How to Start Things in Ontario

Your business name registration lasts five years — and nobody reminds you

When you register a sole proprietorship or partnership name in Ontario, the Ontario Business Registry issues what most people still call a Master Business Licence (officially a Business Name Registration since 2021). It's valid for five years, and the government sends no renewal reminders — the responsibility is yours. If it lapses, you lose the right to operate under that business name until you re-register. Put the expiry date in your calendar the day you register.

Change your address or business activity? You have 15 days to update the registry

Under Ontario's Business Names Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. B.17, s. 4(4)), if any of your registered information changes — your address, what the business does, and so on — you must file an amended registration within 15 days of the change. It takes a few minutes online through the Ontario Business Registry, and forgetting is the kind of quiet non-compliance that only surfaces when something else goes wrong.

Source: Our sole-proprietorship guide covers this rule

Incorporating in Ontario costs $300 online

Filing articles of incorporation through the Ontario Business Registry costs about $300, online or by mail. Choose a numbered corporation (like 1234567 Ontario Inc.) and you skip the name search entirely; choose a named corporation and you'll need an Ontario-weighted NUANS name search report from a private search house before you file.

Source: LexStart: incorporation costs in Ontario

Hiring employees? Sort out WSIB first — construction has no opt-out

Most Ontario employers in mandatorily covered industries must register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. In construction the rules go further: expanded compulsory coverage means even sole proprietors, partners, and executive officers must carry coverage — staying solo doesn't exempt you. Sole proprietors in other industries can apply for optional insurance.

Source: WSIB: who must register