How to make changes to your business information in Ontario
Original Publish Date: July 6, 2018
There are many changes you can make to your business. They include the following:
- Change personal or business address
- Change the individuals who own or are directors of the business
- Change the Corporate name
- Change to or from a marital name
- Change business activity
- Change of minimum and maximum number of directors
- Add a partner or director
- Remove a partner or director
To make any of these changes, the first item is to understand how your business has been established. Do you own a Business Name Registration (BNR) formerly known as a Master Business License (MBL) with either a Sole Proprietorship, or General Partnership or do you operate an incorporated company? There are different filings depending on which type of business ownership has been commenced.
Business Name Registration (BNR) Formerly Master Business License Change Filing
If you own a Sole Proprietorship or General Partnership you can change the current information for your business:
- Change business or individual address
- Change business activity (Naics code)
- Change owners on a General Partnership as long as the business continues to operate with two or more people operating the business.
If you wish, Ontario Business Central can assist you with making these changes to your existing Sole Proprietorship or General Partnership by filing an amendment to your current Business Name Registration (BNR) or Master Business License (MBL).
This is prepared, filed and completed within a few days of ordering with our office. The completed amendment will be emailed back to you from Monday thru Friday.
Here is the link to complete this filing with our office:
Submit Your Business Registration Amendment
Ontario Incorporation Change Filing
If you own an incorporated company, there are three different filings available depending on what changes you are making to your corporation.
To change the directors by either adding or removing directors, to change the address of either the individuals or the business, or to change the mailing address of the corporation a Form 1 Notice of Change is required by the Province of Ontario.
The Notice of Change can be filed either manually by email directly with the Province of Ontario or electronically through an intermediary such as ourselves. We offer electronic filing to update your corporate information. This is completed and confirmed on a same day basis and emailed to you by our office. If you would like to proceed and file the changes to your corporation with us, here is the link to do so:
File a Corporate Notice of Change
Ontario Annual Return Filing
You can also file the Ontario Annual Returns which was introduced in Ontario in October of 2021. The Annual Return is now a requirement with the Province of Ontario on a yearly basis according to the incorporation date when you originally set up the corporation. When you submit the Annual Return, you can provide any details for the corporation including address changes for both the directors and corporation, director or officer changes, and addition or removal of directors. The Annual Return is easily available online with us and can be completed the same day of filing. Once completed, an email will be sent to you detailing the completion of this mandatory filing.
If you wish to change the name of the corporation, change the structure of the corporation including share structure, restrictions and provisions or if you wish to change the minimum and maximum number of directors, Articles of Amendment are required to complete any of these changes. The Articles of Amendment are a manual article filing form. Our office will prepare the documents and email them to you for your review and original signature and in turn, once you have verified the information to be correct and have signed the documents, you can send the Articles of Amendment back to us for manual filing with the Province. The filing is completed with the Province on a same day basis Monday thru Friday. We will email you a scanned copy and mail you the originals.
If you would like to proceed with our assistance, here is the link to complete the Articles of Amendment with our office:
File Articles of Amendment Online
Our team would love to help you make changes to your business license or incorporation. We have assisted entrepreneurs over the last 25 + years to make these types of changes. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our staff for additional information and assistance.
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.
