Federal corporation doing business in BC? Registration, address and both annual filings — handled

What extraprovincial registration is — and the two-month rule

Incorporating federally gives you a corporation that can operate anywhere in Canada, but each province still wants to know you are there. In BC that is extraprovincial registration under Part 11 of the Business Corporations Act. Section 375 requires a federal corporation to register within two months after it begins to carry on business in BC — counted from when business starts here, not from incorporation. The Act treats you as carrying on business in BC once you have an office here, a resident agent, or a BC address listed in a directory or advertisement, so "we haven't opened a storefront yet" usually does not delay the clock.

Three things filing services often get wrong

• You do not need a BC name reservation. Section 376(2) of the Act says so for federal corporations. Several online filing services will happily sell you one anyway.
• You may not need an attorney for service. Under s.386(1), no attorney is required if, under your articles, the corporation's head office is in BC. That turns on what your articles say, not where you happen to sit — which is why we ask for them. If your articles put the head office in another province, an attorney for service in BC is required — we can act as your BC attorney.
• The registration statement needs specific details (s.376(3)): the corporation's name, its date of incorporation, its corporation number, and the mailing and delivery address of the head office. A delivery address cannot be a PO box.

Your BC address

A federal corporation keeps its registered office in the province named in its articles. If that province is BC, Minuted's Metro Vancouver address becomes your registered office and the delivery address on your BC registration — a real street address, which the Act requires, without renting a desk you will never sit at. The street address is given to clients on signup; it is never printed on this site.

Letters sent to the office, including documents served on the company and government notices, are scanned and emailed to you on both plans. Registered and signature-required letters are accepted; we do not accept packages or large parcels, and we do not deposit cheques. After scanning, the paper is securely shredded; originals can be stored and shipped on request ($35 per shipment plus tax, on your courier label).

Both annual filings, included

Federal corporations in BC owe two things every year, on two different calendars. Minuted tracks and files both as part of the plan price.

What we ask you for

Two things, and we read the rest from the federal registry.

• The email Corporations Canada sent when you incorporated, and your corporation key. Forward the email or upload the attachments in the portal — it holds your certificate and articles. The corporation key is what lets us file on your behalf. Most owners have never opened the attachments; that is fine.
• The date you began carrying on business in BC. The registration statement asks for it and the two-month deadline runs from it.

Along the way we build your opening minute book — consents, organizational resolutions, share records, registers and the ISC register — and you sign it in the portal. If your corporation has two share classes, a corporate shareholder, or a shareholders' agreement in the works, the opening records are custom work rather than templates, and are quoted separately at a flat fee.

Pricing

The same two plans as a BC company, and both file both annual filings. Records Office Plus includes your BC registration and handles what changes during the year.

All prices in Canadian dollars, before GST and PST. Switching from a law firm or another provider is free, and we bring your minute book over at no charge.

Common questions

Also see