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Electronic Training on Federal Corporate Name Granting
June 2004
- General
- Table of Contents
Corporate Name Granting
When businesses decide to incorporate in Canada, they can incorporate in any province or territory, or with the federal government. Each jurisdiction has its own name granting rules. This training focuses on the federal name granting guidelines used by Corporations Canada.
Heightened Name Protection
- The Small Business Guide to Federal Incorporation lists heightened name protection as one of the benefits of federal incorporation. While every incorporating jurisdiction in Canada screens potential corporate names, the level of scrutiny varies from province to province and from territory to territory. Corporations Canada applies the most stringent of tests before granting the right to use a particular name. This stringency is a guarantee that once your corporation name is approved, it has a protected status second only to trademark protection.
- A related benefit is the constitutional right of a Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) company to carry on business anywhere in Canada. Only with federal incorporation can you be assured of being able to operate under your corporation's own name throughout Canada, both now and later.
Introduction to Name Granting
Two of the statutes administered by Corporations Canada, the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) and the Canada Corporations Act (CCA) which governs federal not-for-profit corporations, have almost identical name regulations describing the types of corporate names that are not permissible. Essentially, the applicant cannot have a name that:
- is likely to cause confusion with another business;
- is likely to mislead the public or is absolutely prohibited;
- is reserved for another business;
- is obscene; or
- has an unacceptable French or English form.
The Director General of Corporations Canada ("Director") has the authority to reject a proposed name that is prohibited by the Act or by the name regulations. It is the applicant, however, that is ultimately responsible for incorporating with a name that does not cause confusion or contravene the Act or regulations in any other way.
Purpose of this Training
This training has been designed to provide a general understanding of the information and rules taken into consideration by the Director when deciding whether to approve a corporate name.
It delivers information through the use of informative modules including brief exercises. Where additional information is necessary, links are provided to the appropriate area of the Corporations Canada website.
Table of Contents
- Module
Thank you for taking the time to complete the Electronic Training on Federal Corporate Name Granting
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