How To Find Out Who Owns a Business

Original Publish Date: July 20, 2018

Understanding the ownership, status, and legal standing of any corporation or business in Canada, including not-for-profits, is essential if you are considering a partnership, conducting due diligence, or engaging in legal actions. This blog explores the tools and methods available for conducting corporate searches across Canada, with a specific focus on Ontario. Corporate search reports are detailed documents that offer complete entity profiles of businesses, including a corporation’s names and addresses, ownership details, and operational status. These reports are crucial for anyone looking to find directors of a company in Canada or ascertain the specifics of business ownership. The updated Ontario Corporate Profile Report, now termed Entity Reports, simplifies the Ontario corporation search, ensuring that essential business information is easily accessible.

Corporate Search Requests

A corporate search report provides the most comprehensive, up to date information related to any business in Canada. These reports provide details from the corporate registry within the province or territory that a business operates in. The information in a corporate search will provide the correct legal name of a business, whether it has been registered or incorporated, along with who owns the business, the business address and whether the business is active or not.  Specific to corporations, the corporate search will provide if the corporation has had previous corporate names, or trade names under the corporation. We can provide corporate searches not only across Canada, but also in the United States of America.

Steps to Ordering the Corporate Search

When you are trying to find out who owns a business in Ontario, ordering a corporate search is an essential step. Here’s a straightforward guide on how to proceed:

Step 1: Ordering Page

• Choose the specific report type needed for your inquiry.
• You may enter docket or reference information for your records, though this is optional.
• Input the business name you are searching.
• Select the business’s jurisdiction.
• Decide which reports you need for this particular business.

Step 2: Order Additional Searches (Optional)

• To add more searches, such as for another business, click the “Next Search +/-” button.
• Repeat the first step for each additional business you wish to investigate.

Step 3: Payment Information

• Review all order details to ensure accuracy.
• Fill in the credit card holder’s details; the card used does not need to be in the name of the individual filling out the form.
• Enter your credit card information.
• Confirm your identity (i.e., confirm you are not a robot) and finalize your order.

This process assists you in finding a business owner’s name and receiving the detailed information you need to make informed decisions regarding business partnerships or legal actions in Ontario.

Corporate Search Reports

Ontario Corporate Profile Report

The Ontario Business Registry has updated its terminology for conducting corporate searches in Ontario, now referring to them as Entity Reports. These reports are crucial for anyone conducting an Ontario corporation search. They provide essential information, including the company’s current status, the location of the registered office, and the names and addresses associated with the business. This updated approach streamlines the process of conducting an Ontario business search, making it more straightforward for businesses and individuals to access the Ontario business registry and search for the necessary details about a business or corporate entity. 

Speed of Report Delivery

Receiving your Ontario Profile Report is swift and efficient, especially when you need crucial business information such as the status of the corporation, names, and addresses associated with it, or insights into how to find out who owns a business in Ontario. Typically, if you place your order before 3pm, the report is generated within minutes and delivered to you electronically via email in PDF format.

Accuracy & Updating Information

Accuracy is a cornerstone of the Profile Report, which reflects the latest updates submitted by business owners to the Province of Ontario. The report includes the most recent business information, such as the company name, business identification number (BIN), names of directors & officers along with their listed address, as well as the registered head office address. This makes it a reliable resource for anyone looking to find a business owner’s name or verify other corporate search details.

It’s important for directors or officers to keep their corporation’s records current. If there are any changes, filing a Notice of Change promptly ensures that the corporate profile report remains an accurate publicly available record of your business’s status and configuration.

Validity Period of Profile Report Information

The information provided in an Ontario Profile Report or business entity search is accurate as of the date the report is generated. However, it’s important to note that the details shown in the report could change later if the corporation files a Notice of Change, or an amendment. This could alter any aspect of the information previously reported, such as addresses or directorship details, making the information in the report outdated. Therefore, while the report offers a snapshot of the corporation’s status at a specific moment, ongoing updates may mean acquiring a new report for the most current information.

Where to Search For a Business?

When a business is registered or incorporated anywhere in Canada, a publicly available database is maintained within each Province across Canada with specific details for each business, including who owns the business, the correct legal name of the business, business address, current status of the corporation, and at times, the business activity. For Federally Incorporated companies, Corporations Canada maintains a public record containing the business information. If the business was not started as a Federal Incorporation, then the Province where the business was registered will have a copy of the business information within their system.

In most jurisdictions, there is a fee associated with searching an existing business. If you’re looking to take legal action against a business, it is recommended that you complete a Canadian business registry search to ensure you have the correct business name and legal address of the registered office of the business. The search will provide an entity profile that displays who owns the business and provides detailed business information, whether it’s a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, General Partnership, or Incorporation.

How to Find Out Who Owns the Business in Canada?

We are often asked to search an individual’s name within a jurisdiction to see what businesses that individual owns. Unfortunately, none of the Provincial databanks allow you to search for businesses by cross-referencing who owns them. You CANNOT SEARCH AN INDIVIDUAL to find what businesses they own. If you have a good idea of the name of the business, we are able to search keywords within the business name and see what appears in the results and search from there by the exact business name; it also helps if you have information about where the business or corporate entity is located by city or town.

If you are not sure of the business name that an individual may own, we have a few alternatives to try and connect the dots between the business and the individual or individuals with business ownership. One option is to complete a PPSA search on the individual. This search provides details of consumer loans that the individual has registered, such as a vehicle, inventory, consumer goods, etc. Often, if a person has a business, they will put the loan under their personal and business name. Another option is to search the litigation records in the courthouse where the individual resides to see if there are any litigation actions the person is involved in. If the corporation or business operating is a Sole Proprietorship or General Partnership, typically, the individual and the business name will be listed as either plaintiff or defendant.

These search options may produce some connection between a business and an individual, however this is only when the individual has either registered a loan connecting themselves personally to a business or if litigation exists. We have completed these searches for people attempting to find a connection to a business without finding any pertinent results. It is important to understand that, more often than not, there is no record or connection to the individual and the business they may own.

If you know the name of the business, the corporate search request is very simple and can be ordered as a corporate name search or corporate profile report. If you are not sure of the business name, we can search the alternatives as suggested with a PPSA or litigation search.

Ontario Business Central has been assisting people to in business searches since 1992. If you need help and have limited information, please feel free to give our office a call and discuss what information is known, and we can assist you to find the individual operator.

If you wish, you can simply order the corporate profile report and/or a PPSA search through all of Canada. We also offer the availability to complete litigation searches throughout all of Ontario.

If you would like further information, please feel free to reach out to any of our staff who are always here to assist in searches.

inquiries@ontariobusinesscentral.ca
Toll-Free: 1-800-280-1913
Local: 1-416-599-9009
Fax: 1-866-294-4363
Office Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Monday – Friday E.S.T.

Ontario Business Central Inc. is not a law firm and cannot provide a legal opinion or advice. This information is to assist you in understanding the requirements of registration within the chosen jurisdiction. It is always recommended, when you have legal or accounting questions that you speak to a qualified professional.