How to find company information in Canada

For federally incorporated companies that operate in Ontario, the Government of Canada’s federal corporate regulator, Corporations Canada, provides a search engine in which the public can search for a company using its corporate name, corporation number, and/or business number. There are additional search options available, such as the province of the registered office, the corporation status (for example, whether it is active or inactive), and governing legislation. These options are particularly useful if the company name renders a large quantity of search results. The search is available at: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/corporations-canada/en and is free of charge.

For companies that are provincially incorporated under Ontario law, Service Ontario’s “Ontario Business Registry” allows for basic information to be obtained through a company search using a corporate name, corporate number, or incorporation date. The search is available at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/business-services. No account is needed to make this search.

A search performed through Corporations Canada renders basic corporate information of a company, such as its corporation number, business number, corporate name, status, and governing legislation. It also provides the registered office address, the names and addresses of directors, annual filings information, and corporate history. The public can order copies of corporate documents, such as its Articles and Certificates of Incorporation, at no fee.

Similar to Corporations Canada, an Ontario corporate search through the Ontario Business Registry provides the public with information limited to a company’s corporate name, Ontario corporation number, incorporation date, type of business, status, governing jurisdiction, and location of the company’s registered or head office address. For more information, a person may, upon payment of a fee, search the records maintained by the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and obtain copies of any document required to be filed under the business statutes of Ontario. However, this must be done through an authorized service provider, such as e-core by Dye & Durham Corporation or ESC Corporate Services Ltd. Most business law firms have accounts with at least one authorized service provider.

It is worth noting that, for both federal and Ontario companies, information on shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners is not available to the public.

For federally incorporated companies based in Ontario, Corporations Canada provides the public with the ability to access a variety of corporate documents such as a Corporate Profile Report, Certificate and Articles of Incorporation, annual returns, by-laws, and if applicable, changes to director information, Certificate and Articles of Amendment, and Certificate and Articles of Continuance. If an individual is looking for a corporate document that is not listed or if certified copies are required, Corporations Canada can be contacted by mail, telephone, online chat, or through an online form.

In regard to provincially incorporated Ontario companies, the Ontario Business Registry’s search only provides a company’s basic corporate information. Any documents the public needs to access must be done by one of the two aforementioned service providers. The documents that may be obtained include an entity profile report, certificate of status, and registry documents such as Articles of Amalgamation and Articles of Amendment, if applicable.

The official bankruptcy records in Canada are compiled by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) and are public records. Therefore, any member of the public can access them by creating a free online account and requesting them via an internet search tool on the OSB website, by telephone, or by sending a fax. Contact information can be accessed at https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/bsf-osb/ins/login.html.

The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Records search includes both bankruptcy and insolvency records as well as records for companies that filed under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) since September 18, 2009. There is an associated fee and searches must be very specific.

Additionally, the public can rely on authorized service providers to perform a Personal Property Security Act search for liens and security interests against company assets (movable property), as well as a Bank Act Section 427 search to determine whether any Notices of Intention to give security have been filed with the Bank of Canada against a company.

Lastly, the public is able to search the Ontario land property records, which includes deeds, mortgages, and plans of survey for title, but it does not contain land surveys. This service is only accessible online at https://www.onland.ca/ui/ and fees depend on the type of search needed. For additional land registration records, an account must be created with Teranet Express, the company that supports the delivery of land registration services in partnership with the government.

Aquilina Law encourages the public to consult a legal professional to interpret records or for legal advice, as Ontario Land Registration staff and Teranet staff cannot interpret records or conduct searches on an individual’s behalf.

It is possible to obtain litigation searches against a company, its shareholders, or legal representatives; however, except for the Superior Court of Justice or the Ontario Court of Justice, this can only be done through a third-party service provider for a fee. The type of court searches available are for matters falling under the respective jurisdictions of the Small Claims Court, the Divisional Court, and the Court of Appeal. For these searches, with the exception of the Court of Appeal which is a province-wide search, the individual must select an applicable district, of which there are about 50.

The Courts and Legal Procedures page in the government of Ontario website has a search function to obtain case information online about criminal and civil court cases in the Superior Court of Justice or adult criminal cases in the Ontario Court of Justice. For all case types, the results provide the court case title, Superior Court of Justice file number or Ontario Court of Justice information number, the court location, information on the next event or hearing type and date, and any publication bans. This service requires a ON-e-Key account to be created and can be accessed at https://www.ontario.ca/page/search-court-cases-online.

For federally incorporated companies that operate in Québec, the Government of Canada’s federal corporate regulator, Corporations Canada, provides a search engine in which the public can search for a company using its corporate name, corporation number, and/or business number. There are additional search options available, such as the province of the registered office, the corporation status (for example, whether it is active or inactive), and governing legislation. These options are particularly useful if the company renders a large quantity of search results. The search is available at: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/corporations-canada/en. The search is free of charge.

For companies that are provincially incorporated under Québec law, the Government of Québec’s business page contains an online search service that allows the public to access information on a company, including the individuals involved in its administration and operation. Depending on the search options, the public can access information of the company found in the Registre des entreprises (Québec business registry), the Central Enterprise Database (for documents dated prior to 1994), or the public authorities database. The search is available at: https://www.Québec.ca/entreprises-et-travailleurs-autonomes/obtenir-renseignements-entreprise/recherche-registre-entreprises/acceder-registre-entreprises.

For federally incorporated companies, a search performed through Corporations Canada renders basic corporate information of a company, such as its corporation number, business number, corporate name, status, and governing information. It also provides with the registered office address, the names and addresses of directors, annual filings information, and corporate history. The public can order copies of corporate documents, such as its Articles and Certificates of Incorporation, at no fee.

For companies incorporated under Québec law, a basic search performed through the Government of Québec requires the name of the company or a its corporation number to be inputted. Depending on which database is searched, the following information is available:

• name of the company registered in the central business file on December 31, 1993;
• previous names;
• physical address of the company (head office);
• other names used (aliases, trademarks, etc.) registered in the central file on December 31, 1993;
• group of related companies;
• legal status at the time of archiving in the Central Enterprise Database;
• legal status date;
• date of constitution;
• type of activities;
• establishments in Québec;
• related persons, including directors, major shareholders and officers; and
• list of digitized documents

For federally incorporated companies based in Québec, the Government of Canada provides the public with the ability to access a variety of corporate documents such as a Corporate Profile Report, Certificate and Articles of Incorporation, annual returns, by-laws, and if applicable, changes to director information, Certificate and Articles of Amendment, and Certificate and Articles of Continuance. If an individual is looking for a corporate document that is not listed or if certified copies are required, Corporations Canada can be contacted by mail, telephone, online chat, or through an online form.

For provincially incorporated Québec companies, copies of a document or a certificate of attestation from the business registry can be requested via an online form. The documents that can be obtained on request may be:

• a certified or uncarted copy of a document filed in the business registry, the central business database (for documents dated prior to 1994), or the public authorities database;
• a certificate of attestation confirming the state of a registration of a taxable person in the business registry; and/or
• a certificate of regularity (for documents dated prior to 1994).

Each request is made at a fee dependent on the type of document requested.

The official bankruptcy records in Canada are compiled by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) and are public records. Therefore, any member of the public can access them by creating a free online account and requesting them via an internet search tool on the OSB website, by telephone, or by sending a fax. Contact information can be accessed at https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/bsf-osb/ins/login.html.

The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Records search includes both bankruptcy and insolvency (BIA) records as well as records for companies that filed under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act since September 18, 2009. There is an associated fee and searches must be very specific.

Through the Government of Québec, a RPMRR (Register of Personal and Moveable Real Rights) search can be submitted online at https://www.rdprm.gouv.qc.ca/Consultation/accueil, by phone, or by requesting an official document (certified statement). To search the RPMRR for a company, the corporate name is required. While no account is required to perform the search, the search itself comes at a fee.

Alternatively, the public can rely on authorized service providers to perform a RPMRR and a Bank Act Section 427 search to determine whether any Notices of Intention to give security have been filed with the Bank of Canada against a company.

Lastly, individuals can search the land register (Registre foncier du Québec) to obtain information on immoveable properties owned by a company. This search can be conducted online at https://www.registrefoncier.gouv.qc.ca/Sirf/. To perform the search, the lot number of the property is required, however it is available free of charge on Infolot, an app used to consult the cadastral database of the province of Québec produced by the Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources naturelles.

Court records are generally public, and no authorization is required to consult any record. However, in some cases access is denied if the record is confidential or classified as restricted.

Court ledgers are computerized public registers and can be accessed from any courthouse in Québec or online from the Société québécoise d'information juridique page for a fee, accessed at http://citoyens.soquij.qc.ca/. Court ledgers provide access to historical court records of individuals and companies in civil, criminal, and penal matters of all Québec courts (except municipal court records). Information that can be obtained from court ledgers includes file numbers, names, contact information, dates, decisions, etc. Also, with the information in the ledgers, the public can check the status of a case and check whether a company or individual is the subject of a lawsuit or dispute.

For individuals such as shareholders or legal representatives, the criminal court ledger of the Ministère de la Justice and provides information on offences committed in Québec except for municipal court convictions, which can be obtained only by contacting the municipal court itself.