Federal Nuans Report
24 Mar 2016

Federal Name Granting Compendium for Federal Companies

by | posted in: Canada Business Corporations Act, Federal, Name Granting for New Businesses, NUANS | 0

The main objective of Industry Canada when 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 business anywhere in Canada. The federal government has established a: FEDERAL NAME GRANTING COMPENDIUM 

Procedure for Approval of a Name for a Federal Company

Step 1 – Have a Search House perform Preliminary Name Searches against your Proposed Name.

Step 2 – Have a Search House submit your proposed name for a Federal Name Decision Report.

Preliminary Name Searches

To save yourself time and money you should first do a preliminary name search through an experienced search house. The reason you should have someone experienced perform a preliminary name search is to weed out obvious conflicts to the name.  If too many conflicts to the name show up on the preliminary name search a new name can be chosen BEFORE the cost of a NUANS report is incurred.

A search house is trained to look for these types of conflicts. If you do not have a preliminary name search done and the federal government rejects your proposed name search you will be required to order another search and submit another request for approval.

Resources For Canadian Business Owners Inc. performs unlimited preliminary FREE name searches with the purchase of a Federal NUANS report.

For more information on what needs to be considered when you choose a name refer to CHOOSING A NAME FOR YOUR BUSINESS.

Federal Name Decision for a Federal NUANS Report

The federal government can provide you with a Federal Name Decision which can be obtained in advance of filing your articles and save wasted time and money. However, a Federal Name Decision cannot be obtained without first providing a Federal NUANS report.

It is advisable to use a search house to assist you with this request because search houses are aware of how to argue a negative decision.  If conflicts to your proposed name are highlighted by the Federal government which provides that the name is rejected, a qualified search house will exam those conflicts and in many cases rule them out as conflicts to your name.  A second submission will be submitted for a reconsideration of the original request.

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 30 years experience working with Industry Canada in clearing names.

Once you have your Name Decision Report and the name search report in hand you can then use these to register your federal company.

Purchase a Federal NUANS Report and/or Federal Name Decision Report

 

Federal Name Granting Compendium

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 three but preferably 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.

  • Distinctive Element

  • Vancouver

  • Dominique's

  • Butterwind

  • Descriptive Element

  • Lawn Mowing Services

  • Graphics Design

  • Wind Surfing Instruction

  • Legal Element

  • Ltd.

  • Corp.

  • Inc.

 

Since preliminary name searches are free with the purchase of a Federal name search, when you use our service, 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 name search or when you purchase a Federal Name Search and Federal Name Decision.

 

Once we believe that you have a name that is sufficiently different than others, a full NUANS Report can 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 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 the name.

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 a business using any 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 approving your proposed name and you will be provided an approval number.

Federal Name Granting Compendium

If Industry Canada rejects your proposed name you will be provided 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 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 request a re-examination.

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 anyone 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.

This procedure is best performed by a qualified search house.

Resources For Canadian Business Owners Inc would be glad to assist you with obtaining an available name.

Choosing A Name
19 Mar 2016

Choosing a Name for Your Canadian Corporation, Partnership or Sole Proprietorship

by | posted in: Business Name Registrations, Incorporation, NUANS, Ontario Business Names Act, Operating Trade Name, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship | 0

When choosing a name for your Canadian corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship you need to ensure that your name is distinct and different from any other registration on file federally and in all provinces and territories across Canada. In order to determine this you will need to perform a preliminary name search. Before performing a preliminary name search you should read the following information.

 

Aspects Required When Choosing a Name for Your Business

If you are registering a corporation, you will be required to have a legal element (explained below) but for other registrations such as sole proprietorships, business names and partnerships this will not be necessary. The information herein explains what to look for when using a name for a corporation however the principles can be applied to business names, partnerships and sole proprietorships as well.

When deciding on a name for your corporation, you should consider three aspects of the name as follows:

(1) the Distinctive Element

(2) the Descriptive Element, and

(3) the Legal Element.

 

  • Distinctive Element

  • Vancouver

  • Dominique's

  • Butterwind

  • Descriptive Element

  • Lawn Mowing Services

  • Graphics Design

  • Wind Surfing Instruction

  • Legal Element

  • Ltd.

  • Corp.

  • Inc.

 

Distinctive Element of a Name – If the name you choose to register is “Crosgrey Carpentry Inc. , the distinctive element is the word “Crosgrey”, which is distinctive because it is my last name. Another example of a distinctive element in a name might be “Grenville” as in “Grenville Garden Supplies Ltd.” which is distinctive because it describes a location. “Starcross Dental Services Corp.” has the distinctive word “Starcross” in it to make it stand out from other dental service companies.

Descriptive Element of a Name – The descriptive element describes the type of business. In “Crosgrey Carpentry Inc.”, the descriptive element is “Carpentry” which describes the nature of business. In “Grenville Garden Supplies Ltd.” the descriptive element is “Garden Supplies” which describes the type of products this business sells. “Dental Services” is the descriptive element for “Starcross Dental Services Corp.”.

If you were to use the name “Starcross Ltd.” it does not describe the type of business. You can incorporate this company, if the name is available, but because it is such a short name there may already be a conflict and it would not be suggested to register such a short name. There are 1,000s of these short names registered already and most of them are already taken. Let us consider that “Starcross Inc.” has been registered. When you do a preliminary name search on the name “Starcross Ltd.” the name search report says “Starcross Ltd.” is available. This would still be a very poor choice of name since the person who owns the company registered as “Starcross Inc.” would consider your name as a conflict even though the government in some jurisdictions would allow you to register the name because it is different and not exactly the same. The onus is on you to ensure your name is distinct and different from others, not the government. In fact in some provinces such as Alberta and Ontario you can register a business name, sole proprietorship or partnership with the exact name as other registrations. This is not a requirement for them so if you do not pre-clear your name in advance they will not inform you before registering of any other names that would be a conflict. The only requirements in those provinces for distinct names would be for incorporations.

Purchase NUANS or Name Search Report for a New Business

It is best to have a descriptive element in the name to avoid any future conflicts that you may not be aware of when you register your company especially if you are performing your own searches without the help of a search house. Search houses are trained to look for conflicts such as this and it is your best option to have a search house check your name. For the low cost it is worth being safe. You could be forced to change your name if a company took you to court for this issue. If they have had use of their name for many years and are highly placed in the marketplace, they might be able to force you to change your corporation’s name. This would then mean that, even though you have built up a relationship with your clients using the name you first chose, you might be forced to change it and thereby lose some of your standing in the marketplace. The loss of income and the additional expenses resulting from such a situation could be high. Therefore, it is important your corporation’s name is very distinct and different from other names of existing companies across Canada. This would include any companies registered in Canada whose home base is outside of Canada. As well, never order stationery, business cards, etc. before your company is incorporated.

Legal Element of a Name – The Legal Element is the word “Inc.” which is a mandatory ending which recognizes the name as the name of a company. In Canada you can have the following endings for your company name: “Inc.”, “Incorporated”, “Ltd.”, “Limited”, “Corp.”, “Corporation” and the French equivalents of “Ltee.” “Limitee”, “Inc.” (same in English and French) or “Incorporee”, The Legal Element distinguishes your name as a share corporation rather than a business name, sole proprietorship or non-share corporation.

It is best to consider a name that has a minimum of four words. Otherwise, you may choose a name that is too close to another existing corporation’s name.

Need Our Help?

Register a Sole Proprietorship

Register a Partnership

Register an Operating Trade Name

Preliminary Name Searches

You should always do a preliminary name search prior to obtaining a name search report or a NUANS name search report.

The distinctive element of a name can be your name, i.e. “John Smith” or it might be a group of letters, i.e. “GSA” or it might be the name of a town, “Newmarket”, etc. The more distinct the name, the more likely it will be that the name will be available for use.

The descriptive element of the name should be very broad and detailed. The more detailed your descriptive element is the more likely your name will be different than others. For instance, using the descriptive element “Services” is vague but the use of the descriptive element “Dry Cleaning Services” is broader. The descriptive element “Dry Cleaning and Clothing Repair Services” would be even better.

Choosing a Name for a Quebec Company

If you are going to carry on business in Quebec then you will need a French name,. The name can be the name of the company or an English named company with a French business name. If you chose you can have an English and a French name in your articles. You will need two NUANS reports when incorporating. One for the English version of the name and one for the French version of the name.