says it operates in Ontario, that extra-provincial record should exist.
When a paid name search is required
A NUANS report is not a verification report. It searches corporate and trade mark databases for names that are confusingly similar, so a registrar can decide whether to allow your proposed name.
The report comes from a licensed search house, not from the registry itself, and it covers corporate names in the federal, provincial and territorial databases as well as registered trademarks.
Order one when you plan to incorporate federally, register a provincial name, or adopt a business name in most provinces. Ontario accepts a NUANS report in place of a provincial name search in some cases.
Do not order one to check a supplier. A free registry lookup answers that question. Matching the wrong tool to the job wastes money, because a name search covers four separate jobs.
Prices vary by provider and turnaround. NUANS report costs in Canada run from about CAD 25 to CAD 150, and the report expires in roughly 90 days.
A free registry lookup confirms that an entity exists today. A paid name search only clears a name for registration. Confusing the two is the most common and most expensive mistake in this kind of check.
Example: checking a supplier before a deposit
You are a US buyer about to send CAD 20,000 to a company in Toronto. The invoice shows Northline Logistics with no legal suffix.
Search the federal database. Nothing appears. Search Ontario. You find Northline Logistics Inc. registered extra-provincially, with a home jurisdiction in Manitoba, and the status reads active.
Now ask for the legal name and registry number that match the invoice. The contract can name the right entity, and any claim sits against a company that still exists.
Federal versus provincial searches side by side
Federal versus provincial searches
Federal registry
- Who appears
- Federally incorporated companies
- Free data
- Legal name, number, status, registered office
- Blind spot
- Companies incorporated only in a province
- Paid step
- Name clearance before federal incorporation
Provincial registry
- Who appears
- Provincially incorporated and extra-provincially registered companies
- Free data
- Legal name, number, status, registered office
- Blind spot
- Companies registered only in other provinces
- Paid step
- Name clearance and separate filings, if required
Common questions
Do I need a NUANS report to look up a company?
No. NUANS supports name clearance for registration. For checking a business that already exists, the free federal and provincial registries are enough.
Which registry should I search first?
Start federally, then the province where the business operates. A provincially incorporated company will not appear in the federal database at all.
How long does a name search stay valid?
A NUANS report is generally accepted for about 90 days. After that, a registrar may ask for a fresh report.
Can I find who owns a Canadian company for free?
Usually not. Free profiles show limited data. Ownership and director detail often requires a paid profile, a status report or a corporate document request.
