How Do I Incorporate My Business In Alberta?
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    • Dec 7, 2021
    • 3 min read

How Do I Incorporate My Business In Alberta?

One of the most common questions that our Community Futures Lesser Slave Lake Region's Business Analyst is asked is "How Do I Incorporate My Business?" If you are wanting to incorporate your business in Alberta and/or Canada then this blog post if for you! Follow our steps below.






To Incorporate an Alberta Business


We know that it can seem overwhelming to Incorporate your business in Alberta. We've created this step-by-step process outlining how to incorporate your business here in Alberta.


  1. Choose a Name: Your business name must include 3 elements: distinctive, descriptive, and legal. For example, Lesser Slave Lake Construction Ltd.

    1. Distinctive – unique word or location – “Lesser Slave Lake”

    2. Descriptive – description of what corporation does – “Construction”

    3. Legal – all corporations have a legal element at the end of their name. “Ltd.” in the above example. Possible legal elements include:

      1. Limited

      2. Ltd.

      3. Corporation

      4. Inc.

      5. Incorporate.

    4. Alternatively, your corporation can use a numbered company – for example, 1234567 Alberta Ltd., where the number is assigned by Alberta Corporate Registry and “Alberta” is the second part of the name

  2. Conduct a NUANS Report:

    1. To incorporate a business under a word name, you have to propose a name that meets the requirements in step 1 and receive pre-approval of a corporate name. To do this, you must conduct a NUANS name search report, to determine if the proposed name is similar to an existing business name or trademark already registered.

    2. The request will be reviewed and approved by Corporations Canada before you can use the name in your incorporation. The pre-approval is valid and the name is reserved for 90 days from the date of the NUANS name search report

    3. No NUANS Report is required for a numbered company

  3. Collect Information: Collect the needed information for your articles of incorporation

    1. Name of corporation

    2. Classes of shares, the maximum number of shares that the corporation is authorized to issue, restrictions on share transfers

    3. Number, or maximum and minimum number, of corporation directions

    4. Any restrictions regarding what type of business the corporation can or cannot engage in

    5. Authorized signing authority, with details about the person’s relationship to the corporation, email address, and signature

  4. Record Corporation’s Address:

    1. The registered office must be a physical location in Alberta

    2. The records address may not be the same as the registered office, and if different, the physical address needs to be included

    3. If the mailing address is different than the registered office’s physical location, record the mailing address (i.e. post office box).

  5. Appoint Corporate Director(s)

    1. List the person(s) appointed as director(s) of the corporation, including the name, appointment date, and physical or mailing address

  6. Appoint An Agent: for service, which is an individual located in Alberta who can accept notices and documents in person or by mail on behalf of the corporation. The agent for service may or may not be a lawyer.

    1. Include the appointment date, agent’s name, and full address

  7. Submission: Submit your incorporation forms to a registry agent, including

    1. NUANS report

    2. Articles of Incorporation

    3. Notice of Address

    4. Notice of Directors

    5. Notice of Agent for Service

    6. Valid government-issued identification

    7. Fee

If the information meets all the requirements, the information will be submitted to Alberta Corporate Registry and you will be provided with a certificate of incorporation immediately


Note that the only registry agent in our region that can process incorporations is Slave Lake Registries. For further information, please go to www.SlaveLakeRegistries.com or phone 780 849-3939



To Incorporate As A Canadian Business


We know that it can seem overwhelming to Incorporate your business in Canada. We've created this step-by-step process outlining how to incorporate your business here in Canada. It follows the same step-by-step guide mentioned above with a few key changes:


  1. This is a similar process to incorporating in Alberta but offers the ability to operate under one unique name across Canada. Fees are similar, but federal incorporation can be completed online or by email

  2. Express service is available, which allows incorporation to be completed and articles of incorporation to be received within one business day.

For further information, please go to:






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