Product Info
A corporation registered under the Not-for-profit Act is called a Federal non-profit business Corporation. A non-profit corporation can operate under its name across Canada.
Not-for-profit corporations can generally conduct any lawful business as well as the actions necessary to conduct the business, like entering into contracts, owning assets, borrowing money, hiring employees and setting up a bank account of its own.
Federal incorporation is the right choice if you plan to:
- Expand your business to multiple provinces or territories and want to use the same name.
- Expand your business outside Canada
Other names:
- Not-for-Profit Canada Corporation
Checklist
Who can incorporate:
- One or more individuals who are 18 years of age or up can incorporate.
- Currently there is no residency requirements for directors. However, for operational purpose, at least one director must have an
- Address in Canada. There is no citizenship or residency requirement for people who can be the officers and shareholders.
What is required to incorporate a Federal Corporation:
- A named corporation requires a name search report, known as NUANS followed by submission to Corporation Canada for a
- pre-approval of the proposed name.
- NUANS is not required for a numbered corporation.
- A physical address or street address in the Province of where the head office is located.
- For incorporation process, a minimum of one Director, one Incorporator and one contact person is required. The same person can fill in all three roles. However, for operational purposes, a non-profit corporation should have at least 3 directors.
- For operations purposes and to fully comply, a minimum of one officer and one shareholders are also required.
What you get
After registering the Federal Registered Charity, you will receive the following as pdf documents by email:
Timeline
Depending on the service package you select, we have 3 processing queues:
- Regular Queue: Can be processed and completed in 10 business days.(named and numbered corporation)
- Express Queue: Can be processed and completed 2 business days. (named and numbered corporation)
- Super-Express Queue: Can be processed and completed 2 business hours. (for Named corporation, it will take 24hrs to complete the whole process which includes a pre-approval of the name from Corporations Canada)
FAQs
Is incorporation the right model of registration for you?
The decision to incorporate depends on the purpose of the company registration and needs of the individuals involved. If you want to register a business with limited liability and continued existance then it is the right choice.
Federal vs Provincial Registration – are there any advantages / disadvantages?
- A Federal corporation name is protected all over Canada while a provincial corporation’s name, in most cases, is protected in the home province only. This may or may not be a consideration based upon your requirement and the nature of business.
- If you plan to operate a business on a local level and have no plans of expanding across provinces it may make more sense to incorporate within your province. However, if your company regularly conducts business in other provinces or with international partners then federal incorporation may be the right choice.
What are the advantages of registering a Federal Corporation?
- Name is protected all over Canada. This is an important consideration if you expand your business to other territories.
- Incorporated businesses are perceived as being more stable than unincorporated businesses. It is the right form of business if you are a sub-contractor or work with contracts.
- Limited Liability to owners / shareholders for business risks.
- Ownership is transferable.
- Continuous existence.
- There are many tax benefits and advantages for a corporation.
