A Canada Name Search or Canada Business Name Search or Federal Name Search, as it is sometimes called, is required to incorporate a federal company in Canada. A Canadian Name Search is referred to officially as a Federal NUANS Name Search.

Statute Governing the Incorporation of Federal Companies

A Canadian federal company is governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act and in order to register a Canadian business federally you must provide the federal government with a Federal NUANS Name Search Report or Canada Name Search as it is sometimes called together with articles of incorporation and a notice of directors and registered office.

Canada Name Search|Canada Business Name Search - Name Clearance Guidelines

The main objective of Industry Canada for incorporating a federal company is to have protection for the name across Canada. In order to accomplish this, the federal government must ensure that any name that is proposed does not conflict with any other name being used by an existing corporation anywhere in Canada. The federal government scrutinizes any proposed names very carefully. Industry Canada has developed Name Granting Guidelines and there are certain considerations to make when c hoosing a name. The average person doing a name search for a Canadian federal incorporation would not be able to weed out the names that would be a conflict.

To save yourself time and money you should first do a preliminary name search through an experienced search house. Resources For Canadian Business Owners Inc. performs unlimited preliminary name searches with the purchase of a Canada Name Search. The reason you should have someone experienced perform your Canada Name Search is that the federal government will refuse any name that is remotely close to another name and even names that sound the same and are spelled different. A search house is trained to look for these types of conflicts. If you do not do a preliminary name search and the federal government rejects your proposed Canada Business Name Search, you will be required to order another Canada name search in order to request the government to look at another proposed name. This will continue until a Canada name search is cleared. The preliminary name search helps prevent this waste of money.

Federal Name Decision for a Canada Name Search

The federal government as well will provide you with a name clearance which is called a Federal Name Decision which can be obtained in advance of filing your articles and save wasted time. However, a Federal Name Decision cannot be obtained without first providing a Canada Name Search. They will not look at a proposed company name without a full Federal NUANS name search report being provided to them. Hence, the reason for the preliminary name search.

Resources For Canadian Business Owners Inc. can provide you with preliminary name searches, a Name Decision and a NUANS name search report so that you will be able to go forward and incorporate your federal company on your own. The advantage of obtaining a Federal Name Decision with your Federal Name Search is:

- unlimited preliminary name searches at no extra cost

- a higher likelihood of picking an acceptable name

- if the name becomes rejected we as an experienced search house are capable of having the name re-submitted for second consideration in many cases.

Frankly there really is no guarantee with the Canadian federal government when it comes to names but experience can help make the process go much more quickly and reduce the likelihood of a rejection to a small percentage. We have 20 years experience working with Industry Canada in clearing names.

Once you have your Name Decision Report and Canada Name Search in hand you can then use these to register your federal company. We will be glad to handle the pre-clearance of your Corporation Name Search.

When You Order Your NUANS Report or Name Search report with us we provide the following to you:

• Unlimited Free Preliminary Searches for the Name of Your Company (as many as you wish!!!!) -- Why Pay Extra When We Do Them For Free
• 25 years' experience in conducting name searches to ensure you pick a name that is distinctive and different from others in Canada thereby preventing future problems with name litigation
• Fast, Reliable Service
• Answer any of your questions with respect to how the government offices work for your registration

Name Granting Guidelines for a Canada Business Name Search

The federal government has complex Name Granting Guidelines when accepting a Federal NUANS Name Search.

The name that you pick for your proposed company should contain at least five words and be very descriptive of the type of business that you intend to conduct. A preliminary name search should be done to determine if there are any similar names. If any similar names come up from the preliminary name search, the name should be rejected and a new proposed name should be picked. Since preliminary name searches are free with the purchase of a Canadian Name Search you can continue searching names until you have picked one that is sufficiently different than other corporate names. As part of our service, Resources For Canadian Business Owners Inc. will perform an unlimited number of preliminary name searches for you when you purchase a Canada Name search or when you purchase a Canada Name Search and Federal Name Decision.

Once you believe that you have a name that is sufficiently different than others, a full Canada Business Name Search or sometimes called a Canadian Name Search, should be ordered. There will more than likely be additional names on the corporation name search that are similar in one way or another to the name you have picked. The federal government will query any name that is similar in any way, even if it sounds the same but is spelled differently. The Canada name search should be submitted to Industry Canada for approval. A very complete description of the nature of business of the proposed company should also be provided to Industry Canada. They will use this description as part of the consideration they give to granting you approval of your Canada Name Search. Further if any of the words in the name are a combination of letters rather than an actual word, this should be explained and, if any of the words in the name are in another language, Industry Canada should be informed of the language and meaning of the word. The more information that you provide to Industry Canada, the more likely you will be able to obtain approval of the name. Providing Industry Canada with the City and province in which you are carrying on business will also help. Further if you own any other similar name such as a sole proprietorship then you should advise them of this as well. The federal government will then provide you with a Name Decision and approve your Canada Name Search and you will be provided an approval number.

If Industry Canada rejects your the proposed name submitted by way of Canada Business Name Search, they will provide you with an explanation as to why. If they feel the name is too similar to another name being used by an existing company, you can look into the nature of business of that company and find out (a) what they do, and (b) whether they are still in business. If the nature of business is substantially different than your proposed company then Industry Canada may provide its consent to you for the use of your proposed name regardless of whether they first said no to your name. You may be able to determine the nature of business by checking Yellow Pages, Superpages or calling and discreetly attempting to determine the nature of business. You can obtain more information about the conflicting company by obtaining a corporate search. A corporate search will provide you with the address of the company and the names of the directors and officers so that you have more information to find out whether the company is active.

If, after doing searches you have determined that the existing corporation is no longer in existence, you may, as well, be granted approval by Industry Canada for the use of your proposed name and can then submit your Canada Name Search with your articles to Industry Canada. You would send a further letter to Industry Canada outlining the information that you have researched and ask them to reconsider your choice of name again. In some cases, Industry Canada will allow you to use the name on the basis that if any one challenges the name at a later date, you will endeavour to change your name. If, after all efforts have been attempted, your name is still rejected you will need to start the entire process over again. Resources For Canadian Business Owners Inc would be glad to assist you with obtaining an available name. This is a free service we provide with the purchase of a Canada Name Search.

Preliminary Name Search Report (unlimited free preliminary name searches. Caution: This service is for those who do not require a full NUANS name search report and just want to know if the name is available for use as a corporation, business name, sole proprietorship or partnership anywhere Canada)
Federal NUANS Name Search Report (for Federal incorporations) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
Federal NUANS Name Search Report and Federal Name Decision (for Federal incorporations) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
Federal Name Decision (for Federal incorporations) CAUTION: This report should only be purchased by those who have already obtained a Federal NUANS Name Search report and wish a federal government pre-clearance of the name prior to incorporating a Federal company.
Alberta NUANS Name Search Report (for Alberta incorporations) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
Alberta Trade Name Search Report (for Alberta business names, sole proprietorships and partnerships) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
Ontario NUANS Name Search Report (for Ontario incorporations) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
New Brunswick NUANS Name Search Report (for New Brunswick incorporations, business names, sole proprietorships and partnerships) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
Prince Edward Island NUANS Name Search Report (for PEI incorporations, business names, sole proprietorships and partnerships) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
Nova Scotia Name Search Report (for NS incorporations, business names, sole proprietorships and partnerships) and unlimited free preliminary name searches
Yukon NUANS Name Search Report (which is the same as a Federal NUANS name search for Federal or Yukon Territory incorporations) and unlimited free preliminary name searches