How to Register an Ontario Sole Proprietorship

The Business Names Act (Ontario) governs the registration of Ontario sole proprietorships. Another name for a Ontario Sole Proprietorship is an Ontario trade name. It would be advisable to read the statute to ensure that you operate your business in compliance with the statute requirements.

The legislation indicates that a person must not carry on business under another name other than his or her own name or identify his or her business to the public under a name other than his or her own name unless the business name has been registered by that individual. You do not have to do a registration if you are carrying on business under your own name.

If you decide to register an Ontario trade name you should be aware that an Ontario Nuans name search is not required. It is not a requirement of the statute that the name you choose for your Ontario trade name be unique. The Ontario government will accept a registration of a name that is exactly the same as another name registered as a sole proprietorship in Ontario. If you are going to register a trade name and you realize that there is another name registered which is exactly the same, you should not register the same name unless you have a connection with that business or have received consent in writing to the use of the name.

A preliminary name search should be done to ensure your name is available and a search house can do this for you for a small fee. Many search houses will clear your name in advance for free if you chose their service when registering your Ontario trade name. It is important that you have your name cleared by an experienced search house. These businesses are trained to check out a name right across Canada and clear it for you. Many businesses are doing business online and will do business in other provinces so it is even important that you do not register a name that is the same or close to a name in British Columbia for instance. Attempting to clear your own name without the assistance of a search house can create problems. If you pick a name that is the same as another name the government will not let you know this in advance of registration. Situations have occurred where an individual had to register another name right after registration of a sole proprietorship because he found out after the fact that there was a conflict.

Once you have registered your Ontario business it will stay in place for five years. A Master Business Licence will be issued for the Ontario sole proprietorship. It will be a photocopy and if you order it online from a Ontario service provider it will be sent to you in the form of a pdf. The expiry date of the Ontario business registration will be on the form and you must ensure that you keep track of this since the government will not remind you.

It should be noted that no Ontario company can have the same name. It is only Ontario business names, Ontario sole proprietorships and Ontario partnerships that have no protection for the name.

Subsequent to registering your Ontario sole proprietorship, if any information changes you must filed an amendment to the registration outlining those changes. it is not possible to change the name of an Ontario trade name. You must file a brand new registration if you do not wish to continue operating under the same name.

A dissolution of an Ontario sole proprietorship must be filed if you no longer wish to carry on business under the name you have registered.

An Ontario sole proprietorship is not perpetual. It will expiry in five years and that expiry date will be clearly shown on the Master Business Licence. You must set up a tickler to ensure that you renew your business name prior to the five years being up. It is a good idea to re-register a few days before the Ontario sole proprietorship registration expires.

Resources for Canadian Business Owners handles legal and government registrations and can assist you with an Ontario Business Name Registration and Ontario Nuans Name Searches