Documents needed to incorporate in Canada
This page lists everything we need from you to incorporate, what each item has to contain, and which of it is a document rather than information. We prepare and file your articles of incorporation for $35.00, HST included. The government fee is separate and charged at cost: $200.00 to Corporations Canada under the CBCA, or $300.00 to the Ontario Business Registry under the OBCA. Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA. A Chartered Professional Accountant reviews your directors, your share structure and your year end before anything is filed.
What counts as a document and what is only information
Most of what an incorporation needs is information rather than paperwork. Names, addresses and share classes are typed into a form, not scanned and attached.
Only one document is genuinely required, and only for a named corporation. That is the NUANS report, and we order it for you rather than asking you to supply it.
Everything else is detail you already know or can confirm in a few minutes. The reason a filing stalls is almost never a missing file. It is a director’s legal name spelled differently from their identification, or an address that turns out to be a mailbox.
| What we need | Exactly what it must contain | Needed for | Where it ends up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate name, or a request for a number | The exact name including the legal ending, plus a second and third choice | Named corporations only | The articles and the certificate |
| NUANS report | An Ontario-biased report in Ontario, dated no more than 90 days before filing | Named corporations only | Filed with the articles, then the minute book |
| Director details | Full legal name and residential address for each director, no post office box | Every corporation | The articles, and public on the registry |
| Director residency status | Whether each director is a resident Canadian | Federal filings | Checked against section 105(3) of the CBCA |
| Registered office address | A physical address in the province of incorporation, no post office box | Every corporation | The articles, and public on the registry |
| Shareholder details | Full legal name, address, and the number and class of shares held | Every corporation | The share register in the minute book |
| Share structure instructions | Who votes, who receives dividends, and whether anyone may join later | Every corporation | The share provisions in the articles |
| Transparency register information | Name, date of birth, citizenship, tax residence and address for each controlling individual | Federal, Ontario, BC and Quebec | The register, kept at the registered office |
| Fiscal year end | Any date within 53 weeks of incorporation | Every corporation | The first directors resolution and the CRA record |
Our $35.00 fee includes HST. Government fees are passed through at cost with no mark-up. The full list is on our full pricing page, and the steps these details feed into are set out in the guide on how to incorporate a business in Canada.
The corporate name
A named corporation needs a name you have chosen and a NUANS report that supports it. A numbered corporation needs neither, because the registry assigns the number.
Give us the exact name including the legal ending you want: Inc., Incorporated, Corp., Corporation, Ltd. or Limited. The ending is part of the name, and changing it later is an amendment.
Give us a second and third choice as well. A name that reads as available can still be refused by an examiner, and a reserve choice saves a week.
Tell us if you already trade under a name. Where a sole proprietorship is moving into the corporation, the corporate name is usually matched to the trade name so the goodwill follows it. Our guide to the NUANS name search covers the report in full.
The directors
Every director’s full legal name and residential address is filed with the articles and becomes a public record on the registry. A post office box is not accepted for a director.
The name has to match identification exactly. A director who signs as Mike but appears on a passport as Michael is filed as Michael, because the registry record has to match everything that comes after it.
Director eligibility is set by statute rather than by preference. Section 105(1) of the Canada Business Corporations Act disqualifies anyone under 18, anyone who is incapable, anyone with the status of bankrupt, and any person that is not an individual.
Ontario sets the same three personal tests under subsection 118(1) of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario). A corporation cannot sit on a board in either jurisdiction.
We also need each director’s Canadian residency status. Section 105(3) of the Canada Business Corporations Act requires at least 25 percent of directors to be resident Canadians. The answer decides whether a federal filing is open to you.
| Jurisdiction | Minimum directors | Who is disqualified | Residency requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal, CBCA | One for a non-distributing corporation, three for a distributing one | Under 18, incapable, bankrupt, and anyone that is not an individual | At least 25 percent of directors must be resident Canadians |
| Ontario, OBCA | One for a non-offering corporation, three for an offering one | Under 18, not mentally capable, and undischarged bankrupts | None |
| Alberta, ABCA | One | Under 18, found of unsound mind by a court, and bankrupts | None |
| British Columbia, BCBCA | One for a private company, three for a public one | Under 18, undischarged bankrupts, and people convicted of fraud | None |
Our $35.00 fee includes HST and government fees are passed through at cost. Changes of directors must be reported to Corporations Canada within 15 days of the change.
The registered office address
The registered office is a physical address in the province of incorporation, and a post office box is not accepted. It is where the corporation receives legal documents.
A home address is permitted and it becomes a public record. Owners who would rather not publish a home address use a registered office address service, which we provide and price on our pricing page.
The address has to be one where someone can actually receive mail. A registry notice that goes undelivered does not stop a deadline running.
The shareholders and the share structure
For every shareholder we need the full legal name, the address, and the number and class of shares they will hold. This is separate from the directors, and the two lists are often not the same people.
We also need to know who is intended to receive dividends. A spouse or an adult child on a share class produces a usable dividend only where section 120.4 of the Income Tax Act is satisfied.
The share classes themselves are drafted rather than supplied. Tell us who should vote, who should receive dividends and whether anyone may join later, and the provisions follow from that.
We file your incorporation for $35.00, HST included
Government fee shown separately at cost. A CPA reviews the share structure before filing.
Transparency register information
Federal and most provincial corporations keep a register of the individuals who ultimately own or control them. The information is collected at incorporation because the register exists from day one.
A federal register under section 21.1 of the Canada Business Corporations Act records eight things about each controlling individual.
- Full legal name.
- Date of birth.
- Countries of citizenship.
- Countries of tax residence.
- Residential address.
- Any address for service.
- The dates control began and ended.
- A description of how that control is held.
The corporation records information within 15 days of becoming aware of it and updates the register at least annually. Reporting issuers, corporations listed on a designated stock exchange and prescribed classes are exempt.
British Columbia requires the same kind of register, updated within 30 days, and it is not public. Only current directors and specified authorities such as police, tax authorities, securities regulators and FINTRAC may inspect it.
Quebec takes a different route. Since 31 March 2023 every enterprise registered in Quebec declares its ultimate beneficiaries to the Registraire des entreprises. Names and business addresses are public, while dates of birth are not.
Alberta requires no transparency register at all. Alberta, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the remaining jurisdictions without one.
What you do not need to provide
A business plan is not required and no registry asks for one. Nor is a lease, a bank statement, a financial projection or a letter from an accountant.
Identification is not filed with the articles. The registry does not verify a director against a passport, which is exactly why the name you give us has to match the one on it.
A shareholder agreement is not required to incorporate and it is not filed with anyone. It is a contract between owners and it belongs with a lawyer rather than with the registry.
Nothing has to be signed in person. Both Corporations Canada and the Ontario Business Registry accept an electronic filing.
What a CPA checks before you incorporate
A checklist collects the facts. The review is what decides whether those facts produce the right corporation, and it happens before the articles are drafted.
Residency is read first, because it can close a door. A board with no resident Canadian director cannot file federally, which turns a jurisdiction question into a settled one.
Share ownership is read next. We confirm the legal and beneficial owner of every class, since a share recorded against the wrong person is not corrected by a resolution signed months later.
Family shareholdings get their own pass. The excluded business and excluded share tests under section 120.4 of the Income Tax Act are applied before the shares exist rather than after an assessment.
The year end is chosen against your billing cycle rather than defaulted to 31 December, and it can be any date within 53 weeks of incorporation.
Last, the thresholds. HST registration becomes mandatory once taxable supplies pass $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, and the $500,000 small business deduction limit is shared with any corporation yours is associated with. The parent firm covers the same ground in Gondaliya CPA’s practical guide to incorporating in Ontario.
Frequently asked questions
These are the questions owners ask while they are gathering the details. Each answer carries the figure, the statute or the registry that makes it true, so it can be read on its own without the rest of the page around it.
What documents do I need to incorporate in Canada?
Do I need identification to incorporate a company in Canada?
Can I use my home address to incorporate?
Who can be a director of a Canadian corporation?
Do I need a business plan to incorporate?
What information goes in the transparency register?
Why owners trust the filing to us
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is registered with CPA Ontario under firm registration number 61330051. Our clients have left us 1,300+ five-star Google reviews, and we work from 13 Ontario offices, open 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM, Monday to Sunday. We back every filing with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 60-day fee-matching policy, and we are a Xero Partner Award Winner 2026. The platform is operated by WealthBamboo Inc., a federal corporation. Open Corporation for $35 is a department of Gondaliya CPA.
Ready to incorporate
Send the intake form with the details above and we will confirm your jurisdiction, your share structure and your year end before anything is filed. Our fee is $35.00, HST included, and the government fee is shown separately at cost. Payment is by Interac e-Transfer to info@gondaliyacpa.ca, and the security question is Not Applicable because auto-deposit is enabled.
No legal advice
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation is a firm of Chartered Professional Accountants licensed by CPA Ontario, firm registration number 61330051. It is not a law firm. We prepare and file corporate documents and we provide accounting and tax advice. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and reading it creates no solicitor and client relationship. For legal advice, including advice on a shareholder agreement before you sign it, consult a lawyer licensed in the province where your corporation carries on business.
