Register a Tradename with Ontario Business Central Online

A Tradename is a Master Business License registered under your existing Ontario Corporation. It serves as an operating-as name for a corporation, allowing that corporation to conduct business under a different name, as well as create signage and advertise under that name. Whether it’s a named or numbered corporation, the incorporated company has to be in existence before you can add a Tradename under that corporation.

An example of this is 1234567 Ontario Inc. with a Tradename as ABC Holdings. This allows you to operate a secondary business name under your current corporation. You can add the Tradename to your current corporate bank account, advertise the name, obtain cheques under this name and invoice under this name. There are no limits to the number of Tradenames that a corporation can register and use.

The Tradename registration is valid for 5 years, after which you are required to renew the Master Business Licence in order for it to remain active.

When you register a Tradename with us, we will, at no additional cost, notify you by email when your registration is about to lapse, so you can renew it for another 5 year period if required.

Within our system, you can search to see if others are using the name you would like to use for your Tradename for a nominal additional fee. If there appears to be conflicts, you can provide a new name to search at no extra fee.

Why do people register a Tradename?

• To operate a second business name that is attached to your corporation eg. ABC Holdings Inc. DE Landscaping
• To operate the corporate name without the legal ending for signage and advertising eg. ABC Holdings Inc. ABC Holdings
• To promote a specific part of your business eg. ABC IT Inc. ABC Software

The Tradename provides all of the same protection as the corporation, including personal liability protection, corporate tax rate, and same tax accounts as corporation. However, the one thing a Tradename does not offer is name protection for the business. Without name protection, others can use the same business name if desired. If this is a concern to you, please contact our office and we may discuss alternative options such as incorporating a new business or changing your current corporate name where in both cases, name protection is available.

Why use Ontario Business Central?

• We have been assisting entrepreneurs for over 25 years in setting up their businesses
• Expert staffing with years of experience
• Easy online ordering of your Tradename within 3 to 5 minutes
• Email communication with you as we progress through the completion of your order
• A+ rating with the BBB
• Same-day service
• Nuans pre-search available to search your proposed name against existing businesses at little additional cost
• No hidden fees (everything is listed on our ordering page)
• Data bank storage – we maintain a copy in our data bank of your registration, only available to you at your email address if second copy is required
• Email notification of your Tradename registration renewal requirement

Our online ordering application gives our customers an easy platform to provide the details to complete the Tradename registration.