Totally Impressed with the service I received. The process was swift and registration completed in a few working days. No wonder the ratings are so high on Google. Keep up the great work.
In this video, we will discuss Nuans name searches and Preliminary Nuans in Canada and provide a breakdown on everything you need to know about searching for a business name.
A NUANS report is mandatory in many jurisdictions in Canada. Get the business name searched, obtain the NUANS report the way you want and get extra options like 50% off when incorporating and domain name protection to build a website.
A Nuans report is required whenever you are incorporating a new business, changing the corporate name, continuing into a new province, or amalgamating existing corporations. This applies everywhere except BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba which have their own name approval system.
Once the Nuans report is completed, our team reviews the completed report for any business name conflicts. There may be additional conflicts within the report that did not appear during the preliminary search.
A business name should have both a distinctive and descriptive element. Having both ensures the business name is unique from competitors.
The distinctive element is the part of the business name that is unique and differentiates it from other business names. This is can be something like a family name or coined phrase that makes your business stand out.
The descriptive element tells clients what your business offers. This can be a product or service that communicates the primary focus of your business activity.
The legal ending is an identifier to others that the business is a legal corporation and not a registered business or trademark. All legal endings have the same rights and your choice is just for personal preference.
EXAMPLES | DISTINCTIVE ELEMENT |
DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENT |
LEGAL ENDING |
---|---|---|---|
Coined Word | Abzoodle Atapin Preservex |
Restaurant Dance Class Documents |
Ltd. Inc. Corp. |
Dictionary Word | Relaxation Roman Sisters |
Spa Mines Cafe |
Limited Incorporated Corporation |
Family Word | Campbell Harpers Lees |
Farms Juices Carpets |
Inc. Ltd. Corp |
Geographic Word | Toronto Sudbury Aurora |
Skylights Ice Cubes Playhouse |
Limited Corporation Incorporated |
Descriptive Name | Lowfat Sheppards Speakers |
Eatery Kennel Etc. |
Inc. Corp. Ltd. |
General Name | Ontario General A-1 |
Music Holdings Services |
Limited Corporation Incorporated |
donald wingell
Totally Impressed with the service I received. The process was swift and registration completed in a few working days. No wonder the ratings are so high on Google. Keep up the great work.
Kelly White
It was very easy to renew my business license online. An agent followed up with me immediately by email when she noticed an address discrepancy on my application. It was easily resolved. Prompt, professional and friendly service.
Gazelle Ghajar
Awesome company to work with. Website is easy to navigate into finding what you need, online forms are simple to fill in, and the request was processed and confirmed within the afternoon! Very impressed with their service and will be using again for my husband's business come January.
The NUANS report or Name Reservation is required in these jurisdictions:
British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have their own name approval system that is part of their incorporation process. A separate Nuans report is not required in those provinces.
The NUANS Report is necessary when you are completing the following within the jurisdictions noted:
Articles of Incorporation | Articles of Amendment | Articles of Continuance | Articles of Amalgamation | Extra Provincial Registration | Business Name Registration | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ontario | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
Canada / Federal | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | ✖ |
Alberta | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ |
New Brunswick | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
Nova Scotia | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
Northwest Territories | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
Prince Edward Island | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
British Columbia | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ |
Manitoba | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ |
Saskatchewan | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ |
Listed below is a sample of the NUANS report:
Sample NUANS Report 1
Sample NUANS Report 2
If the business is registering and not incorporated words such as enterprises, company, co., or unlimited can be used as an identifier. It is not required to have these kinds of added elements as part of your business name.
If the business is incorporating, a legal ending is required as an identifier that the business name is a separate legal entity from those individuals who own the business.
Although all legal endings have the same rights, the selected legal ending is not interchangeable once the Nuans report is ordered. In most jurisdictions, you cannot change the legal ending to complete the incorporation process. If the selected legal ending changes, a new NUANS report most likely will be required.
The following legal endings are available to business corporations:
As a business corporation in the Province of Ontario there are words or wordings not permitted by the Business Corporations Act. They are as follows:
Examiners generally want to see a distinctive and descriptive element to your name. The distinctive part helps distinguish your NFP from others, and the descriptive element gives an idea of what you do. The name cannot appear to be a for-profit business name, and must also correlate with your object clauses (For example, if the word FOUNDATION is used, you must use foundation clauses).
Non-profit corporations are not required to include a legal ending. While the option to include certain legal endings is there, most often Non-profit corporations do not use a legal ending as part of the business name.
The legal endings that are available to a NFP corporation are as follows:
A Non-profit incorporation does not have access to the following:
Distinctive Element | Descriptive Element | Legal Ending |
---|---|---|
Waterloo | Lawn Bowling | Inc. |
Village | Baptist Church | Inc. |
Eglinton | Fine Shoes | Corp. |
Wickles | Children’s Centre | Corp. |
Yes, if the corporation resides in any jurisdiction besides British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba, a NUANS report is required for the new corporate name and must be filed with Articles of Amendment.
Yes, a NUANS report is required when a corporation is moving or continuing from a different jurisdiction into any jurisdiction besides British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. The NUANS report and Articles of Continuance are to be filed together.
Only extra provincial licences for Alberta require a new Nuans report. If you are applying for an extra provincial licence in another province, you do not need to order a Nuans report.
Once a NUANS report has been completed, you must use the exact business name from the report to incorporate. If you decide to change any part of the business name, a new NUANS report or Name Reservation is required.
The NUANS report or Name Reservation is valid for 90 days from the date the NUANS report was completed. If the 90 days has passed and you wish to use the business name to incorporate, you must complete a new NUANS report.
Once the NUANS report or Name reservation is completed, the exact same corporate name cannot be used by a third party without a consent from the NUANS report holder. It is recommended to complete an incorporation soon after the report is completed to avoid any third party access to the exact business name.
No, a NUANS report is only mandatory for incorporations in any jurisdiction besides British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. Many individuals will order a NUANS report to gain a full list of similar business names, corporations and trademarks to the one that is proposed. You can also order a preliminary search prior to registering a business in order to check that the name does not have any conflicts.
Yes, the NUANS report is mandatory under the title “trademark search”. The NUANS report for a trademark is unique from its counterpart incorporating businesses where the results lean more to other trademarked names.
When you receive the completed NUANS report, the first thing you should do is go through each page and look for any business, corporate or trademark names similar to the proposed name provided. The proposed name is listed above the NUANS report lined parameters and is the first name listed within the report. The word “proposed” is listed with the name reservation number for you to verify, this is your proposed name.
Any of the names listed from here throughout the report should be scrutinized against what business name you would like to use. Ultimately, it is your decision on whether you move forward to incorporate the proposed name. Others may view the report including NUANS members such as ourselves, and lawyers.
Government employees will review the NUANS report as the incorporation is in progress however they typically have a hands off approach in most jurisdictions to denying a business name incorporation unless the name is exact to an existing corporate or trademark name.
If there is a same or similar corporation or trademark to the proposed or chosen business name, it is recommended you move to a new business name. Incorporating using a similar name to an existing corporation or trademark, you risk the existing entity considering your business to be infringing. There is a possibility the existing named owner may seek infringement against your conflicting business name.
If there is an existing registered business name that is not incorporated or trademarked, you do not risk the opportunity for infringement, however you do risk confusion with the existing business.
The best practice is to find a unique business name that does not interfere with an existing business name, corporation or trademark. Ultimately, you want your brand to be exclusively and uniquely yours.
Ontario Business Central offers you access to search any domain name you wish to use for your business at the same time that we search the name for either business registration or incorporation.
For example, if you are incorporating a business as “Equine Investments Inc.” when we complete a preliminary search within the NUANS databank for availability of this name, we can at the same time search both the .ca and .com domain registration for availability.
To ensure there isn’t confusion when clients search for your business online it assists when the domain name matches the business name.
For example if your business name is U R WELCOME and your domain name is urwelcome.com, then you have better chances of having good SEO (search engine optimization) for the business.
In most circumstances, individuals wish to have the same domain name as the business name and our process makes it very easy to search both at the same time, and register simultaneously.
The .ca is the Canadian extension for a website in Canada. It is important as a Canadian business that you gain this URL for your business even if your business also offers services or products outside of Canada. The Canadian .ca highlights that this Canadian corporation has an online presence in Canada. Google and other social media providers recognize the .ca for a Canadian company and will typically provide more influence or strength to a .ca for Canadian potential clients.
The .com is a universal URL and is more common in the United States but is used all over the world. By gaining the .com extension, this will provide additional protection to your .ca presence. Often outside registrants will obtain the .com URL to your business name and attempt to sell it to you where the pricing is much higher than if you originally registered it.
Our recommendation is if you haven’t already completed the .ca and .com domain registration as of yet that you do this as part of your business startup. The cost is minimal and provides you with incredible exposure to the internet.