Formally Registering a Business in Saskatchewan

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Written by: Josh Buchanan, Magnaltus Consulting

Once you have determined the legal structure and business name for your business, you can make the business official by registering or incorporating it. To formally register a business in Saskatchewan, you can go directly to the Corporate Registry known as the Information Services Corporation (ISC).

There are three key steps in registering or incorporating a business with the ISC in Saskatchewan:

  1. Create an Account – start by creating a customer account on the ISC Customer Portal Website – https://corporateregistry.isc.ca/. The account name and user name can be whatever you prefer, but be sure to select “Individual” for account type unless you are creating a customer account to be used by an existing organization.
  2. Reserve Business Name – if you are registering a business name or incorporating a business with a word name, you are first required to apply to reserve that name. Once the application has been submitted, the ISC will approve the name and grant you 90 days to register or incorporate using the approved business In the event that they reject the application, they will allow you to adjust the name and resubmit, with no additional cost.

To apply to reserve a business name for unincorporated businesses such as sole proprietorships and partnerships, the steps are as follows:

  1. Click “File” at the top center of your customer portal dashboard
  2. Hover the cursor over the “BUSINESS NAMES” box
  3. Select “RESERVE A NAME”
  4. Select reserve for “Saskatchewan Business Name Register”
  5. Choose the type of business – in this case, “Sole Proprietor” or “Partnership”
  6. Continue to the next window, enter your proposed business name, and click “check name”
  7. Search the nature of the business to input the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code or codes
  8. Continue through the information prompts and make payment

To apply to reserve a business name for a business corporation, the steps are as follows:

  1. Click “File” at the top center of your customer portal dashboard
  2. Hover the cursor over the “BUSINESS CORPORATIONS” box
  3. Select “RESERVE A NAME”
  4. Continue to the next window, enter your proposed business name, add your preferred legal ending, and click “check name”
  5. Search the nature of the business to input the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code or codes
  6. Continue through the information prompts and make payment

Once payment has been made, you have officially applied to reserve a business name. The ISC usually takes three business days, on average, to provide an approval or rejection of the name. Be sure to download the application PDF and save it for your records to claim the fee as a business expense.

In the case of corporations, it is possible to incorporate using a number instead of a word name (Eg. 102202900 Saskatchewan Ltd.) and bypass the name reservation. However, if you plan to conduct business under a word name, you must either incorporate under the approved word name or register the name to the corporation at a later date.

  1. Register or Incorporate the Business – once your business name application has been approved, you will be given 90 days to register or incorporate using the approved Once the 90 days have passed, the name reservation will end and you will have to re-apply if step three has not been completed.

It’s important to note that an approved name for one type of legal structure cannot be used to register or incorporate for a different legal structure (Eg. an approved name for a partnership cannot be used to incorporate).

To register an unincorporated business such as sole proprietorships and partnerships, the steps are as follows:

  1. Click on the mailbox icon on the left side of the ISC customer portal dashboard
  2. Open the message titled “Name Reservation – Registered”
  3. Copy the 6-digit reservation number
  4. Click “File” at the top center of your customer portal dashboard
    • Hover the cursor over the “BUSINESS NAMES” box
    • Select “REGISTER” and input the 6-digit reservation number
    • Fill out all of the required fields and continue to make payment

Once payment has been made, you have officially registered the business. Be sure to download the application PDF and save it for your records to claim the fee as a business expense. Click on the mailbox icon once again and open the latest message which will contain a PDF starting with “SR.” This PDF is the official certificate of registration. An email from the ISC will be sent the same day or the following day and it will contain your 9-digit federal business number.

To incorporate a business with an approved corporation name, the steps are as follows:

  1. Click on the mailbox icon on the left side of the ISC customer portal dashboard
  2. Open the message titled “Name Reservation – Registered”
  3. Copy the 6-digit reservation number
  4. Click “File” at the top center of your customer portal dashboard
  5. Hover the cursor over the “BUSINESS CORPORATION” box
  6. Select “INCORPORATION” and input the 6-digit reservation number
  7. Fill out all of the required fields and continue to make payment

When incorporating, it is advisable to seek assistance from a professional such as a corporate lawyer, a qualified accountant, or qualified business consultant. The incorporation process requires additional steps such as creating (authorizing) and assigning (issuing) formal shares, assigning at least one director and officer, and creating corporate bylaws and a minute book with the articles of incorporation.

In some cases, it may be beneficial to first incorporate the business with Corporations Canada as a federal corporation. Incorporating federally offers name protection for the business across Canada as opposed to the provincial protection offered for provincial corporations. However, federal corporations must subsequently be registered in the province or provinces in which the business is located and conducting business.

Steps Following Registration/Incorporation

There are several important steps to be aware of:

  • Save payment documents for name reservation and registration/incorporation and claim them as business expenses when filing business taxes
  • Download the certificate of registration/incorporation – it may be needed for tasks such as opening a business bank account
  • Save the PDF sent via email from the ISC – it contains important information about the business, including the federal business number
  • If any changes need to be made to the business such as a change of address or change of the nature of the business, changes can be made by obtaining a reservation code: File > search your business name in “Update Entity” box > select your business > click on the item you would like changed > select “click here” and input the necessary information to apply for an access code. Once you create an access code, enter it to make changes to your business through your ISC dashboard
  • Steps to finalize the incorporation process such as creating a minute book, issuing shares, and creating bylaws are important steps that shouldn’t be overlooked

Once the initial steps and follow-up steps have been completed, your business is officially registered in Saskatchewan and will be active in the ISC database. Unincorporated businesses must file renewals every three years with the ISC in order to maintain the business.

Corporations must file renewals every year with the ISC or the corporation will be deactivated (struck-off). It is important to file renewals on time to avoid having to re-register the business or restore the struck-off corporation.