How to Look Up a Canadian Business Number (BN) or GST/HST Number
For a Canada business number lookup, use the free Canada's Business Registries search to find a corporation by name or 9-digit business number (BN), and the CRA's GST/HST Registry to confirm a supplier's GST/HST number. To confirm a GST/HST number you need the number, the business name and a transaction date. There is no public BN directory.
This guide explains how a BN is built, where you can search one, how to verify a GST/HST or QST number on an invoice, and how to find your own business number.
What does a Canadian business number look like?
A business number is the Canada Revenue Agency's 9-digit identifier for a business or legal entity. Each CRA account opened under it is a program account: the 9-digit BN, a 2-letter program identifier and a 4-digit reference number.
Example | Program | What it is |
|---|---|---|
123456789 | None | The business number itself |
123456789 RT 0001 | RT | GST/HST account (the "GST number" or "HST number") |
123456789 RP 0001 | RP | Payroll deductions account |
123456789 RC 0001 | RC | Corporation income tax account |
123456789 RZ 0001 | RZ | Information returns (T5, T5018 and similar slips) |
So a GST/HST number is not a separate number. Its first nine digits are the business number.
Can you look up any business number in Canada?
Not completely. The CRA collects the BN for tax purposes, and there is no CRA search where you type a company name and get its BN back. What you can do depends on what you already have:
You have | You want | Use |
|---|---|---|
A corporation's name | Its BN, status and jurisdiction | Canada's Business Registries, Corporations Canada, or the provincial registry |
A BN | The corporation behind it | Canada's Business Registries or Corporations Canada (search by BN) |
A GST/HST number, name and invoice date | Confirmation it was registered | CRA GST/HST Registry |
A QST number | Confirmation it is valid | Revenu Québec's QST validation service |
Nothing (your own business) | Your BN | CRA My Business Account, CRA letters, registry records |
Sole proprietorships and partnerships are harder to trace by BN. Canada's Business Registries covers corporations and limited partnerships, not every unincorporated business.
How to search a business number on Canada's Business Registries
Canada's Business Registries is a free government search published by the registries of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, together with Corporations Canada. More registries are expected to join.
- Open the search on the Government of Canada site (canadasbusinessregistries.ca redirects there).
- Enter a name, a 9-digit BN or a registry ID, such as an Ontario Corporation Number, Alberta Corporate Access Number or Quebec NEQ. A BN search works only where the registry holds the BN.
- Review the result. It shows the business type, the city and province of the registered office, the date it was created and a link to the official registry.
- Click through to the source registry for status, directors or documents. Some registries charge for reports.
Data is updated daily or monthly depending on the registry, and financial institutions are excluded. For a full walkthrough of every provincial system, see our Canada business registry search guide.
Federal and Ontario searches
The Corporations Canada federal corporation search lets you search by corporate name, corporation number or business number, and filter by province, status and governing legislation. Corporate profiles are free. It does not cover provincial corporations.
The CRA itself points business owners to the Ontario Business Registry as a place to find an Ontario business's BN, noting that fees may apply. Searching the registry is free, and a profile report costs $8. Our guide to the Ontario Business Registry covers searches and reports in detail.
How to look up a GST/HST number
The CRA's GST/HST Registry is a free online service that confirms whether the business charging you GST/HST is registered. It is designed to protect your input tax credits, so you claim them only for tax paid to registered suppliers.
You need all three of these:
- The GST/HST account number. Enter only the first nine digits, without the letters.
- The business name. The supplier's legal, operating or trading name, as it appears on the invoice or sign.
- The transaction date. The date on the receipt, invoice or contract.
The registry confirms registration on that date; it doesn't hand out numbers. After a search, print or save the Search Details screen for your records. If the name returns no result, ask the supplier for the exact name it registered with the CRA. If a supplier won't give you its number, call the CRA's Business Enquiries line at 1-800-959-5525.
What about digital suppliers from outside Canada?
Some non-resident vendors register under the Simplified GST/HST regime, which the CRA lists separately. If you are a GST/HST registrant buying from one of these businesses, give it your own GST/HST number as evidence of registration, or it may charge you the tax.
How to check a QST number in Quebec
Quebec Sales Tax (QST) numbers are administered by Revenu Québec, not the CRA, so the GST/HST Registry won't confirm them.
- Use Revenu Québec's free Validate a QST Registration Number online service.
- A standard QST number has 10 digits, the letters TQ and four more digits, for example 1234567890 TQ 0001.
- Results show the status of the registration, its effective date and the business name.
- A 9-digit number used for QST belongs to a selected listed financial institution. The CRA administers those, and neither online tool can validate them; call the CRA instead.
To find the corporation behind a Quebec business, search the free Quebec enterprise register by NEQ or name.
How to verify a supplier's invoice
- Read the number. A GST/HST number should be nine digits followed by RT and four digits. A QST number ends in TQ and four digits.
- Run the GST/HST Registry with the number, the name on the invoice and the invoice date.
- Run the QST check too if the supplier charged QST.
- Confirm the company exists on Canada's Business Registries or the provincial registry, and that its status is active.
- Save the results with the invoice in case the CRA reviews your input tax credits.
Need more than a quick check, such as a certified corporate profile or historical records? We can order a business records search for you.
How do I find my own business number?
The CRA lists these ways to find an existing BN:
- Your records. CRA letters or notices, or the confirmation saved from a Business Registration Online session.
- Your CRA account. If you added My Business Account, the BN is on the Welcome page. A provincial online account may show it too.
- Business registries. Corporations Canada, the Ontario Business Registry or Canada's Business Registries.
- The CRA. If you still can't find it, call Business Enquiries at 1-800-959-5525 and speak with an agent.
An Ontario corporation receives its BN automatically when it incorporates, as do corporations formed federally or in most other provinces. It shows on your incorporation records. The GST/HST and payroll accounts are not opened automatically; see how to register for HST and get a business number.
Need a business number and CRA accounts set up?
When you incorporate in Ontario with OpenCompany, you can add CRA account registration (HST and payroll) and WSIB registration to your order in the incorporation wizard, and we'll handle those registrations for you once the corporation exists. See our pricing for the add-ons.
Frequently asked questions
Can I look up a business number by company name?
For many corporations, yes. Search the name on Canada's Business Registries or Corporations Canada, which can show the BN where the registry holds it. The CRA has no public name-to-BN directory.
How do I check if a GST/HST number is valid?
Use the CRA's free GST/HST Registry. Enter the first nine digits, the supplier's business name and the transaction date. It confirms whether the business was registered on that date.
Is a business number public in Canada?
Partly. Registries that hold the BN may show it or let you search by it, but the CRA collects it for tax purposes and doesn't publish a full directory.
Is a GST number the same as a business number?
No. The BN is the 9-digit identifier; the GST/HST number is the program account built on it, such as 123456789 RT 0001.
How do I verify a QST number?
Use Revenu Québec's Validate a QST Registration Number service. Standard QST numbers have 10 digits, TQ and four digits; 9-digit numbers for financial institutions must be checked with the CRA.
Where can I find my company's business number?
On CRA letters, your registration confirmation, the Welcome page of CRA My Business Account, or by searching your corporation on Corporations Canada or the Ontario Business Registry.
Why does the GST/HST Registry return no result?
Usually the name doesn't match exactly what the business registered with the CRA, or the number was entered with letters. Ask the supplier for its exact registered name and check the date.
Sources: CRA, Confirming a GST/HST account number, Ways to find an existing business number, Program accounts you may need; Canada's Business Registries; Corporations Canada, federal corporation search; Ontario, Ontario Business Registry; Revenu Québec, Validate a QST Registration Number. Checked October 2026.
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