An Alberta Registration of a Sole Proprietorship is governed by the Partnership Act (Alberta). An Alberta Sole Proprietorship is sometimes called an Alberta Trade Name.
The statutes indicates that an individual who (a) is engaged in business for trading, manufacturing, contracting or mining purposes; and (2) is not associated in partnership with any other person or persons and uses as the person’s business name some name or designation other than the person’s own, or the person’s own name with the addition of “and company” or some other word or phrase indicating a plurality of members in a firm; shall file with the Alberta Registrar a declaration in writing of the fact. If you are planning on registering a sole proprietorship it would be appropriate for you to take a look at the Alberta Partnership Act provisions for Alberta sole proprietorships.
In layman’s terms what the statute is trying to say is that any individual who is operating under a name other than his or her own name must register an Alberta sole proprietorship. A sole proprietorship registration in Alberta must be filed six months from the date it commences business in Alberta.
You are not required to provide an Alberta Nuans name search report to register an Alberta Registration such as a sole proprietorship. The Partnership Act (Alberta) has no requirement for an Alberta trade name /Alberta sole proprietorship name to be unique. Any company, sole proprietorship or partnership can register the same Alberta business name at the same time. This does not mean that you should just go ahead and register any name you wish. It is important that you make all attempts to have a distinct name for an Alberta Registration that is very different from all names out there.
First you must determine whether there are any conflicts to the name you wish to use and this is done by having a search house perform a preliminary name search for you. Search houses will usually clear your proposed name for free when you purchase their service to register your sole proprietorship and others will provide you with a preliminary name search for a small fee.
An individual can conduct business as a sole proprietorship by using his or her name and not registering an actual Alberta trade name. In fact the Alberta government will not allow you to register a sole proprietorship under your personal name. In some cases though it might be advantageous to have an Alberta registration in place such as when a corporate client wishes the sole proprietorship to acknowledge he or she has a valid business registration in place or in some cases where ancillary licenses are required for the company and a Alberta registration document must be shown. The federal government does not care if you have a Alberta sole proprietorship registration in place in order to issue you a federal Business Number. The federal business number is connected to the individual rather than the Alberta trade name registration.
It will not be possible for you to register your Alberta sole proprietorship by doing on your own. You must use a service provider to assist you. If you chose the right service provider it will do a preliminary name search on your name for free before they register your name and will ensure it is available and clear right across Canada.
To terminate an Alberta trade name registration a form must be filed called a Declaration of Ceasing to Carry on Business under a Trade Name.
An Alberta Trade Name registration is perpetual which means that it will stay in place until you terminate the registration.
Resources for Canadian Business Owners can assist you with your Alberta Trade Name and Alberta Business Registration or Preliminary Name Search
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