How Do I Choose and Reserve a Federal Corporate Name?

Steps to choose and reserve a federal corporate name

1. Decide between a word name and a numbered name. A federal corporate name is the legal name used in all contracts and invoices, and it can be either a word name you choose or a numbered name (for example, “12345678 Canada Inc.”) that Corporations Canada assigns automatically when you select that option in the Online Filing Centre.
2. Draft a word name that is distinctive. The core federal requirement is that the name distinguish your corporation from other businesses; purely descriptive names fail this test.
3. Avoid a bare personal name or a bare geographic name. A name made up only of an individual’s name is generally not considered distinctive on its own, and geographic names cannot be used alone as a corporate name. Both usually need a distinctive or descriptive element added.
4. Check for confusion with existing names, businesses, or trademarks. As a general rule you cannot choose a name that causes confusion with an existing corporate name, business name, or trademark, and the Canada Business Corporations Regulations set out a multi-factor confusion test that looks at distinctiveness, length of use, and degree of resemblance, among other circumstances.
5. Screen out prohibited or restricted terms. Names implying royal, vice-regal, or governmental patronage, or a connection to a university or professional association, are prohibited without written consent. Financial-sector terms such as “trust,” “loan,” “bank,” and “insurance” are reserved for entities regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and are generally barred for corporations formed under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA).
6. Run the name check through the Online Filing Centre. The integrated search compares your proposed name against existing corporate names, business names, and trademarks. A Nuans report (standalone cost: $13.80) lists similar names but does not itself mean the name is approved; Corporations Canada still applies its own review.
7. Optionally preapprove and reserve the name before filing articles. You can apply for a corporate name before incorporating, though this step is not required since it can be done directly during incorporation. If you do preapprove, the name is reserved for 90 days from the date of the request, and the Director cannot reserve a name that duplicates or confuses with a name already reserved for someone else.
8. File articles of incorporation within the reservation window. Incorporating federally currently costs $200 with 1-day standard processing, plus $100 for 4-hour express service. The CBCA bars incorporating under a name that is prohibited, deceptively misdescriptive, or already reserved for another corporation, so filing before the 90-day reservation lapses avoids having to redo the name check.

What “distinctive” actually screens out

Corporations Canada’s requirement that a name be distinctive is the reason most rejected applications fail. A name has to distinguish the corporation from other businesses rather than simply describe what it does or who runs it. This is why an individual’s name alone or a geographic name alone is treated as not distinctive: both need something else attached before Corporations Canada will register them as a corporate name.

Confusion review versus trademark risk

The confusion test under the Canada Business Corporations Regulations weighs several circumstances together, including how distinctive the existing name or trademark is, how long it has been used, and how closely it resembles the proposed name. A Nuans report surfaces similar names and trademarks for you to review, but getting a report does not mean Corporations Canada has preapproved or approved the name; the examiner still applies its own judgment against the regulatory test. It’s also worth remembering that a corporate name is legally distinct from a trademark or a domain name: owning a domain does not automatically mean it can be your corporate name, and clearing the corporate name search does not itself resolve any separate trademark conflict.

Why reserving a name is optional, and when it still matters

Corporations Canada is explicit that preapproving a name before incorporating is not necessary, because the same name check happens automatically when you file the incorporation application itself. The preapproval route exists for situations where you want the name locked in before you’re ready to file the rest of the incorporation paperwork, such as while you finalize directors, registered office details, or share structure. Because the reservation period is fixed at 90 days under both the CBCA and its regulations, treat that reservation as a deadline: if articles of incorporation aren’t filed within the window, the reserved status lapses.

Numbered names as the fallback

If a suitable word name is hard to clear through the confusion and distinctiveness checks, the CBCA permits incorporating under a numbered name instead, which Corporations Canada assigns automatically through the Online Filing Centre. This avoids the name review process entirely, at the cost of a less identifiable public name; many corporations that go this route later register a separate business or trade name for public use, though that is a distinct registration from the corporate name itself.