Registering an Operating Name in Canada

As Corporations grow and evolve, it commonly happens that the need arises to register operating as names, also known as Tradenames, Proprietorships or DBA’s (doing business as) for marketing or different products under the business.

If your corporation begins offering new products or services, and you’re looking to operate under a different name, you’ll want to register an operating name under your corporation that reflects the new business activity you’ll be conducting. At Ontario Business Central, we have been assisting Corporations for more than 25 years in completing this process and registering new business names under the existing corporations across much of Canada.

We offer the availability to register a business name under your existing corporation in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

Search the business name for availability

Before completing your operating name, you can choose to conduct a preliminary search on the name you’re looking to use, to ensure that it isn’t already being used by a corporation or other business. There are several points to consider when using Tradename or Proprietorship in Canada and a few things to keep in mind when reviewing the results of your search:

• See if it is conflicting with existing businesses, corporations or trademarks
• If there is a similar match, they may have name protection depending on the type of registration
• If there is a similar match, they may have a bad reputation
• If there is a similar match in your area, you could be wasting advertising dollars and another company is receiving your targeted audience

We offer the preliminary search as an add-on to a Tradename or Proprietorship registration or you can search 1 business name for $10 or 3 for $20, plus taxes.

Pre-Searches Nuans

This search request gives you knowledge on whether your business name appears to be available or not. This is a beneficial search regardless of the jurisdiction you plan on registering within. Some of the Provinces require you to complete a Name Availability or Name Reservation as a mandatory requirement to completing the registration within their jurisdiction.

In these cases, we also assist you by providing and supporting you through the name approval process. These are required within the Provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

If you are looking at registering a Tradename or Proprietorship in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario or Saskatchewan, our online processing is very easy and if at any time you have any issues or questions our staff are always available to assist you.

Here are the links to register your operating business name under your existing corporation: