June 2004

1. General
1. Corporate Name Granting
2. Introduction to Name Granting
3. Purpose of this Training
2. Table of Contents

Corporate Name Granting

When businesses decide to incorporate in Canada, they can incorporate in any province or territory, or with the federal government. Each jurisdiction has its own name granting rules. This training focuses on the federal name granting guidelines used by Corporations Canada.

Introduction to Name Granting

Two of the statutes administered by Corporations Canada, the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) and the Canada Corporations Act (CCA) which governs federal not-for-profit corporations, have almost identical name regulations describing the types of corporate names that are not permissible. Essentially, the applicant cannot have a name that:

• is likely to cause confusion with another business;
• is likely to mislead the public or is absolutely prohibited;
• is reserved for another business;
• is obscene; or
• has an unacceptable French or English form.

The Director General of Corporations Canada ("Director") has the authority to reject a proposed name that is prohibited by the Act or by the name regulations. It is the applicant, however, that is ultimately responsible for incorporating with a name that does not cause confusion or contravene the Act or regulations in any other way.

Purpose of this Training

This training has been designed to provide a general understanding of the information and rules taken into consideration by the Director when deciding whether to approve a corporate name.

It delivers information through the use of informative modules including brief exercises. Where additional information is necessary, links are provided to the appropriate area of the Corporations Canada website.

Table of Contents

1. Module
1. Introduction to Corporate Names
2. Absolutely Prohibited Names, Misleading Names, and Obscene Names
3. Names Lacking Distinctiveness or Consent
4. Names Causing Confusion
5. Bilingual Names
6. Not-for-Profit Names
7. Corporate Name Review
8. Where to Go for Help
9. Quick Link Index

Thank you for taking the time to complete the Electronic Training on Federal Corporate Name Granting

Your feedback relating to this presentation would be appreciated.