Ontario Sole Proprietorships are governed by the Business Names Act (Ontario). An Ontario Sole Proprietorship is sometimes called an Ontario Trade Name. It is a good idea to look over the statute requirements to ensure you comply with them properly.
The statute provides that no individual shall carry on business or identify his or her business to the public under a name other than his or her own name unless the name is registered by that individual. Therefore you can carry on business under your own personal name and not register.
If you decide to register an Ontario trade name you should be aware that an Ontario Nuans name search is not required. It is not a requirement of the statute that the name you choose for your Ontario trade name be unique. The Ontario government will accept a registration of a name that is exactly the same as another name registered as a sole proprietorship in Ontario. If you are going to register a trade name and you realize that there is another name registered which is exactly the same, you should not register the same name unless you have a connection with that business or have received consent in writing to the use of the name.
The best way to ensure this is to do a preliminary name search for the proposed name for your Ontario sole proprietorship. A search house can perform this for you. Some search houses charge a small fee for this and others will do this for free when you purchase a sole proprietorship registration service from them. You really need the help of a search house for clearing the name. You cannot clear you name on your own just by going through the phone book. As well you need to consider that you should not have a name that is even close to another name registered across all of Canada. It could cause problems since many businesses today conduct business right 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.
An Ontario sole proprietorship can be dissolved by filing a dissolution of the trade name.
An Ontario sole proprietorship is not perpetual. It will expiry in five years and that expiry date will be clearly shown on the Master Business Licence. You must set up a tickler to ensure that you renew your business name prior to the five years being up. It is a good idea to re-register a few days before the Ontario sole proprietorship registration expires.
The statute provides that no individual shall carry on business or identify his or her business to the public under a name other than his or her own name unless the name is registered by that individual. Therefore you can carry on business under your own personal name and not register.
If you decide to register an Ontario trade name you should be aware that an Ontario Nuans name search is not required. It is not a requirement of the statute that the name you choose for your Ontario trade name be unique. The Ontario government will accept a registration of a name that is exactly the same as another name registered as a sole proprietorship in Ontario. If you are going to register a trade name and you realize that there is another name registered which is exactly the same, you should not register the same name unless you have a connection with that business or have received consent in writing to the use of the name.
The best way to ensure this is to do a preliminary name search for the proposed name for your Ontario sole proprietorship. A search house can perform this for you. Some search houses charge a small fee for this and others will do this for free when you purchase a sole proprietorship registration service from them. You really need the help of a search house for clearing the name. You cannot clear you name on your own just by going through the phone book. As well you need to consider that you should not have a name that is even close to another name registered across all of Canada. It could cause problems since many businesses today conduct business right 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.
An Ontario sole proprietorship can be dissolved by filing a dissolution of the trade name.
An Ontario sole proprietorship is not perpetual. It will expiry in five years and that expiry date will be clearly shown on the Master Business Licence. You must set up a tickler to ensure that you renew your business name prior to the five years being up. It is a good idea to re-register a few days before the Ontario sole proprietorship registration expires.
About the Author:
Resources for Canadian Business Owners handles legal and government registrations and can assist you with an Ontario Business Name Registration and Register a Business Ontario
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