What You Need To Know Before You Register A Sole Proprietorship In Ontario

By Holly Crosgrey

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 statute provides that no individual shall carry on business or identify his or her business to the public under a name other than his or her own name unless the name is registered by that individual. Therefore you can carry on business under your own personal name and not register.

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.

First you must determine whether there are any conflicts to the name you wish to use and this is done by having a search house perform a preliminary name search for you. Search houses will usually clear your proposed name for free when you purchase their service to register your sole proprietorship and others will provide you with a preliminary name search for a small fee. It is important that you have a professional search house clear your name for you before you register. Search houses are trained and they will be able to pre-clear the name and ensure that no one is using that name all across Canada. If you were to register a name that is the same as another name you could still open yourself up to a law suit if the name is the same or close to another name registered if that name has a long standing in the community. Many businesses now conduct business in more than one province across Canada.

Five years is the period of time in which the Ontario sole proprietorship will be in place. The Ontario government issues a Master Business Licence for the Ontario sole proprietorship and this comes in the form of a pdf document when you place an order with an Ontario service provider online. The expiry date on the Master Business License will be shown at the bottom. The onus is on you to ensure you renew your business just prior to that date. The Ontario government does not send out reminder notices.

Just to clarify, Ontario company names are unique and no one can register a company with the exact same name as another company. It is only business names that are not protected.

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.

In order to cancel your Ontario sole proprietorship you will need to file a dissolution with the Ontario government.

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 Trade Name and Ontario Nuans Name Searches

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