A company cannot be incorporated in Canada anywhere without providing a Nuans name search report or a similar name search. This is frequently the case when registering a sole proprietorship, partnership or business name as well.
Prior to obtaining a Nuans name search report or similar name search, a person who wishes to register a company, partnership, business name or sole proprietorship in Canada will sometimes do a preliminary name search. The preliminary name search weeds out all or most of the similarities to the proposed name. Less money will be wasted if you have this done.
The government reviews the full name search report to ensure there are no conflicts before it allows you to register your business. Some Canadian jurisdictions such as the federal jurisdiction will reject a name even if it sounds like another name and is spelled differently.
As part of the service of a search house, it is normal practice for the search house to do a preliminary name search as part of the service of ordering the full Nuans name search. It is important that you know in advance of ordering your name search that the preliminary name search is part of the service. If you do not require a name search to register as would be the case in some territories or provinces for partnerships, business names or sole proprietorships then you would need to pay separately for a preliminary name search. I will explain this further below.
Having a Nuans name search in hand does not mean your name is going to be accepted. You should never receive a full Nuans name search report or similar name search without first having a preliminary name search performed. If the search house says this is not part of its service then you should look for another one. Any search house can order a Nuans name search but a qualified search house will pre-check the name for you to make sure you have a better chance of having your name accepted by the particular Canadian government without charging you an additional fee.
Think of it this way. Say you plan to incorporate a business with the name Johnson Lawn Services Ltd. The search house you are working with tells you there is no other name registered exactly as that. The search house does not bother to pre-check names as part of their service and there is a name already registered called Johnson Lawn Services Inc. Since the search house has told you there is no exact name you register your company. Mr. Johnson of Johnson Lawn Services Ltd. becomes aware that you have registered a company with almost the exact name except the ending. He considers this competition and since he has had his name for a number of years he decides to sue you to obtain an order to force you to change your company name. It is possible he could obtain an order such as this if he can prove your name is a conflict. This would cause you wasted time and money. Further, would you really want to have a company with a name that close to another company’s name. It would also be a problem for you.
The search house will provide the Nuans name search report or similar name search report to you by email and you should take some time to review the report to ensure for yourself that the name you wish to use is not too similar to another name already registered.
In Ontario you can register any company name as long as it is different in some way. Using the example above, both those names are the same except for one space and the ending of the name. The Ontario government would let that go through however the federal government would reject it for sure because the federal government scrutinizes names more closely.
To register a business name, partnership name or sole proprietorship name in the provinces of Alberta or Ontario, and maybe in some of the other provinces and territories as well, you will not need a name search (Nuans report) to register. The governments in Alberta and Ontario do not check names prior to registering business names. The person registering the name must ensure themselves that the name is not already taken since they could still be taken to court if they pick a name that conflicts with another. As well, the Ontario government and the Alberta government will allow you to register a business name which is exactly the same as another business name already registered.
In a situation such as this you would want to purchase a preliminary name search. To conclude, in a case where you are registering a partnership, business name or sole proprietorship and a name search is not necessary you should purchase a preliminary name search. As a matter of fact, a lot of searches houses will check your name for free prior to registering a business name or a sole proprietorship or a partnership. If you are unclear about the website you are dealing with contact them. I am sure they would be glad to advise what their policy is.
Resources for Canadian Business Owners provides information about legal and government services for Canadian businesses as well as further information about a Nuans Name Search.