Applying for and receiving approval for a business name is the first step before you can register your business with the BC Business Registry. Registering your business in BC is required if you plan to operate as any other structure besides a sole proprietorship. If you are planning to operate a sole proprietor, you do not required to register your business name if you intend to operate as your first and last name.
When selecting a business name, the BC Registry is looking for two elements: distinctive element and descriptive element.
For incorporation, limited companies are required to have the corporate designation as the last word in the name. For example:
- Limited, Limitee (fr), Ltd., or Ltee (fr).
- Incorporated, Incorporee (fr), or Inc.
- Corporation or Corp.
For societies (not-for-profit corporations), you will find more information at this link
During the name research stage, although not mandatory, its recommended that you complete these additional steps. Search on Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s website to ensure there no conflicts with registered trademarks in other parts of Canada. Similarly, checking databases in other provinces can help avoid conflicts with registered names. As businesses increasingly operate online, its worthwhile to search your business name on Google to see what search results comes up. Lastly, if you have plans to have a website with a unique URL, perform a domain search of the business name for availability.
Name approval steps(required):
- Search against BC Registry Services’ registered names to see what’s already registered in the province.
- Provide three business name choices
- Submit a name approval online
Does this sound too complicated? Do you wish to outsource this task?
We often get asked the reason why their name approval request came back rejected. This can lead to unnecessary delays. We offer a Guided Registration service for (Sole Proprietorship and Partnership) where someone experienced will complete this process for you and do it right, saving you time and effort.
Benefits of Guided Registration
- save time waiting on phone for various government agencies
- friendly and experienced staff to walk you through the process
- avoid delays
- includes name approval request and registration of business accounts
Click on the link for more information on our Business Registration Services