Business Name Pre-Search vs NUANS Report vs Reservation: What You Actually Need

Securing a business name in Canada usually takes up to three steps, and they're often confused. A pre-search is a quick, often free, check of whether a name looks available. A NUANS report is the paid, official search some registries require. A name reservation is an actual hold on the name, offered by some registries for a fixed period, usually 56 to 90 days. Which of these you need depends on where you incorporate. In Ontario, for example, a free registry search plus an Ontario-biased NUANS report is the whole process, because Ontario has no separate reservation step.

Pre-search, report and reservation compared

What is a NUANS preliminary search (pre-search)?

A pre-search is any quick check you run before committing money: searching registries, the trademark database, domains and social handles. Within NUANS itself, a pre-search tool exists, but it's a feature for registered NUANS members rather than a free public service. Search houses use it to screen names before generating a full report.

For most founders, a "NUANS pre-search" really means running free public searches first, then ordering the official report only for the name you're confident in. That saves you paying for reports on names that were never going to work.

Free ways to check business name availability

• Ontario Business Registry: Ontario lets you search the registry for free to find out whether a business name is already taken. This is the best first step for a business name pre-search in Ontario.
• Corporations Canada's federal corporation search: a federal corporation's name is protected across Canada, so a close federal match matters wherever you incorporate.
• Canadian Trademarks Database (CIPO): the Canadian Intellectual Property Office runs the trademark register. It doesn't approve corporate names, but a trademark on your key word is a risk even if the registry accepts the name.
• Your province's registry: Saskatchewan's online reservation includes a check-name step, and Manitoba recommends searching its own registry, Corporations Canada and the trademark database before applying.
• Domains and social handles: not a legal check, but you'll want them to match.

Checking business name availability in Ontario

Ontario is the province our clients ask about most, and it works differently from the rest:

1. Free pre-search: search the Ontario Business Registry for identical or similar names.
2. Ontario-biased NUANS report: required for a named corporation; a federal-biased report isn't accepted.
3. File within 90 days: the report can't be dated more than 90 days before your articles are filed.

There's no step 4. Ontario doesn't offer an exclusive name reservation, so the report doesn't stop someone else filing a similar name first. Full details are in our Ontario NUANS report guide. You can order the Ontario report through us.

Registering a sole proprietorship or partnership name in Ontario? No NUANS report is needed, but a free registry search is still worth doing.

What is a name reservation?

A reservation is a registry's promise to hold an approved name for you for a set time, so you can finish your filing. Where it exists, it usually lasts 56 to 90 days:

No jurisdiction we checked holds names for 120 days, despite what some older guides say. And reservations generally can't be extended: in BC and Manitoba, for example, you file a new request and pay again. For how each registry approves names, see our companion guide to federal name preapproval and provincial name approval.

Do you even need a name?

The federal government, Ontario, Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan all let you incorporate a numbered company, such as "1234567 Ontario Inc." or "12345678 Canada Inc.", with no search, report or reservation. It's the fastest route, and you can change to a word name later by amending your articles. Many owners do this and trade under a registered business name in the meantime.

A simple workflow

1. Shortlist three names, each with a distinctive word, a descriptive word and a legal ending.
2. Pre-search all three for free in the registry, federal corporations and trademarks.
3. Pick the jurisdiction. That decides whether you need a NUANS report, a reservation or neither.
4. Order the report or file the reservation only for your best name. See our NUANS and name search services.
5. Incorporate within the window: 90 days in most places, 56 in BC.

Common mistakes

• Treating a free search as clearance. It only catches the obvious conflicts.
• Buying a NUANS report you don't need. Federal online incorporation, BC, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba don't require one.
• Assuming a NUANS report holds the name. Outside Alberta, it doesn't.
• Letting a reservation lapse. Mark the expiry date; BC's 56 days go quickly.
• Skipping trademarks. A registry accepting your name says nothing about trademark rights.