Once you determine your business's legal structure and proposed name, you may proceed with the appropriate registration process. In Saskatchewan, different forms, fees, and procedures exist for sole proprietorships and partnerships, business corporations, and non-profit corporations.

Registering a sole proprietorship or partnership falls under The Business Names Registration Act. The process requires that you fill out the following forms:

1. Application for Registration (Form A )
2. Request for Name Search and Reservation (Form G ).

Forms must be typed or completed in ink and then forwarded to the Corporations Branch with the appropriate fees. Fees are payable to the Minister of Finance, in cash, cheque, money order, Visa, or MasterCard. Forms may be mailed or faxed. The faxed copy should include an attached client authorization form for payment.

Turning to incorporation, the registration process for corporations falls under The Business Corporations Act, while registration of a non-profit corporation falls under The Non-profit Corporations Act. Both processes in Saskatchewan require that you fill out the following forms:

1. Articles of Incorporation
2. Notice of Registered Office
3. Notice of Directors
4. Request for Name Search and Reservation.

While business registration and incorporation fees are standardized (at the time of publication), fees vary for name search and reservation, depending on whether you are performing a Saskatchewan Plus or a Canada-wide search of your proposed operating name, and the number of times a search is performed. Non-profit corporations also have the option for a Saskatchewan-only name search.

Requests for a name search of your desired business name may also be made to the Corporate Registry of the Corporations Branch by e-mail at corporateregistry@isc.ca or by telephone at (306) 787-2962, using a valid Visa or MasterCard number and expiration date. In correspondence, you should provide the branch with all information outlined in the search form, as well as a return mailing address to receive the search results.

In each search scenario, all available names are reserved for a 90-day period to allow applicants time to prepare and submit the registration documents, if they do not accompany the name search request.

Following name approval and review of all received documents (both for completeness and accordance with The Business Names Registration Act), a Certificate of Registration containing a registration number is issued. The business name will then be registered on the date that all correctly completed forms and fees are received, although the applicant may request a later commencement date for registration, if desired.

Once registered, a business name is valid for use by its holder for a three-year period. Any changes in contact information for the operating business during that time should be provided to the Corporations Branch within 15 days of taking effect, free of charge.

For business corporations, a Certificate of Incorporation is issued, attached to the duplicate set of Articles, and returned following satisfactory approval of delivered documentation and compliance with The Business Corporations Act. Non-profits also receive a Certificate of Incorporation in the same manner with respect to The Non-profit Corporations Act.

The usual turnaround time for processing registration documents is two weeks. If needed, priority processing can be provided for additional fees.

In Saskatchewan, each business also requires a municipal or city business license for each municipality in which it operates. Depending on the nature of your business, additional license and registration requirements may be applicable, such as GST registration or a provincial Education and Health Tax license, through various federal and provincial departments. For more information, contact the Department of Economic and Co-operative Development at 1-800-265-2001, or visit its website at www.ir.gov.sk.ca . Contact the Canada-Saskatchewan Business Service Centre at 1-800-667-4374, website www.cbsc.org/sask.

For more information on registering a business in Saskatchewan:

Corporate Registry
Information Services Corporation
1301 First Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan S4R 8H2
Phone: (306) 787-2962
Fax: (306) 787-8999
Email: corporateregistry@isc.ca

Office hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday.

The Corporations Branch website has information kits available for business registration and incorporation applicants, as well as links to sources for related legislation, The Business Names Registration Act, The Business Corporations Act, and The Non-profit Corporations Act 1995:

Web site: www.isc.ca/corporateregistry