Ontario Sole Proprietorships are governed by the Business Names Act (Ontario). An Ontario Sole Proprietorship is sometimes called an Ontario Trade Name. It is a good idea to look over the statute requirements to ensure you comply with them properly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Ontario government requires you to inform them of any changes on your Ontario sole proprietorship within 15 days. An amendment to the registration must be filed. What happens if you decide you do not wish to operate your Ontario sole proprietorship under the same name? You will need to register a new Ontario trade name because you cannot amend the name of an Ontario sole proprietorship.
In order to cancel your Ontario sole proprietorship you will need to file a dissolution with the Ontario government.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
The Ontario government requires you to inform them of any changes on your Ontario sole proprietorship within 15 days. An amendment to the registration must be filed. What happens if you decide you do not wish to operate your Ontario sole proprietorship under the same name? You will need to register a new Ontario trade name because you cannot amend the name of an Ontario sole proprietorship.
In order to cancel your Ontario sole proprietorship you will need to file a dissolution with the Ontario government.
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 Nuans Name Searches
No comments:
Post a Comment