BN Search

A Business Number (BN) is the 9-digit identifier issued by the Canada Revenue Agency for tax-related accounts (HST, Payroll, corporate income tax). A Business Identification Number (BIN) is Ontario's separate 10-digit identifier issued with Ontario business name registrations through the Ontario Business Registry. The BN and BIN are different numbers used for different purposes. If you're not sure which number you need, contact us before ordering.

No. The CRA requires sole proprietors to retrieve their own BN directly through the CRA's My Business Account or by calling the CRA Business Enquiries Line at 1-800-959-5525. If you registered an Ontario sole proprietorship and need your BIN (the Ontario business identification number), please contact us, as that's a different service.

Yes. In order to access your Profile, the Company Key is required. As of February 1, 2025, the Company Key is required for any of those subsequent filings through the Ontario Business Registry. Many customers retrieve their BN as a first step before tackling those bigger filings, which is why we offer Company Key retrieval as a separate service if you need it. This is only required for Ontario General Partnerships and Ontario Incorporated companies.

You can order a Company Key retrieval through Ontario Business Central. We can request a new Company Key from the Ontario Business Registry on your behalf, which arrives by mail to your registered corporate address. If you order Company Key retrieval together with your BN search, we can usually package both services and let you know when each is ready. Note that Company Key retrieval adds processing time because the Ontario Business Registry generally mails the key directly to the corporation.

Only the registered owner, director, or authorized representative of the corporation can request a BN retrieval. We require the requester's full name and confirmation of their role to protect against fraudulent BN requests. If you're an accountant or bookkeeper requesting on behalf of your client, you'll need authorization from the corporation's owner or director.

Before ordering a paid retrieval, check these places first: previous CRA correspondence (notices of assessment, GST/HST returns, T4 slips), your CRA My Business Account online (the BN appears on the welcome page), your incorporation documents (the BN was likely included), or the Government of Canada's free Business Registries lookup. If you've checked all of these and still can't find your BN, our retrieval service is the next step.

The CRA itself doesn't charge a fee, but you'll need to navigate either the CRA Business Enquiries phone line (which has long wait times and limited hours) or the My Business Account portal (which requires you to set up a CRA account if you don't already have one). Our retrieval service handles the CRA contact for you and emails the BN directly. Many customers prefer the convenience over the time investment.

Most BN retrievals are completed and emailed within the same business day, provided your form is submitted with all required information before mid-afternoon. If your corporation requires a Company Key (Ontario, post-October 2021) or Corporate Key (federal) and you don't have one, the retrieval can take longer because we need to obtain that key first. We'll let you know if your specific request requires additional steps.

If your corporation has been involuntarily dissolved, you'll need to revive it before BN retrieval can proceed. Once revived, the existing BN remains valid and we can retrieve it. If you voluntarily dissolved your corporation, the BN is closed and cannot be reactivated; you'd need to start a new corporation with a new BN. Our agents can help you understand which scenario applies to your business.

No problem. If you don't have your corporate number (the registration or incorporation number assigned to your business when it was created), select that option on the form and our team will look it up for you. There is a $10 look up fee for the unknown corporate number search.