How to Register as a Sole Proprietor in Canada, Province by Province

Short answer: You don’t register to become a sole proprietor in Canada, because the structure exists as soon as you start selling your work. What you register is a business name, and only if you trade under something other than your own name. Each province runs its own registry: Ontario charges $60 for five years, British Columbia $30 to approve the name plus $40 to register it, Alberta takes a Declaration of Trade Name through a registry agent, and Quebec requires a declaration of registration with the Registraire des entreprises. A federal business number (BN) comes when you open a CRA account such as GST/HST, or automatically with a name registration in some provinces. Licences come from your trade and your city, not from the registry.

This page covers the provincial registries and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules in force in 2026, for freelancers and contractors starting out without incorporating. For the first steps of working for yourself, see how to be self-employed in Canada. If you’re weighing incorporation, read sole proprietor vs corporation. More guides are on the Canada guides hub.

Do you have to register as a sole proprietor?

Not the business itself: in Canada you register a name, a tax account or a licence, never the fact that you are a sole proprietor.

Your situation	What you register	With whom
You trade under your own legal name only, such as “Jane Smith”	Nothing, in most provinces	—
You trade under any other name, such as “Bow River Plumbing”	The business name	Your province’s business registry
Your taxable revenue passes $30,000	A GST/HST account	The CRA (Revenu Québec in Quebec)
You hire an employee	A payroll account	The CRA
Your trade or city regulates the work	A licence or certificate	The trade body or the municipality

The name rule is the one most people trip over. Ontario says a sole proprietorship carrying on business under a name other than the owner’s full name must register it. So “Jane Smith” needs no registration, but “Jane Smith Painting” is a different name and needs one. Quebec draws the line at names that don’t include your first and last names.

How do I register a sole proprietorship in Ontario?

You register the business name online through the Ontario Business Registry. It costs $60 and lasts five years.

1. Check the name. Searching the Ontario Business Registry is free. Use it to see whether someone is already trading under a name close to yours.
2. Register it. For a sole proprietorship, the business name is registered under the Business Names Act, online through the registry. The fee is $60, and the registration lasts five years.
3. Renew before it expires. Put the renewal date, five years out, in your calendar.

Ontario gives each registration a provincial Business Identification Number, which is not the CRA’s business number. Separately, the federal government says that registering a sole proprietorship in Ontario also gets you a federal BN automatically.

Registering doesn’t change your tax. Sole proprietorship taxes in Ontario work as for any self-employed person: net income on Form T2125 with your personal return, and 13% HST once you’re registered for it. Contractors should also read Ontario contractor licence requirements. There’s no general renovator licence, but cities such as Toronto license renovators, and WSIB coverage is compulsory for sole proprietors in construction.

How do I register a sole proprietorship in British Columbia?

In two steps through BC Registries: get the name approved for $30, then register the proprietorship for $40. That’s $70 in total.

If you do business under your own name, BC says you don’t need to request a name or register with the province. Otherwise:

Step	Fee	What to know
1. Name request	$30 standard, $100 priority (1–2 business days)	You get a name request number. The approval expires 56 days after it’s approved
2. Register the proprietorship	$40	Use the name request number before it expires
BN	Included	Registering in BC gets you a federal BN automatically

Example. A Kelowna painter who wants to trade as “Coastline Painting” pays $30 for the name request and registers for $40 within the 56 days. Her federal BN arrives with the registration. When her revenue passes $30,000, she adds a GST/HST account to that BN and charges 5% GST; as a real property contractor in BC, she doesn’t charge PST on the work.

WorkSafeBC coverage becomes mandatory when you hire a worker; for yourself, it’s optional Personal Coverage.

How do I register a sole proprietorship in Alberta?

Alberta registers a sole proprietor’s business name as a trade name, filed as a Declaration of Trade Name through an authorized registry agent. Alberta’s register a business name page sets out the steps:

1. Choose the name and, if you use one, get a Business Name Report.
2. Go to an authorized registry agent with the name information, the report, valid ID and payment.
3. File the Declaration of Trade Name. If everything meets the requirements, the agent enters it in the Corporate Registry and gives you proof of filing.

The cost has two parts: a government fee, plus the agent’s service fee, which isn’t regulated and varies between agents. Ask for the total before you file.

Alberta isn’t on the federal list of provinces where a name registration comes with a BN, so you get yours from the CRA with your first program account, usually GST/HST. There’s no provincial sales tax, so registered sole proprietors charge only 5% GST. Two rules catch contractors: signing a renovation contract at a client’s home and taking money before the work is done requires a prepaid contracting licence, and cities such as Calgary require their own business licence. Both are covered in Alberta contractor licence requirements.

How do I register a sole proprietorship in Quebec?

You file a declaration of registration with the Registraire des entreprises if your business name doesn’t include your first and last names.

Quebec’s rules on who must register are specific:

• A name without your first and last names (an “other name” or assumed name) means you must register.
• Running a tobacco retail outlet or a tanning salon means you must register even under your own name.
• Once registered, you get a ten-digit Québec enterprise number (NEQ). You pay a registration fee up front and an annual registration fee after that, and you file an annual updating declaration. Check the Registraire’s current rates before you apply.

Two more things are different in Quebec. Revenu Québec, not the CRA, handles both GST and QST. And anyone doing construction work for someone else needs a Régie du bâtiment du Québec licence from the first dollar (Quebec contractor licence requirements).

Do you need a business number as a sole proprietor?

Only when you open a CRA program account, unless your province issues one when you register your name.

An unincorporated sole proprietor needs a BN only to open a program account such as GST/HST, payroll or import-export. If you trade under your own name and stay a small supplier, you need neither a BN nor a GST/HST number.

How you get a BN	Who it applies to
Automatically, with your provincial business name registration	Sole proprietors registering in British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario or Saskatchewan
From the CRA, when you register for GST/HST, payroll or import-export	Everyone else, through Business Registration Online or Form RC1

You only ever have one BN. Your GST/HST account adds RT0001 to it, and payroll adds RP0001. How to register for GST/HST walks through the $30,000 test and the registration itself.

Does a sole proprietor need a business licence?

Often, but rarely from the province: licences come from your trade and your city, not your business structure.

Province	Province-wide licence for general work?	What usually applies instead
Ontario	No	Municipal licences (e.g. Toronto’s building renovator licence), ESA for electrical work, compulsory trade certificates, WSIB in construction
British Columbia	No, for ordinary renovation and repair	BC Housing licensing for new homes, Technical Safety BC for electrical and gas work, municipal business licences
Alberta	No	Prepaid contracting licence if you take money up front on contracts signed away from your premises, and municipal licences
Quebec	Yes, for construction	Régie du bâtiment du Québec licence; electricians and plumbers through their own corporations

Outside construction, the answer is usually a municipal business licence, or nothing. Check the city where you do the work, not just the one you live in.

…and where does Keel fit?

Once you’re registered, what you need next is records. Keel: Invoice Maker & Receipts, by Ilura Technology OÜ, is an iPhone app for people who work for themselves. It covers estimates (an accepted estimate becomes the invoice in one tap), PDF invoices, receipts, expenses and business mileage. Everything is kept under the job and customer it belongs to, and a “who owes you” view drafts reminders that you review and send yourself.

Keel doesn’t register your business name, open CRA accounts or calculate your tax; it keeps the paperwork those steps depend on. Your records stay on your iPhone: no account, no bank connection, no cloud sync, and the App Store privacy label reads “Data Not Collected.” Keel is free with no invoice limit, and free invoices carry a small “Made with Keel” footer. Keel Lifetime is a one-time purchase ($249.99 USD; the App Store shows your local price) that adds custom branding, a signature, premium templates and accountant-ready exports. Keel: Invoice Maker & Receipts on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to register as a sole proprietor in Canada? No. A sole proprietorship exists as soon as you start doing business on your own account, and there is no federal or provincial form to create one. You register a business name only if you trade under something other than your own name. You register for GST/HST once your revenue passes $30,000, and you get any licence your trade or city requires.

How do I register as a sole proprietor in Ontario? If you trade under your own full name only, there’s nothing to register. Otherwise, search the Ontario Business Registry to check the name is free, then register it online under the Business Names Act for $60; the registration lasts five years and comes with a federal business number. Register for HST with the CRA separately once your taxable revenue passes $30,000, or earlier if you choose to.

Does registering a business name make it a separate business? No. A registered name is a label for you, not a new legal person. You stay personally liable for the business’s debts, and you report its profit on Form T2125 with your own T1 return. To get a separate legal entity you have to incorporate, which brings its own filings and costs.

Do I need WCB as a sole proprietor in Alberta or BC? Not for yourself while you work alone: in both provinces a sole proprietor’s own coverage is optional. Alberta’s WCB covers owners only if you apply and are approved, and WorkSafeBC sells optional Personal Coverage. Coverage becomes mandatory once you hire workers. Ontario is stricter, because WSIB is compulsory for sole proprietors in construction.

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This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Consult a qualified accountant or lawyer.