Register the business
Start with the national planning guide and the relevant provincial registry. Choose the route that fits your structure and location.
Business & permits
Starting a company can involve registration, tax accounts and permission to operate at a location. Work through those questions separately so a completed registration is not mistaken for every permission your business may need.
Choose the right starting point
Tax and program accounts
Use CRA’s business-number and GST/HST guidance for the account you need.
Permits for the activity
Use BizPaL and the responsible local authority to investigate operating requirements. A city permit is not the same as incorporation.
Related step-by-step guides
- Register a business number or CRA program account
- Find the right GST/HST registration route
- Plan the government steps for a new business
- Find business permits and licences with BizPaL
- Use the Ontario Business Registry
- Register a business in Ontario
- Register a charity in Canada
- Register a sole proprietorship or partnership in B.C.
- Register a business name in Alberta
- Prepare a business to import food into Canada
- Start a food truck business in Calgary
- Start a food truck business in Edmonton
- Find business registration and permits in Saskatchewan
- Find business registration and permits in Manitoba
- Find business registration and permits in Québec
- Find business registration and permits in New Brunswick
- Find business registration and permits in Nova Scotia
- Find business registration and permits in Prince Edward Island
- Find business registration and permits in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Find business registration and permits in Yukon
- Find business registration and permits in the Northwest Territories
- Find business registration and permits in Nunavut
- Business taxes and payments in Canada
- Report sole proprietor business income
- File a corporation income tax return
- File and pay GST/HST for a business
- Set up and remit employer payroll
- Close a business and its CRA program accounts
- Apply for a small business financing loan
- Import commercial goods into Canada
- Find business grants, loans and funding
- Handle GST/HST and QST for a Québec business
- Start a tow truck business in Ontario
- Claim self-employed business expenses
- Claim business-use-of-home expenses
- Arrange a CRA payment plan
Choose a province or territory
Regional directories help with tasks that are administered outside the federal government.