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Registering Your Business

The registration requirement set out in the Partnership Act of Prince Edward Island is intended to provide disclosure and to help prevent confusion to the public. If you do not register your business name another person may decide to register it and attempt to prevent you from using it.

If an individual or a partnership carries on a business and uses a business name the business name is required to be registered under the Partnership Act. For example, if Mr. X and Mr. Y operate a motel and carry business in partnership under the name ABC Motel that name must be registered. If Mr. X carries on a cottage rental business and calls the business Fantabulous Chalets that name must be registered.

If an individual carries on a business but uses his or her own name (with no other words added) there is no requirement to register.

How do I register my business name?

Following are the steps for business name registration:

Owner(s) decide on the exact words to be used in the business name.
Contact the Consumer, Corporate and Insurance Division of the Office of the Attorney General to request a name search. A computerized name search (called the NUANS search) must be completed to determine if a proposed business name is available for registration. Each search report is examined by staff in the Corporations Section. If a proposed name is identical or confusingly similar to a registered business name the proposed name will be refused registration and another name will need to be selected.
If the name search reveals that the name qualifies for a registration the appropriate declaration form can be completed by the owner(s) and filed so that the name becomes registered under the Partnership Act. The database of PEI Business Names includes all proprietorships, partnerships and corporations formed under the Laws of Prince Edward Island. It also includes the trade names of corporations and the names of all out-of-province companies registered to do business in this Province.
Cost of Registration of a Business Name
The total cost of registration of a business name for the first three year period is $100.00 (which includes $50.00 registration fee, $40.00 NUANS name search fee, and $10.00 publication fee in the Royal Gazette) payable to the Provincial Treasurer of PEI. Registration must be renewed every three years and the fee is $50.00 for each succeeding three year period. Therefore the total cost of registration for the first six years is $150.00, which means an average cost of $25.00 per year.

After a business organization is formed it may be necessary to get a license from one or more Government departments depending upon the nature of the business. For example, a person might incorporate a company to carry on a restaurant business. The incorporated company would be required to obtain a sales tax license from the Department of Provincial Treasury and have its facilities inspected by officials from the Department of Health. It must be remembered that even after a business organization is formed, it may be necessary to get one or more licenses to carry on certain business activities such as the one just noted.

Franchise and Competition Regulation

There are no statutes regulating franchise operations on Prince Edward Island other than the requirement to be licensed by the Province under the Extra-provincial Corporations Registration Act. The license has a one year duration at which time it must be renewed.