Incorporating a Business in New Brunswick: Step-by-Step Guide for New Entrepreneurs
Businesses in New Brunswick exist in all shapes and sizes. However, regardless of the size, any business can choose to incorporate as a legal operational structure for the business.
Incorporating isn’t the right choice for every business, but it does provide some significant benefits in the right situation.
So what do you need to do to incorporate a business in New Brunswick? In this guide we provide advice and tips that can help you decide, along with step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate your business.
What Is an Incorporated Business in New Brunswick?
When you incorporate your New Brunswick business, you are running the business under the rules and regulations that the provincial and federal governments require. Although some of the rules can cause extra work for the owners (or whomever they assign to do this type of work), the benefits are worth it for certain businesses.
In New Brunswick, all people who are part of the ownership group of the corporation receive shares that are equivalent to the ownership percentage they have in the business.
Through the incorporation process, the owners receive the benefit of having a separation between their personal finances and liability and the business’ finances and liability.
If you incorporate your business in New Brunswick, you could sell shares publicly on stock exchanges, or the owners could hold all the shares privately.
Some Canadian provinces have multiple types of incorporation available, such as Nova Scotia’s option to incorporate a limited company. New Brunswick does not offer different types of incorporation, though.
Am I Required to Incorporate My New Brunswick Business?
New business owners in New Brunswick are not required to incorporate. Entrepreneurs can select among three legal structures under which to operate in New Brunswick.
Sole proprietorships and partnerships have a lower registration cost and have fewer regulations to follow. However, they don’t provide the same level of protection in the separation of the liability of the owners from the business.
Benefits of Incorporating a Business in New Brunswick
When deciding whether to incorporate your New Brunswick business, it may help to look closely at the advantages and disadvantages of using this legal operational structure.
You have the option of incorporating at the federal level and in New Brunswick, or you can incorporate in New Brunswick only.
By registering in New Brunswick, you receive protection for your business name inside the province. Service New Brunswick has guidelines to help you select a workable business name.
By registering your corporation federally, you have the benefit of ensuring your corporation name receives protection throughout Canada.
However, if you choose to register federally, you still must register in New Brunswick as a corporation if you plan to do business in the province. (You must register with an individual province in which you plan to do business, even if you register federally.)
Although some provinces partner with the federal government to allow business owners to save time by registering federally and provincially at the same time, New Brunswick does not. You would have to register federally and provincially separately when operating in New Brunswick.
How Quickly Do You Have to Incorporate Your New Brunswick Business?
You do not have a certain deadline by which you must file the registration to incorporate your business in New Brunswick. You could even operate under another legal structure for a while before deciding to incorporate.
Understand, however, you do not receive the benefits of incorporation in New Brunswick until the provincial government accepts your registration.
How Much Does It Cost to Incorporate a Business in New Brunswick?
You can submit your incorporation documents fully online through Service New Brunswick. The process costs $262, and you need to pay $30 for a name search report as well. The government accepts credit cards or e-debit for this fee.
Additionally, once your corporation is up and running, you have a cost of $60 to file your annual return through Service New Brunswick.
You also may have costs for hiring a lawyer to look over your required documents for incorporation.
Should you choose to hire a third party business to help you move through the incorporation process, you also would have to pay this type of business some fees beyond what you pay to the government. Company Formations charges an extra $129, for example. Some other third party options include:
How Long Does the Business Incorporation Process Take in New Brunswick?
The New Brunswick provincial government does not specify how long the registration process takes.
The majority of third-party filing services advertise between one business day and five business days to complete the incorporation process with them online.
We would plan for up to two weeks for the New Brunswick provincial government to approve your incorporation if you file with printed forms by mail, although it could take less time. If you make an error in the filing process – online, mail, or otherwise – it could take a bit longer.
Ready to Incorporate Your New Brunswick Business? Here Are the Requirements
To incorporate your business in New Brunswick, you must submit three forms and follow the directions in the Business Corporations Act.
Additionally, you must select a name for your corporation and pay for a New Brunswick NUANS search report that verifies your name is available. You must complete the incorporation process within 90 days of receiving the search report, or you must obtain a new search report.
The Notice of Registered Office form in NB requires:
Once you establish your corporation, should you change addresses in the future, you could re-submit this form to provide notice of the change.
The Notice of Directors form in NB requires:
Should your corporation’s list of directors change in the future, you could re-submit this form to notify the New Brunswick government of the change.
7 Steps to Incorporate a Business in New Brunswick
When incorporating a business in New Brunswick, you must follow a series of steps.
- 1Obtain a business name by requesting a NUANS search report that shows your preferred name is available.
- 2Because the name search report is only valid for 90 days, you must start and finish the incorporation process in NB within that time frame.
- 3Complete the Articles of Incorporation.
- 4Complete the Notice of Registered Office
- 5Complete the Notice of Directors.
- 6Submit these forms online for the fastest processing. You also can submit via email or in person.
- 7If you receive notice of your newly incorporated business, you are finished. Should you receive a denial, though, you can re-submit the forms.
If you are unsure how to complete any of these steps or if you don’t understand the information needed on any of the forms, consult with an attorney. Or you can hire a third party to walk you through the registration process.
Where to Incorporate Your New Brunswick Business
Most businesses will choose to submit the forms online. You also can submit printed forms in person, via mail, or via email.
The Service New Brunswick Business Registration website is the best option for submitting your incorporation forms, as you can complete the entire process online.
After you collect your information required for the forms, visit the SNB Online webpage and click Begin a New Application.
Contact Service New Brunswick directly to determine your options for submitting your forms in a method other than online.
Understand that submitting in any way other than online could lengthen the process of receiving verification of your incorporation. If submitting in person, you may need to set up an appointment time.
The Service NB Corporate Registry website has additional information.
Required Forms to Incorporate Your New Brunswick Business
You need three forms to submit your New Brunswick request for incorporation.
You can submit these forms online via the PDF format. If you are having an attorney help you with the incorporation process, you do not have to submit these forms in the exact same format that Service NB provides them. Your attorney can guide you.
Some other items that you may want to have in hand for your incorporated business include a federal business number, a federal corporation income tax program account, and a business plan.
