When registering an Ontario sole proprietorship the statute that you need to review would be the Business Names Act (Ontario). Frequently an Ontario sole proprietorship is called an Ontario trade name. A responsible business person will read the statute to ensure that he or she follows the legal requirements of the statute.
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.
An Ontario Nuans name search report is not required when registering an Ontario sole proprietorship. The Business Names Act (Ontario) has no requirement for an Ontario trade name / Ontario sole proprietorship to be different than other Ontario registrations. You are allowed to register the exact same name as another sole proprietorship already registered with the Ontario government. Should you register a name that is the same as another name already registered? Absolutely not, unless you are connected in some way to that other registration or have written permission to register the name.
The best way to ensure this is to do a preliminary name search for the proposed name for your Ontario sole proprietorship. A search house can perform this for you. Some search houses charge a small fee for this and others will do this for free when you purchase a sole proprietorship registration service from them. You really need the help of a search house for clearing the name. You cannot clear you name on your own just by going through the phone book. As well you need to consider that you should not have a name that is even close to another name registered across all of Canada. It could cause problems since many businesses today conduct business right across Canada.
Registration of an Ontario sole proprietorship expires after 5 years. When you receive your registration it will be called a Master Business Licence. The Master Business License is usually issued in the form of a pdf document when it is provided to you by the service provider. It will have an expiry date on the form. The government will not remind you to renew your sole proprietorship registration so you must put some kind of tickler in place to 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.
The Ontario sole proprietorship registration does not stay in place forever. The Master Business Licence will have an expiry date on it. You must ensure you renew the registration a few days before the expiry date. The government will not remind you about this.
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.
An Ontario Nuans name search report is not required when registering an Ontario sole proprietorship. The Business Names Act (Ontario) has no requirement for an Ontario trade name / Ontario sole proprietorship to be different than other Ontario registrations. You are allowed to register the exact same name as another sole proprietorship already registered with the Ontario government. Should you register a name that is the same as another name already registered? Absolutely not, unless you are connected in some way to that other registration or have written permission to register the name.
The best way to ensure this is to do a preliminary name search for the proposed name for your Ontario sole proprietorship. A search house can perform this for you. Some search houses charge a small fee for this and others will do this for free when you purchase a sole proprietorship registration service from them. You really need the help of a search house for clearing the name. You cannot clear you name on your own just by going through the phone book. As well you need to consider that you should not have a name that is even close to another name registered across all of Canada. It could cause problems since many businesses today conduct business right across Canada.
Registration of an Ontario sole proprietorship expires after 5 years. When you receive your registration it will be called a Master Business Licence. The Master Business License is usually issued in the form of a pdf document when it is provided to you by the service provider. It will have an expiry date on the form. The government will not remind you to renew your sole proprietorship registration so you must put some kind of tickler in place to 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.
The Ontario sole proprietorship registration does not stay in place forever. The Master Business Licence will have an expiry date on it. You must ensure you renew the registration a few days before the expiry date. The government will not remind you about this.
About the Author:
Resources for Canadian Business Owners handles legal and government registrations and can assist you with an Ontario Trade Name and Ontario Partnership
