How to Register a Sole Proprietorship and Get a GST/HST Number in Canada
Start a one-person business the simple way: provincial business-name registration, CRA business number, and exactly when the $30,000 GST/HST rule kicks in.
Starting a Business in Canada Checklist: Register, Get a Business Number, GST/HST, Licence, Bank Account, Insurance
Start a business in Canada: register, get a CRA business number, register for GST/HST, get the licence, open a bank account — each with its live guide.
Applies in: across Canada
This checklist gathers the business-startup guides on this site into one page, in the order the guides themselves prescribe. Each item names the live guide it rests on. Follow the linked guide for the full steps in your province and your structure. Nothing here adds a new rule. Where a city or a structure changes the rule, the item says so and points to the guide that governs.
Work the list from the top. Registration comes first because everything else — the business number, the tax accounts, the licence, the bank account — asks for the registration. The business number is free and registers online. GST/HST registration follows the $30,000 threshold. The licence is municipal, so it is checked against the city where the business operates. The bank account is opened last, once the papers exist. Business insurance is the one step in the title with no live guide on this site yet: it is flagged as a gap below rather than given an item with no target.
1. Register the business
Done when: the structure is chosen and the business is registered — a business name with the province, or a corporation incorporated provincially or federally — and you hold the registration or certificate.
Pick the structure first: sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. A sole proprietorship under your own legal name may not need a name registration; any other name must be registered with the province. A corporation is a separate legal entity, incorporated under a province's Business Corporations Act or federally under the Canada Business Corporations Act. Ontario incorporation files through the Ontario Business Registry for a $300 government fee, with online filings processed almost immediately and mail filings taking about 15 business days.
Official source: Government of Canada (Services directory; Canada Revenue Agency required-registration rules); Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Online Filing Centre for federal corporations).
2. Get a business number
Done when: the 9-digit business number is issued and the program accounts the business needs are attached to it.
The business number is the Canada Revenue Agency's identifier for the business, and there is no fee to get one. Register online through Business Registration Online — the business-number guide's route is the online service first, with paper as the fallback. Program accounts attach to the number: RC for the corporation income tax account, RP for payroll deductions, RT for GST/HST, and RZ for information returns, among others. Open each program account the business actually needs; an account opened for a tax the business never collects creates filings that must still be made.
Official source: Canada Revenue Agency (Required registration; Form RC1 — Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts).
3. Register for GST/HST
Done when: the GST/HST account is open, or you have confirmed in writing that the business is below the threshold and registration is voluntary.
Register once worldwide taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters or in a single quarter. Below that threshold registration is optional, but a registered business can claim input tax credits on the GST/HST it pays on business expenses. Registration is through the Canada Revenue Agency's GST/HST account service. Quebec businesses register for QST as well, through Revenu Québec — the GST/HST registration and the QST registration are separate filings.
Official source: Canada Revenue Agency (Register for a GST/HST account; When to register for and start charging the GST/HST); Revenu Québec (How to register for the GST and QST).
4. Get the municipal business licence
Done when: you have checked whether the city where the business operates requires a licence for what the business does, and applied for it where one is required.
Business licences are municipal, not federal or provincial, and they run by business category. Toronto licenses by category under Chapter 545, and each category has its own page, documents, and fees — find your category in the Toronto business licence guide before applying. Richmond, BC runs its own licence system through the city. Freelancers and home-based businesses are not automatically exempt: the freelancers' licence guide on this site covers who needs a licence and who does not, city by city. A licence application can need zoning approval, so check zoning before paying the fee.
Official source: City of Toronto (business licence pages by category); City of Richmond (Business Licences); BDC (Business licences and permits in Canada).
5. Open a business bank account
Done when: a business account is open in the business's name, and no business money has passed through a personal account.
The bank asks for the papers that prove the business exists: for a corporation, the Certificate of Incorporation; for a registered name, the registration; and the business number. The business bank account guide on this site lists the documents by structure. Keep business money separate from personal money from the first transaction — mixing them is what makes the bookkeeping and the tax return hard later. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada states the right to open a personal bank account on meeting certain conditions; a business account is a separate product with its own terms, so read the account agreement rather than assuming personal-account rules apply.
Official source: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (Opening a personal bank account — your rights); the business bank account guide on this site for the document list by structure.
What this checklist does not cover: business insurance
There is no business-insurance guide on this site yet, so insurance has no numbered item here — an item without a live guide target is not shipped. Before opening, talk to a licensed insurance broker or insurer about the cover the business needs, and check whether your municipality, your lease, or a client contract requires proof of insurance before you operate. When a business-insurance guide ships on this site, this checklist gains its sixth item.
Related guides:
- Federal Services Roadmap: Starting and Running a Business with the Government of Canada
- How to Get a Business Number in Canada: the CRA BN Explained
- How to Register for GST/HST in Canada
- How to Get a Business Licence in Toronto
- How to Get a Business Licence in Richmond BC
- Do Freelancers Need a Business Licence in Canada?
- How to Open a Business Bank Account in Canada
- How to Incorporate in Ontario: the OBCA Walkthrough (2026)
- How to Register a Business in Ontario
Starting a business in Canada, in order
- Register the businessPick the structure — sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation — then register the name or incorporate with the province or federally, in the order the federal services roadmap sets out.
- Get a business numberThe 9-digit CRA business number is free. Register online through Business Registration Online, and attach the program accounts the business needs.
- Register for GST/HSTRegister once worldwide taxable revenue passes the $30,000 small-supplier threshold, or voluntarily before that. Quebec adds QST through Revenu Québec.
- Get the municipal business licenceLicences are municipal, by business category. Toronto licenses by category under Chapter 545; Richmond, BC licenses through the city. Check whether your business needs one before opening.
- Open a business bank accountThe bank asks for the registration or incorporation certificate and the business number. Keep business money separate from personal money from the first transaction.
Questions people ask
Do I need to register my business before I get a business number?
Yes, in practice. The business number is the Canada Revenue Agency's identifier for the business, and the CRA's required-registration page ties it to the business as registered — a sole proprietorship under your own legal name, a registered business name, or a corporation. Work the federal services roadmap in order: register the business first, then get the business number, then open the tax accounts. The business number itself is free.
What is the $30,000 GST/HST threshold, exactly?
You must register for a GST/HST account once the business's worldwide taxable revenue exceeds $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters or in a single quarter, as the Canada Revenue Agency states it on its when-to-register page. Below that you are a small supplier and registration is optional — but registering early lets you claim input tax credits on the GST/HST you pay. Quebec businesses also register for QST through Revenu Québec.
Does every business need a municipal business licence?
No. Licences are municipal and by category, so whether you need one depends on the city and what the business does. Toronto licenses businesses by category under Chapter 545, each with its own page, documents, and fees; Richmond, BC runs its own business-licence system. The freelancers' licence guide on this site walks through who needs one and who does not. Check the city where the business operates before assuming either way.
What does the bank ask for to open a business bank account?
The bank asks for the certificate or registration that proves the business exists — for a corporation, the Certificate of Incorporation — and the business number. The business bank account guide on this site lists the documents by structure. Open the account before the first sale so business money never mixes with personal money, and keep the account agreement with the registration papers.
What about business insurance?
This checklist does not cover insurance as a step, because no business-insurance guide exists on this site yet — there is no live guide to link the step to, so none is claimed here. Talk to a licensed insurance broker or insurer about the cover your business needs before opening, and check whether your municipality or your lease requires proof of insurance. The step is flagged as a gap, not skipped silently.
Can I do all of this in one day?
The registrations can move fast — Ontario incorporation filed online produces a certificate almost immediately, and the business number registers online — but the licence and the bank account each have their own queues. A licence application can need zoning approval, and a bank appointment can need documents you do not have yet. Work the list in order, keep every certificate and number in one folder, and treat the licence and the bank account as the two steps most likely to take a second visit.
Sources
- Government of Canada, Services — the federal services directory the roadmap's portal sequence starts from.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Required registration — the Business Number and program-account registration rules behind the business-number step.
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Online Filing Centre — the federal corporation filing services behind the registration step.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Register for a GST/HST account — the GST/HST account registration behind the GST/HST step.
- Canada Revenue Agency, When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — the $30,000 small-supplier threshold behind the GST/HST step.
- Revenu Québec, How to register for the GST and QST — the Quebec QST registration alongside GST/HST.
- City of Toronto, Plumbing Contractor — the Toronto licence application routes, fees, zoning approval rule, and renewal behind the licence step.
- City of Richmond, Business Licences — the Richmond licence processing time, payment options, fee basis, and renewal timing behind the licence step.
- BDC, Business licences and permits in Canada — the municipal licence landscape behind the licence step.
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Opening a personal bank account — your rights — the right to open a bank account on meeting certain conditions, behind the bank-account step.
No fee figure beyond the $300 Ontario incorporation fee and the free business number is stated in this checklist, because no other fee was verified on the official pages cited. No processing time beyond the Ontario online-versus-mail filing times is stated. Business insurance has no figure and no step here, because no business-insurance guide exists on this site yet. Re-check the linked guide and its official source on the day you act, because the source page governs over this summary.