When registering an Ontario sole proprietorship the statute that you need to review would be the Business Names Act (Ontario). Frequently an Ontario sole proprietorship is called an Ontario trade name. A responsible business person will read the statute to ensure that he or she follows the legal requirements of the statute.
The law requires that a person must not give the public the opinion that he or she is carrying on business under another name unless that name has been registered. Further a person must be registered in order to be legally allowed to use a name other than his or her own.
An Ontario Nuans name search report is not required when registering an Ontario sole proprietorship. The Business Names Act (Ontario) has no requirement for an Ontario trade name / Ontario sole proprietorship to be different than other Ontario registrations. You are allowed to register the exact same name as another sole proprietorship already registered with the Ontario government. Should you register a name that is the same as another name already registered? Absolutely not, unless you are connected in some way to that other registration or have written permission to register the name.
First you must determine whether there are any conflicts to the name you wish to use and this is done by having a search house perform a preliminary name search for you. Search houses will usually clear your proposed name for free when you purchase their service to register your sole proprietorship and others will provide you with a preliminary name search for a small fee. It is important that you have a professional search house clear your name for you before you register. Search houses are trained and they will be able to pre-clear the name and ensure that no one is using that name all across Canada. If you were to register a name that is the same as another name you could still open yourself up to a law suit if the name is the same or close to another name registered if that name has a long standing in the community. Many businesses now conduct business in more than one province across Canada.
Registration of an Ontario sole proprietorship expires after 5 years. When you receive your registration it will be called a Master Business Licence. The Master Business License is usually issued in the form of a pdf document when it is provided to you by the service provider. It will have an expiry date on the form. The government will not remind you to renew your sole proprietorship registration so you must put some kind of tickler in place to remind you.
You should realize that it is only Ontario sole proprietorships, Ontario partnerships and Ontario business names that are not protected. An Ontario incorporated company cannot register a name that is exactly the same as another Ontario company.
The Ontario government requires you to inform them of any changes on your Ontario sole proprietorship within 15 days. An amendment to the registration must be filed. What happens if you decide you do not wish to operate your Ontario sole proprietorship under the same name? You will need to register a new Ontario trade name because you cannot amend the name of an Ontario sole proprietorship.
A dissolution of an Ontario sole proprietorship must be filed if you no longer wish to carry on business under the name you have registered.
An Ontario sole proprietorship registration expires after five years. The expiry date will be shown on the Master Business Licence. The onus is on you to renew your licence and it is a good idea to renew it a few days before the expiry date. No reminder notice is sent out by the government.
The law requires that a person must not give the public the opinion that he or she is carrying on business under another name unless that name has been registered. Further a person must be registered in order to be legally allowed to use a name other than his or her own.
An Ontario Nuans name search report is not required when registering an Ontario sole proprietorship. The Business Names Act (Ontario) has no requirement for an Ontario trade name / Ontario sole proprietorship to be different than other Ontario registrations. You are allowed to register the exact same name as another sole proprietorship already registered with the Ontario government. Should you register a name that is the same as another name already registered? Absolutely not, unless you are connected in some way to that other registration or have written permission to register the name.
First you must determine whether there are any conflicts to the name you wish to use and this is done by having a search house perform a preliminary name search for you. Search houses will usually clear your proposed name for free when you purchase their service to register your sole proprietorship and others will provide you with a preliminary name search for a small fee. It is important that you have a professional search house clear your name for you before you register. Search houses are trained and they will be able to pre-clear the name and ensure that no one is using that name all across Canada. If you were to register a name that is the same as another name you could still open yourself up to a law suit if the name is the same or close to another name registered if that name has a long standing in the community. Many businesses now conduct business in more than one province across Canada.
Registration of an Ontario sole proprietorship expires after 5 years. When you receive your registration it will be called a Master Business Licence. The Master Business License is usually issued in the form of a pdf document when it is provided to you by the service provider. It will have an expiry date on the form. The government will not remind you to renew your sole proprietorship registration so you must put some kind of tickler in place to remind you.
You should realize that it is only Ontario sole proprietorships, Ontario partnerships and Ontario business names that are not protected. An Ontario incorporated company cannot register a name that is exactly the same as another Ontario company.
The Ontario government requires you to inform them of any changes on your Ontario sole proprietorship within 15 days. An amendment to the registration must be filed. What happens if you decide you do not wish to operate your Ontario sole proprietorship under the same name? You will need to register a new Ontario trade name because you cannot amend the name of an Ontario sole proprietorship.
A dissolution of an Ontario sole proprietorship must be filed if you no longer wish to carry on business under the name you have registered.
An Ontario sole proprietorship registration expires after five years. The expiry date will be shown on the Master Business Licence. The onus is on you to renew your licence and it is a good idea to renew it a few days before the expiry date. No reminder notice is sent out by the government.
About the Author:
Resources for Canadian Business Owners handles legal and government registrations and can assist you with an Ontario Sole Proprietorship and Ontario Nuans Name Searches. This article, Important Information Before Registering an Ontario Sole Proprietorship is released under a creative commons attribution license.
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