Due Diligence Searches Across Canada

A PPSA search reveals registered security interests against personal property such as motor vehicles, equipment, inventory, and consumer goods, registered through each province's Personal Property Security Registration system. A Bank Act search reveals priority claims held by federal banks under Section 427 of the Bank Act, registered separately at the federal level. The two searches don't overlap because PPSA is provincial and Bank Act is federal. Customers conducting full due diligence typically order both to ensure both registries are checked.

The federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Records Search (BIRS) provides access to bankruptcy and insolvency records filed across Canada. A Bankruptcy Court Search examines applicable provincial court records. Ordering both searches can provide a more complete review of available bankruptcy and insolvency information.

Yes. There is no single national business registry in Canada because each jurisdiction maintains its own corporate records. If you know the legal name of the business but not the province, our agents can complete a free preliminary lookup to determine where the business is registered. Once we identify the correct jurisdiction, you can place a regular search order. Reach out by phone or chat for the lookup.

Litigation searches typically cover up to ten years of court records, depending on the courthouse and record type. The search reveals lawsuits, judgments, and pending court actions where the individual or business is named as a plaintiff or defendant. Ontario litigation searches conducted on this page cover Toronto-based courts: Superior Court for cases over $50,000, Court of Appeal for Ontario, and Small Claims Court for cases up to $50,000.

Section 427 of the federal Bank Act lets banks register priority security on a borrower's inventory, goods, and equipment. The Section 427 search produces a certificate confirming whether any Canadian bank has filed Notices of Intention to take this security against a specific person or business. It complements the PPSA search because Bank Act security registers federally rather than through the provincial PPSA system, so PPSA results alone won't show Bank Act priority claims.

Each province operates its own Personal Property Security Registration system, so a PPSA search in Ontario will not return results from Alberta or British Columbia. If you need PPSA coverage across multiple provinces, separate searches must be ordered for each jurisdiction. The provincial PPSA registries are also distinct from Quebec's RDPRM (Register of Personal and Movable Real Rights), which uses different procedures.

Both. PPSA, Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Records Search (formerly known as the Official Receiver Search), and Litigation searches can be conducted on either an individual or a business. Individual searches are common in personal lending, real estate transactions, and partnership decisions. Individual searches generally require the person's full legal name and may require additional identifying information, such as date of birth, depending on the search and jurisdiction.

Ontario Business Central can provide the US corporate search to get you going. Clients will need to engage US representatives to complete due diligence searches in each state required.

Yes. The order form on this page lets you select any combination of due diligence and corporate searches for a single individual or business in one transaction. You can also order the same search type on multiple names within the same order (such as PPSA on three different individuals at once). Ordering multiple searches together reduces administrative time and keeps all results in one organized email delivery.