A British Columbia Certificate of Good Standing is issued by the BC government on behalf of British Columbia companies. In most provinces of Canada these are called Certificates of Status but in BC they are called a Certificate of Good Standing.

Timing of Receiving a BC Certificate of Good Standing

A BC Certificate of Good Standing can be received the same day it is ordered and frequently in less than an hour.  It will be provided in the form of a pdf document by email.

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Why is a BC Certificate of Status Issued

Basically a Certificate of Good Standing is required when you need to provide someone or some other company with the assurance that your BC company is in good standing.

What Determines Whether a BC Company is in Good Standing

Being in good standing means that the company is still active and has not been dissolved for non-filing of federal and/or provincial tax returns or non-filing of the BC annual reports.  A BC company must file a BC annual report each year and if it does not file this return it will eventually be dissolved.

What is Shown on the BC Certificate of Good Standing

The Certificate of Good Standing for a BC company will provide the accurate current name of the BC company, the BC corporate number and its status.

What Determines Whether a BC Certificate of Good Standing Can be Obtained for a BC Company

BC companies must file federal tax returns each year and if those returns are not filed for a number of years the federal government will dissolve the company. If your address is current on file you will be provided with warning from Revenue Canad Agency that tax returns are due.

As well, BC companies must file BC annual reports each year with the BC Corporate Registry and if those returns are not filed for a number of years the company will be dissolved.  In fact, if there is an outstanding BC annual report due to be filed for a BC company you will not be able to obtain a Certificate of Good Standing until that return has been filed.

It is very expensive to revive a company and the BC government puts the onus on the owners of BC companies to follow the statute requirements. It may not remind you that you have not filed your annual reports. Any reputable Canadian search house will be able to check for you to see that your annual reports have been filed but there is a cost for this. You will need to order what is called a BC Corporate Search for your company.