Costs
What a NUANS Report Costs in Canada and What You Can Skip
NUANS report costs in Canada run from about CAD 25 to CAD 150, and the report expires in roughly 90 days. Here is what else the search does not cover.
What to take away
- A NUANS report in Canada is a one-off purchase, commonly CAD 25 to CAD 90, and it usually stops being accepted about 90 days after issue.
- Ottawa does not sell the report. Private intermediaries do, and their prices move with turnaround, delivery and how many proposed names you submit.
- Name search is the small line. Federal incorporation costs CAD 200 online, and the annual return repeats each year.
- No free NUANS alternative exists. Free registry searches can screen a name, but a registry will not accept them in place of a purchased report.
What the range covers
A NUANS report is a search of corporate and business names held in federal, provincial and territorial registries. Corporations Canada explains when NUANS reports are required, and for federal incorporation the rule is blunt. A named company needs one. A numbered company does not.
The search is not sold by the government. Approved intermediaries set their own prices, so a quote depends on turnaround and how many proposed names you ask them to check. A standard next-day report commonly lands between CAD 25 and CAD 45. Same-day service pushes past CAD 90.
Budget the search step at roughly CAD 25 to CAD 150. Confirm the figure with the search house before you order.
Line by line
| Cost item | Illustrative amount (CAD) | One-off or recurring |
|---|---|---|
| NUANS report, standard next-day | 25 to 45 | One-off |
| NUANS report, same-day | 55 to 95 | One-off |
| NUANS report, several proposed names | 100 to 150 | One-off |
| Federal incorporation, online | 200 | One-off |
| Federal annual return | 12 | Recurring, yearly |
| Provincial name search, home province | 10 to 40 | One-off |
| Extra-provincial name search, each province | 25 to 90 | One-off, per province |
Those amounts are illustrative ranges drawn from published fee schedules. Small operators often pay above the table, because a service bundles the report with filing and adds a margin.
If the structure is still open, the entity type selection case study shows what shifts when the answer changes.
Fixed against variable
Government fees are fixed and public. Federal incorporation online costs CAD 200. The annual return costs about CAD 12 each year. None of those numbers change because you want speed.
Search house fees are variable. A rush job, a courier, or four proposed names instead of one will each add to the bill. Provincial routes differ as well, and a named Ontario company needs a search report from an approved provider.
One-off and recurring costs behave differently too. A NUANS report is a single purchase with a shelf life of about 90 days. The annual return is recurring and does not care whether the company earned a dollar.
What a NUANS report does not include
A NUANS report does not clear a trademark. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office keeps that register, and a name can pass the search and still collide with a live mark.
It does not guarantee approval either. A registrar can refuse a name that is confusingly similar to one already on file. The report is evidence that you looked, not permission to proceed.
Coverage has gaps. Sole proprietorships, partnerships and many trade names sit outside the federal data set. The report is also silent on tax elections and employer numbers, and the mistakes in an EIN application piece covers the identifier people confuse with a business registration.
Where budgets leak
- Ordering a report before the structure and the name are settled
- Reordering after the 90-day window closes
- Paying a service to fold a CAD 30 report into a CAD 300 package
- Buying a report for a numbered company
- Assuming one report covers extra-provincial registration everywhere
Timing is the largest leak. A report that expires unused costs the full amount a second time, and the replacement often carries a rush fee on top of it.
Each province can ask for its own search, and Corporations Canada sets out the extra-provincial registration in Ontario step.
Example: a report that expired before filing
A founder in Halifax buys a NUANS report for CAD 39. The bank wants two more months of statements before it will open a business account, so incorporation waits. By week 13 the report is past the 90-day mark.
The replacement costs another CAD 39. A filing service charges CAD 149 to handle the incorporation, on top of the CAD 200 government fee. The name search budget has doubled.
Buying the report when the bank, the lease and the clients are ready matters more than speed, and corporation formation right the first time sets out the order.
