Order Up To 5 Corporate Searches Across Canada

Many professionals such as law firms, accounting firms, lenders, and consultants need to review information for several businesses at once. This ordering page allows you to submit up to 5 corporate search requests in one order, saving time and simplifying your workflow. Include matter and reference number for your internal records.

Benefits include:

• Submit up to five corporate searches in one order
• Keep searches organized for client files
• Optional matter and reference fields for internal tracking
• Fast results delivered by email

Ordering Page

• When ordering, you will be able to add each of these items to the initial request.
• If you select a corporate search, you can add a certificate of status and or copies of articles to each of your requests.
• All 3 options are available individually or together as a bundle if you wish.

Order Additional Searches (Optional)

• Repeat step 1 for each additional business you would like to search for

Payment Information

• Review Order Details
• Provide the credit card holders details. The credit card is not required to be from the same individual filling out the form
• Enter the credit card details
• Click that you are not a robot and press to complete order

Corporate Search Learning Centre

A corporate search is used to obtain information about a registered business or corporation. These searches may provide details such as the legal business name, corporate number, status of the company, directors, and corporate filings depending on the jurisdiction and type of report requested.

Understanding corporate searches can help businesses, professionals, and individuals verify business information, review corporate records, and conduct due diligence. The sections below explain the most common corporate search documents and search types available across Canada.

Business Search Guides

How to Find and Search Businesses in Canada

How Do I Find a Business When I Know Where It Operates?

If you have the legal name of the business and the jurisdiction where it operates — such as Ontario, Alberta, or British Columbia — you can search the corporate and registered business records and obtain a copy of the business records directly.

What If I Don't Know Where a Business Operates?

When the jurisdiction is unknown, you can reach out to us and at no cost we will search to determine where the registered or incorporated business operates. From there, you can order the corporate search for that business name.

Corporate Search vs Corporation Search vs Entity Profile

These terms are all commonly used to describe the same search request. If you wish to know the current information of a registered or incorporated business, this search will provide the most up-to-date information. It is available for the following entity types:

• Corporations and incorporated businesses
• Registered businesses and unincorporated businesses
• Extra-provincial corporations
• Limited partnerships
• Limited liability companies
• Sole proprietorships, general partnerships, and trade names
• Federal corporations and provincial/territorial corporations
• Not-for-profit corporations and business registrations

Corporate search results typically provide:

• Current legal name of the business
• Current address for the corporation or registered business / mailing address
• Directors and owners of the business with addresses
• How long the business has been active
• Whether the business is active, cancelled, or dissolved
• Legal change of name history
• Current status
• Corporate number or Business Identification Number (BIN)
• Registration date

Corporate searches are requested for a variety of reasons, including verifying the legitimacy of a business, ensuring current directors are listed accurately, identifying potential name conflicts, and serving legal documents.

Note: When requesting an Ontario corporation search, the Province of Ontario now requires each corporation to file an Annual Return to update the corporate record. This ensures the public record for corporations remains current from October 2021 onward.

What is a Business Name Registration Searches (BNR)?

Business name searches allow you to locate sole proprietorships, partnerships, and registered business names depending on the registry where they were filed. Ontario introduced the new Ontario Business Registry system as of October 19, 2021. Any business registered after this date — including sole proprietorships, firm names for general partnerships, or business names for a corporation — can request a new copy of the original filing by selecting this search. Any registered business prior to October 19, 2021 in Ontario would simply request an Entity Profile Report to obtain a copy of the registration information.

You would request a BNR search when you wish to obtain a copy of the exact registration that was completed for the business — typically because the business owner has lost their original copy. If you are simply searching for business details, a standard corporate search will retrieve the data on the business.

Corporate Documents & Reports

Corporate search reports can provide detailed information about corporations and registered businesses depending on the jurisdiction.

Corporate Profile Report

A Corporate Profile Report provides key details about a corporation including the legal name, corporate number, address, directors (where available), and the corporation's current status. It is the most common corporate search document requested and is available for both incorporated businesses and registered businesses across all Canadian jurisdictions.

Certificate of Status / Compliance / Good Standing

The Certificate of Status, Certificate of Compliance, and Certificate of Good Standing are different names for the same product depending on the jurisdiction in Canada. This is typically a one-page certificate that verifies whether a corporation is active or inactive as of the date of request. It is only available for incorporated companies.

Common reasons this certificate is requested include:

• Out-of-province filing of an existing provincial or federal corporation into a new jurisdiction
• Professional corporations maintaining compliance with their governing bodies
• Purchase or sale of a corporation to confirm it is active

Articles of Incorporation

The Articles of Incorporation are the original corporate documents from when the incorporation was completed. In all jurisdictions across Canada you can request a copy, which will include the original incorporators and/or directors, and the original corporate share structure.

A Certified Copy is also available and may be required for specific legal or regulatory purposes. In Alberta and Newfoundland, certified copies are required by default.

In Ontario, the microfiche record also displays any changes to the corporation, including Articles of Amendment, Articles of Revival, and Articles of Dissolution, as well as notices of change filed prior to 1995. The corporate microfiche can be retrieved from the provincial databank within 8 to 15 business days of the request. Articles of Incorporation are most often requested when the owners of the business have misplaced their original copy.

Articles of Amendment / Supplementary Letters Patent

Articles of Amendment are a separate request available when you believe a corporation has filed changes to its name, share structure, or the minimum and maximum number of directors. A corporation can make any combination of these three types of changes within a single filing. Certified copies are also available.

Looking For a Single Corporate Search?

If you only need one corporate document rather than multiple searches, Ontario Business Central provides dedicated pages to order individual corporate reports.

You can visit the pages below for more information or to place a single order.

Corporate Profile Report

Provides detailed information about a corporation including the legal name, corporate number, director, addresses and whether the corporation or business is active.

Certificate of Status

Confirms whether a corporation is currently active and in good standing within the registry where it is incorporated.

Copy of Articles of Incorporation

Provides the original corporate documents filed when the corporation was created. You can request other documents such as Articles of Amendment.

Other services offered by Ontario Business Central include Nuans Search and Report and Registered Business Services services and more.

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