CORPORATION CHANGES
ONTARIO OR FEDERAL, NOTICE OF CHANGE AND ANNUAL RETURN
An all-in-one place to File an Annual Return, make changes to a corporate address, add, cease or modify directors, update an individual address.
Have a change to a Master Business Licence or Ontario Business Name Registration?
When you change corporate details on an existing corporation, you must update the corporate record to reflect the change or changes with the Ontario Business Registry.
In Ontario, it is mandatory to update the corporate record within 15 days of the change. If the record is not updated, you may miss important documentation from the Province of Ontario, the Canada Revenue Agency and in some cases, legal correspondence.
All other information related to the corporation including corporate name change, structure changes such as classes of shares and the minimum and the maximum number of directors for the corporation are to be completed by filing Articles of Amendment.
The Annual Returns in Ontario was introduced in October of 2021. Previously, Ontario corporations filed an Annual Return with their corporate tax filing with the Canada Revenue Agency. Now, each Ontario corporation has to file an Annual Return with the Province of Ontario. The CRA will no longer accept the Annual Return as part of the corporate tax filing submission.
The Annual Return is due each year on the anniversary date of the corporation. Once the first filing has been completed, we will keep track of the yearly filing requirements and send you an email reminder as the Annual Return requirement approaches.
Yes. The Annual Return provides access to update any corporate information including the corporate address, adding or ceasing a director, change to the address of any director/s or position of any director.
When filing the Annual Return with us, simply click that the corporation does not have any changes and all of the details related to corporate address, directors, directors addresses and changes will be removed from your application. You are able to save time and effort by skipping to the authorization section for the annual return and proceed.
Anytime, you have a change with your current corporate record including the corporate address, director address or adding/removing a director, you are required to update your corporate record with Corporations Canada. The importance of keeping this record up to date is crucial in maintaining accurate and up-to-date information for government communication, Canada Revenue Agency or for litigation purposes.
If a federal corporation resides within the Province of Ontario, it is also imperative to file a Form 2 Notice of Change to update this secondary corporate record as well. The information provided to the federal government is not shared with Ontario or any other jurisdiction in Canada.
If the federal corporation also resides in other provinces, it is also imperative that the corporate record is updated in any other jurisdiction.
If you wish to change either the corporate name or structure of the corporation, the filing is completed through the Federal Articles of Amendment.
Every federal corporation is required to file an Annual Return each year whether there is a change to the corporation or not. The federal government is strict about corporations adhering to this policy. If a corporation lapses in filing for 2 years, the federal government automatically cancels the corporation with only one emailed notification for default.
Both the Ontario and Federal governments have online access to make changes. To file electronically, you either have an account or key with the government to implement the changes.
The historic address or details of the corporation remains accessible by searching historical or archived information on the corporation. By completing a change, the previous information doesn't disappear.
The processing time is usually the same business day with an email confirmation once the file has been updated.
Yes. You can use the form with your financial institution, the CRA and any other third party.
The Articles of Incorporation, whether Ontario or Federal, remain unchanged throughout the lifetime of the corporation. Each change you submit is a secondary filing to the original Articles of Incorporation.