How to Register a Business in the Northwest Territories

Registering a business in the Northwest Territories starts with the name, structure, and location of the business.

Corporate Registries handles business names, partnerships, limited partnerships, NWT corporations, extra-territorial corporations, societies, and co-operative associations. That is different from getting a business licence, setting up CRA tax accounts, registering with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission, or applying for industry permits.

Before you file, decide what structure you are using, what name you will operate under, where the business will work, and whether you need a licence or permit before serving customers.

Start With the Structure

The Northwest Territories uses different filings for business names, partnerships, corporations, co-operatives, societies, limited partnerships, and extra-territorial corporations.

If you are operating alone under a business name, you are usually dealing with business name registration for a sole proprietorship. Corporate Registries describes a proprietorship as a business owned by a single individual with no legal distinction between the owner and the business, where the owner is personally liable.

A partnership has more than one owner. Corporate Registries describes a partnership as a business where all owners are liable and jointly manage the business. Limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships have their own rules and should not be treated as ordinary partnerships.

If you want a separate corporation with directors, shares, corporate records, and a legal identity separate from the owner, incorporation is a different process. If your corporation was formed outside the Northwest Territories but will carry on business there, check extra-territorial registration requirements.

Know When a Business Name Must Be Registered

The Partnership and Business Names Act requires registration of a business name in specific situations. Corporate Registries says registration is required if you use a business name that is not your own name, are engaged in trading, mining, or manufacturing, or form a partnership.

The territory is strict about the personal-name exception. You are only exempt if you conduct business using your own exact legal name. Corporate Registries gives the example that if your name is John Smith and you conduct business as John Smith Consulting, that still requires registration because “Consulting” is not part of your legal name.

If your customer-facing name appears on your website, invoices, signs, vehicles, proposals, or directory profiles, compare it to your legal name. If it is not your exact legal name, you should assume the registration question needs a careful check.

Choose a Name That Can Be Approved

Before a business name or partnership name can be registered, it must be approved by Corporate Registries staff.

Corporate Registries says names must comply with the Partnership and Business Names Act and related regulations. A name should generally be distinctive and descriptive. It should not be too general, confusingly similar to another name, obscene, scandalous, illegal, immoral, contrary to the public interest, only descriptive of the quality or function of the goods or services, primarily the surname of a living person or someone who died within 30 years, or suggest government or institutional sponsorship unless authorized.

You can do preliminary searches in the Corporate Registries Online System before filing. Basic information such as legal name, status, and entity type is available free of charge. A full profile with scanned documents is available for a fee.

Do not rely only on the registry search. Search domain names, social media handles, trademarks, competitors, and common abbreviations customers may use. Corporate Registries notes that a business name is not the same thing as a trademark, intellectual property, advertising, or branding activity.

Register a Sole Proprietorship Business Name

For a sole proprietorship operating under a business name, use the Application to Register Business Name form.

Corporate Registries’ forms page says sole proprietorship business names are registered to only one individual or corporation. Original signed documents must be submitted to the registry by mail or in person. Applicable fees can be paid by Visa, Mastercard, cheque, money order, cash, or debit where available.

The form requires the name of the business, a name search and reservation, information about the individual or corporation using the business name, the business address, the date the business name was first used, and the nature of the business. The business name must be approved by the Registrar of Corporations.

If the registration expires, Corporate Registries says expired registrations must be re-registered and may not be renewed. That is a good reason to keep renewal dates somewhere you will actually see them.

Register a Partnership

If two or more people or entities are carrying on business together, review the partnership registration materials before you begin.

Corporate Registries says partnerships are registered to two or more individuals or corporations. The forms page includes the application to register a partnership, the name search and reservation form, renewal forms, and change or consent templates that may apply in some situations.

Registration is not a substitute for a partnership agreement. A written agreement can deal with capital contributions, responsibilities, authority to sign, profit sharing, losses, withdrawals, disputes, death, disability, and dissolution. Without that agreement, a disagreement between partners can turn into a business problem very quickly.

If you are considering a limited partnership or limited liability partnership, review those specific rules or get advice before filing. The liability and management rules are different from an ordinary partnership.

Understand What Corporate Registries Does

Corporate Registries is the place to register and search NWT business names, partnerships, corporations, societies, co-operatives, and other entities. It can also provide certificates of status or confirmation that a sole proprietorship or partnership is registered and has not ceased using the name.

That does not mean Corporate Registries handles every requirement. It does not register every CRA tax account, issue every business licence, decide whether your structure is right, or confirm every permit you need.

If your filing is incomplete, the office says submissions that are not completed correctly are available for retrieval at Corporate Registries. Missing payment information can delay processing.

Register With the CRA When Needed

The Canada Revenue Agency uses the business number to identify a business for federal program accounts.

Depending on your business, you may need GST/HST, payroll, corporation income tax, import/export, or other CRA accounts. Check CRA requirements if you sell taxable goods or services, hire employees, incorporate, import or export, or operate in more than one province or territory.

Do not assume that registering a business name or partnership with Corporate Registries automatically creates every tax account you need. The registry filing and CRA program accounts are separate pieces of the setup.

Check Business Licences and Permits

The Northwest Territories has separate business licensing rules.

Municipal and Community Affairs says that, under the Business Licence Act, MACA issues business licences for businesses operating outside community boundaries and in communities that do not issue their own licences. Other NWT communities issue their own business licences, and businesses must obtain the licence from the community government.

To obtain a licence through MACA, the business must fill out an application, pay a fee, and provide proof of Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission coverage. Some activities, such as pawnbrokers or second-hand dealers, have additional regulations.

The territory also points businesses to BizPaL, which helps identify permit and licence information across federal, territorial, and municipal governments. Use it before you lease space, open a public location, sell regulated goods, provide professional services, work in natural resources, handle food, or begin construction-related work.

Check WSCC Registration

The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut has its own registration rules.

WSCC says employers who employ one or more workers under a contract of service must register within 10 business days. It also explains that temporary employers cannot register if they meet all five listed temporary-employer conditions, including having a chief place of business outside the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, not employing residents of those territories, operating there for 10 or fewer days per year, and having workers’ compensation coverage from another jurisdiction that extends to work in the territories.

If you hire workers, bring workers into the Northwest Territories, subcontract work, bid on jobs, or need a business licence that asks for proof of WSCC coverage, check WSCC requirements early.

Keep Public Information Consistent

After registration, align your public information with your official records.

Use the same business name, address format, phone number, website, service area, and business description on invoices, contracts, signs, your website, Google Business Profile, social media, licences, insurance documents, tax accounts, and directory profiles.

If you are building your public business presence after registration, a listing in the Tech Help Canada Business Directory can give customers another place to review what you offer. Use the same business name, service area, website, and contact details you have confirmed through registry, licensing, tax, and WSCC steps.

Before You File

Before filing, confirm the sequence. Choose the structure, check whether the exact legal-name exemption applies, search and reserve the name, submit the correct business name or partnership form, review CRA accounts, check business licence rules, and confirm whether WSCC registration applies.

If the decision affects liability, ownership, taxes, partners, regulated activity, or extra-territorial registration, speak with a qualified professional. Corporate registration records the business information; it does not decide whether the setup is right for you.

Sources

• https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/corporate-registries/
• https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/corporate-registry-searches/
• https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/business-names/
• https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/business-names/page/2/
• https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/business-names/page/3/
• https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/business-names/page/4/
• https://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/en/services/business-licensing
• https://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/en/services/bizpal
• https://connect.wscc.nt.ca/Employer-eServices/Register-Business
• https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/business-registration.html