How Much Does It Cost to Incorporate a Business in Ontario?
What it costs to file: the government fee breakdown
| Item | Who charges it | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporation, filed electronically (Ontario Business Registry) | Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery | $300 |
| Articles of Incorporation, filed on paper | Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery | $360 (cheque payable to the Minister of Finance) |
| NUANS name search report (required unless incorporating with a numbered name) | Private NUANS search company | Not set by government; varies by provider |
| Correcting an error in already-filed Articles (s. 275, Business Corporations Act) | Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery | $500 (cheque payable to the Minister of Finance) |
The core government fee to incorporate a business corporation in Ontario is $300, charged by the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery for filing Articles of Incorporation electronically through the Ontario Business Registry. Filing the same document on paper costs $360 instead, payable by cheque to the Minister of Finance. These two numbers are the fixed, official starting point: everything else that gets added to a total incorporation bill sits on top of one of them.
Why the total can be higher than the base filing fee
Two things push the real cost above $300 or $360.
The name search. Unless the corporation is set up with a numbered name (a corporate name that is just a government-issued number rather than a chosen business name), the Business Corporations Act requires an original, Ontario-biased NUANS name search report to be obtained from a private name search company and submitted with the Articles of Incorporation. This report is not issued or priced by the government, so its cost sits outside the $300/$360 figures above and is not something Ontario.ca publishes a rate for. Choosing a numbered name avoids this step and its cost entirely, at the trade-off of not having a chosen business name on the certificate.
Service provider fees. If Articles of Incorporation are filed electronically through a third-party online service provider rather than directly, that provider charges its own additional fee on top of the Ministry’s $300 for the immediate online filing service it delivers. The $300 government portion does not change based on which provider is used; the provider’s own charge is separate and is set by that business, not the Ministry.
A separate, adjacent cost: correcting filed documents
Incorporation costs do not end the moment the certificate is issued. If an error is later found in Articles of Incorporation that have already been filed, Ontario provides a process under section 275 of the Business Corporations Act to obtain a corrected certificate. That application carries its own fee of $500, payable to the Minister of Finance. This is not part of the standard incorporation cost and only applies if a correction is needed after the fact, but it is worth knowing about before filing, since it is considerably more than the original filing fee itself.
What the fee amounts do and don’t cover
The $300 or $360 Ministry fee covers only the act of filing the Articles of Incorporation itself. It does not include the NUANS report cost (a separate private-sector charge), and it does not include any fee an online service provider or other third party charges for helping with the filing. Anyone comparing “the cost to incorporate in Ontario” against a total quoted by a service provider or law firm should keep the government’s $300/$360 figure distinct from whatever else is being bundled into that quote, since only the Ministry portion is fixed by the province.
Federal incorporation is a different process
This article covers incorporation of a business corporation under Ontario’s Business Corporations Act specifically. Incorporating federally under the Canada Business Corporations Act involves a different fee schedule and a different registry, and is not covered by the figures above.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to file Articles of Incorporation electronically or on paper in Ontario?
Electronic filing through the Ontario Business Registry costs $300, while paper filing costs $360, payable by cheque to the Minister of Finance. This is an Ontario-specific fee; the province does not offer an expedited or rush filing option separate from these two methods.
Do I have to pay for a NUANS name search to incorporate in Ontario?
In Ontario, a NUANS name search report is required unless you incorporate with a numbered name (a company identified only by a government-assigned number rather than a chosen business name). The report is obtained from a private search company, and its cost is not set or published by the Ontario government.
Can I avoid the NUANS search fee entirely?
In Ontario, choosing a numbered company instead of a named corporation removes the requirement to submit a NUANS report with the Articles of Incorporation, since the numbered-name rule under the Business Corporations Act only applies when a specific business name is requested.
What does it cost to fix a mistake in Articles of Incorporation after filing in Ontario?
In Ontario, correcting an error in previously filed incorporation documents under section 275 of the Business Corporations Act costs $500, payable to the Minister of Finance. This is a separate, adjacent fee from the original incorporation filing cost.
Sources
- Ontario.ca – Incorporating a Business Corporation , Business Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.16, and Ministry fee schedule published thereunder (retrieved July 17, 2026)
- Ontario.ca – Business Corporations: Corrected Certificates , Business Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.16, s. 275 (retrieved July 17, 2026)