Types of Business Names

Under the partnership act, there are presently four types of businesses;

• Trade name

The trade name is used when an individual or a corporation does the business under a name different from their legal names.
It is also known as a sole proprietorship.

• Partnership

A partnership is formed when two or more individuals or business come together to run a business.
They share the profits together and equally bear the losses.

• Limited partnership

A limited partnership consists of one (or more) general partners, and one (or more) limited partners coming together. They bear different duties and responsibilities in the business.

• Limited liability partnership

A limited liability partnership is formed when partners in one or more eligible fields, ie law or accounting come together. It is very similar to a regular partnership, except that there is liability protection.

How Much Does It Cost To Register A Small Business In Alberta?

Normally there’s a standard government fee for the registration of businesses in Canada, and depending on your service providers, there’s also a varying charge.
Please access and download the up-to-date agent Catalogue for Alberta on the official website.

The catalogues are updated every month, so I won’t be uploading any here.

How To Apply For Business Name Registration In Alberta

Applying for your business registration is not a very complex process, and we’d be having a rundown on the steps;

• Choose a business name

The name you choose doesn’t compulsorily have to be unique, however, the owner of an existing business can take you to court if you choose their name.
You can not use the words ‘limited’, ‘incorporated’ or ‘corporation’ at the end of your business name, as it will build a different impression.

Also, if you’re registering a limited liability partnership, you have to add the phrase, limited liability partnership, LLP or the French terms, ‘Société à Responsabilité Limitée’ or ‘SRL’at the end of the names.

• Get a business name report

This is not compulsory, but highly recommended.
The list is provided by authorized NUANS members, and contains registered business, corporation and trademark names similar to your proposed name.
You can find a NUANS service provider by visiting this page.

You might be required to pay some fee to the service providers.

• Fill the business registration forms

You can use the sample forms below to get the information required for the filling of your own;

• Trade name

If you’re applying for the trade name or sole proprietorship, you can download the Declaration of Trade Name form.

• Partnership

For people interested in the partnership, you can download the Declaration of Partnership and the Special Authority to Execute a Declaration forms.

• Limited partnership (LP)

For the limited partnership, you might need to download the forms;

1. Application for Alberta/Extra-Provincial Limited Partnership
2. Special Authority to Execute a Registration
3. Alberta’s online extra-provincial registration (this is optional, and you can use it to apply if you want to do business in Alberta and your limited partnership home province is Manitoba, British Columbia or Saskatchewan) There is no cost.

Subsequently, you can choose to apply directly from Manitoba, British Columbia or Saskatchewan.

• Limited liability partnership (LLP)

To apply for the limited liability partnership;

• You need to get permission from the Alberta governing body of the profession, take for instance law or accounting.
• Extra-provincial limited liability partnerships will need to provide proof of active registration in their home jurisdiction, together with copies of documents for their original registration.
• Download the Application for Alberta/Extra-Provincial Limited Liability Partnership form.
• If your limited liability partnership home jurisdiction is in Manitoba, or British Columbia, Saskatchewan, there are special processes to follow. Do contact your home jurisdiction registry office, or click on Manitoba, or British Columbia, Saskatchewan for more information.
  You can also download the sample forms – Manitoba, or British Columbia, Saskatchewan.

To send these documents to the Alberta Corporate Registry, you can;

Email: [email protected]
Fax: 780-422-1091

They’ll also send them to the other provinces at no cost.

• Take the business registration information to a service provider

After going through the other steps, you can now proceed to taking your business registration information to a service provider.
You can find an authorized business registry by clicking here.

Visit them with the following documents;

• Your business name information
• A valid ID card
• Your Business Name Report (if you used it)
• The required fee

That’s all!
You can drop us your comment below if you have any issues, and don’t forget to share to your friends!