How to Register a Business in New Brunswick (Sole Proprietorship, Partnership or Corporation)

To register a business in New Brunswick as a sole proprietor or partnership, you file a Certificate of Business Name (or a Certificate of Partnership) with the Service New Brunswick Corporate Registry for $112, after getting a New Brunswick-based NUANS name search report. The registration must be renewed every five years for $62. If you want limited liability instead, you incorporate: Articles of Incorporation cost $262 when e-filed. Either way, you then register with the Canada Revenue Agency for HST once your sales require it. This guide walks through each structure, the fees and the steps.

Business structures in New Brunswick at a glance

All of the government fees above include the $12 Royal Gazette publication fee that Service New Brunswick adds to most filings.

Option 1: Register a business name (sole proprietorship)

A sole proprietorship is the simplest way of starting a business in New Brunswick. You and the business are legally the same person, so there is nothing to incorporate. What you do register is the business name. Service New Brunswick says registration is normally done by a person who carries on business in the province for trading, manufacturing or mining purposes under a business name.

Step 1: Choose the name and get a NUANS report

Before you file, you must select the proposed business name and obtain a New Brunswick-based NUANS name search report. NUANS compares your proposed name with existing corporations, business names and trademarks so the registry can see whether it is too close to someone else's. The report comes from a private search provider, which sets its own price. You can order a New Brunswick NUANS report from us if you'd rather not run it yourself.

Step 2: File the Certificate of Business Name ($112)

Next, file Form 5, Certificate of Business Name. The fee is $112: a $100 registration fee plus $12 for publication in the Royal Gazette. Service New Brunswick accepts business-name registrations electronically through the Corporate Registry website, with some conditions on who can file online.

Timing matters: the registration is required within two months of starting to carry on business under the name.

Step 3: Appoint an agent if you live outside New Brunswick

If the person registering the business name isn't a resident of New Brunswick, they must also file Form 7, Certificate of Appointment or Change of Agent for Service, at the time of registration. There's no extra fee when it's filed with the registration.

Step 4: Renew every five years

A business name doesn't stay registered forever. You must file a Certificate of Renewal every five years from the date the original certificate was registered. The renewal fee is $62 and can be filed electronically. Missing a renewal is an offence under the Act and can lead the Registrar to cancel your registration. If you stop using the name, file Form 6, Cessation of a Business Name ($12).

Option 2: Register a general partnership

A New Brunswick general partnership is two or more people (or companies) carrying on business together. Partners share profits and are each personally liable for the partnership's debts, so a written partnership agreement is worth having even though the registry doesn't ask for one. Our overview of the general partnership in Canada covers how partners are taxed and what the agreement should include.

The registration steps mirror those for a sole proprietor:

1. Get a New Brunswick-based NUANS report for the partnership name.
2. File Form 1, Certificate of Partnership, for $112 ($100 plus the $12 Royal Gazette fee).
3. Appoint an agent for service (Form 7, no extra fee) if none of the partners live in New Brunswick.
4. Register any out-of-province corporate partner. If a partner is a corporation incorporated outside New Brunswick, that corporation must also register in New Brunswick as an extra-provincial corporation.
5. Renew every five years for $62.

Partnership changes and fees

If you'd like us to handle the filings, see our partnership registration service.

Option 3: Incorporate in New Brunswick

Registering a business name gives you the right to trade under that name, but it doesn't create a separate legal entity or protect your personal assets. If you want limited liability, plan to bring in investors, or expect enough profit to benefit from corporate tax rates, incorporate instead.

To incorporate under New Brunswick's Business Corporations Act, you file Articles of Incorporation (Form 1), a Notice of Registered Office (Form 2) and a Notice of Directors (Form 4), plus an Atlantic NUANS report if you want a named company. The fee is $262 e-filed, $312 on paper, or $362 for expedited service within two business days; the normal turnaround is 10 working days. Every year after that you file an annual return ($60 e-filed, $80 on paper). New Brunswick has no director residency requirement.

The full process is in our guide to incorporation in New Brunswick, or you can start a New Brunswick incorporation with us.

Sole proprietorship or corporation?

Service New Brunswick won't tell you which to choose. It says the answer depends on the type and size of the business, the risks, the number of people involved and their tax situations. As a rule of thumb:

• Register a business name when you're testing an idea, revenue is modest and the main risk can be covered by insurance. It's cheap and the paperwork is light.
• Incorporate when you have meaningful liability risk, more than one owner, or profits you want to leave in the business. A Canadian-controlled private corporation in New Brunswick pays 2.5% provincial plus 9% federal tax on its first $500,000 of active business income, which is usually well below personal rates.

After you register: business number, HST and licences

CRA business number

New Brunswick is a business number partner with the Canada Revenue Agency, so provincial registrations are linked to the CRA's 9-digit business number (BN). You need a BN, plus the right program account, to collect HST, run payroll or file corporate tax. The CRA lists no fee for registering for a business number.

HST registration

New Brunswick uses the harmonized sales tax at 15%, and there is no separate provincial sales tax to register for. You must register for a GST/HST account once your taxable revenue goes over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that you're a small supplier and registration is optional, although registering early lets you claim input tax credits on your business expenses.

Licences, permits and WorkSafeNB

Registering a business name or corporation isn't a licence to operate. Depending on your industry and location you may need a municipal business licence, building or zoning approval, or a sector licence from a provincial regulator. If you hire employees, check whether you need WorkSafeNB coverage. These come from the municipality or regulator, not the Corporate Registry, so confirm them before you open.

Step-by-step summary

1. Choose a structure: sole proprietorship, general partnership or corporation.
2. Pick a name and get a NUANS report (skip this for a numbered corporation).
3. File with Service New Brunswick: Form 5 ($112), Form 1 partnership ($112) or Articles of Incorporation ($262 e-filed).
4. Appoint an agent for service if no owner lives in New Brunswick.
5. Register for HST with the CRA once you pass $30,000 in taxable revenue, or earlier by choice.
6. Get any municipal or sector licences your business needs.
7. Diarize your ongoing filing: a 5-year renewal ($62) for a business name, or an annual return ($60 e-filed) for a corporation.

Compare the full cost of each option on our pricing page.