What Is a NUANS Report? Who Needs One, Cost and How to Read It

A NUANS report is a computer-generated list of existing Canadian corporate names, registered business names and trademarks that are identical or similar to a name you want to use. Some registries require one before you can incorporate a named corporation, notably Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick. Many others don't: federal online incorporation, British Columbia, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba all handle the name check themselves. A report is generally usable for 90 days, and it is a search result, not an approval or a guaranteed hold on the name.

NUANS report at a glance

What does NUANS stand for?

You'll often see NUANS expanded as "Newly Upgraded Automated Name Search". Government pages don't use that expansion. ISED simply calls it Nuans®, "the Government of Canada's business name and trademark search tool." Its algorithm compares your proposed name against the national database of corporate names, registered business names and trademarks, and returns the closest matches.

A report can be biased (weighted) toward a jurisdiction. An Ontario-biased report ranks Ontario names higher; a federal-biased report weighs the whole country. Registries that require NUANS want the report weighted to them. Ontario, for example, rejects a federal-biased report.

Which jurisdictions still require a NUANS report?

This is where most online guides are out of date. Corporations Canada stopped requiring a separate report for online incorporation, and several provinces never used NUANS for incorporation in the first place.

A numbered company (for example "1234567 Ontario Inc." or "12345678 Canada Inc.") never needs a name search, because the registry assigns the number.

For the federal rules in detail, see our federal NUANS guide. For province-specific walkthroughs, see the Ontario NUANS report guide, the Alberta NUANS guide and our Saskatchewan name reservation guide.

Does a NUANS report reserve your name?

Usually not. This is the most common misunderstanding. In Ontario, the report shows what similar names exist; it doesn't stop someone else from filing a similar name before you do, and Ontario places the responsibility for checking conflicts on the applicant. Only some regimes give you an actual hold:

• Alberta: the Alberta NUANS report reserves the name for 90 days.
• Nova Scotia: a name reservation lasts 90 days.
• Federal: a corporate name preapproval is valid for 90 days.
• Saskatchewan and Manitoba: an approved reservation lasts 90 days.
• British Columbia: an approved Name Request is held for 56 days.

If timing matters, file your incorporation soon after the report is issued. Our guide to name pre-search and reservation explains the difference between a quick availability check and a real reservation.

How much does a NUANS report cost?

The federal name search costs $13.80, but Corporations Canada tells you not to order one before an online incorporation or preapproval, because the search is already built in. Provincial reports, such as the Ontario-biased or Alberta report, must come from a private name search company or registered NUANS member, and each sets its own price. In Nova Scotia, bringing your own NUANS report lowers the reservation fee to $15.12, compared with $60.52 when the registry runs an Atlantic search for you.

You can order a NUANS report through us for the jurisdiction you're filing in. See current fees on our pricing page.

Is there a free NUANS search?

Not a full one. The NUANS pre-search tool is a feature for NUANS members, and an official report always costs something. You can still run useful free checks before paying:

• Ontario Business Registry search: Ontario lets you search the registry for free to see if a name is already taken.
• Corporations Canada's federal corporation search: finds federal corporations with similar names.
• Canadian Trademarks Database: run by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). A name that clears the registry can still clash with a trademark.

Manitoba's Companies Office, for example, recommends checking exactly these kinds of databases before applying. Free searches catch obvious conflicts, but they don't replace the report where one is required.

What's in a NUANS report and how to read it

1. Header: the name searched, the jurisdiction bias, the report date and a reference number. Registries ask for the reference number and date at filing.
2. Ranked results: existing corporations, business names and trademarks, ordered by similarity. Look hardest at the first entries.
3. Jurisdiction and status: where each match is registered and whether it is active. A dissolved name far away is less of a risk than an active one in your province.
4. Type of business: a match in the same or a related industry is the biggest problem. Similar descriptive words count, so a "hotel" can conflict with an existing "inn".
5. Trademarks: a registered trademark on your distinctive word is a warning sign even if the registry accepts your name.

If you see an identical or near-identical active name in your industry, change the distinctive element before filing. In Ontario, using an identical name requires a legal opinion, and the applicant may need consents.

Tips before you order

• Build the name from three parts: a distinctive element ("Northwind"), a descriptive element ("Logistics") and a legal ending ("Inc.", "Ltd.", "Corp." or the French forms).
• Avoid generic names such as "Best Cleaning Services". Distinctive names clear more easily.
• Run the free checks first, then order the report for the jurisdiction you're actually filing in.
• Plan your filing date. The 90-day clock starts on the report date, not when you start your paperwork.
• Consider a numbered company if you need to incorporate fast. You can change to a word name later by amending the articles.