If you want to start a business in either of these provinces, your first decision is the same as it would be in any other province; you need to decide how your business is going to be legally organized. Are you going to operate as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation? (For definitions of these terms, see "Business Start-up in New Brunswick" or ”Who Needs to Register?” in Nova Scotia. The registration procedure, and associated fees and responsibilities are different for each form of business. Please note that because I’ve chosen to link directly to many of the government documents to save you searching and scrolling, you’ll need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to see the relevant PDF files in your browser.

Registering a Sole Proprietorship in New Brunswick

Suppose you chose to organize your business as a sole proprietorship. If you’re going to use your own name as your business name, with no additions, you don’t need to register your business. But if you’re planning to operate under another name, or add a qualifier to your name, such as “and Associates”, you need to register your name.

In New Brunswick, once you select a business name, you need to have an Atlantic based NUANS search report done by a private sector name search name search firm. Fees will vary, depending on which firm does the report, but a single name search will cost you about $45. You can get a list of private sector name search firms from the Corporate Affairs Branch in Fredericton (Telephone: 506-453-2703; Fax: 506-453-2613). Online, you can find this list on the last page of the pamphlet ”Selecting a Proposed Name” (by the N.B. Department of Justice).

Once you have the NUANS report, you’re ready to register your business with the Corporate Affairs Branch of the Department of Justice. To do this, you need to fill out a “New Brunswick Certificate of Business Name…” form, and either send it or take it to the Corporate Affairs Branch in Fredericton or to any Service New Brunswick Centre, along with the $110 fee, and the NUANS report. If Corporate Affairs deems that your documentation meets the legal requirements, they’ll issue you a Business Certificate, which is good for 5 years. (After this time, you’ll need to renew your certificate, which will mean filling out the form again and paying a $60 renewal fee.)

Registering a Sole Proprietorship in Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia, setting up a business is easier, because the Registry of Joint Stock Companies handles both the name search and the business registration. Once you’ve chosen a name for your business, fill out the "Name Reservation Request Form". Besides basic information such as your mailing address and proposed business name, the form asks you to indicate whether you want an Atlantic Canada name search (which costs $46 (including HST), or a Canada-wide name search (which costs $57.50 (including HST). If your proposed name starts with the word “Canadian”, the choice is made for you; you must have a Canada-wide search done. Your completed form and fee can be phoned in, mailed, or faxed to the Registry of Joint Stock Companies in Halifax, or taken to any Nova Scotia Access Centre. (As of this writing, the Access Centre in Antigonish is the exception; it doesn’t offer Registry of Joint Stock Companies services.)

If your name is accepted, it will be reserved for 90 days, meaning you’ll have to register your company within this time, or you’ll have to file another Name Reservation Request. You can find out if your name has been reserved by calling 902-424-7770 (press 1, then 1, then 4) after two business days.

To register your sole proprietorship in Nova Scotia, complete the ”Statement to Be Used in Registration…” form. Don’t be alarmed because the form uses the word “partnership” throughout, instead of “sole proprietorship”; in Nova Scotia, a sole proprietorship is defined as “a partnership of one”, and this is the form you should be using. You will also need to submit a Statutory Declaration with this form, with the signatures sworn in person by a Commissioner of Oaths, Notary Public, Barrister or Justice of the Peace. (Commissioners of Oaths are available at the Registry of Joint Stock Companies and at Nova Scotia Access Centres.) Submit your completed form, Statutory Declaration, and $50 fee to the Registry of Joint Stock Companies. In return, you’ll be issued a Certificate of Registration, which will include a Business Number (BN), assigned by Revenue Canada.

In both provinces, if you’re not a resident and want to operate a business in that province, you need  to operate through a Recognized Agent, a person who resides in the province in question and will “receive official correspondence and who may be served, on behalf of the company or society, with a writ, summons, process, or other legal notice”. Here’s Nova Scotia’s "Appointment of Recognized Agent" form and New Brunswick’s "Certificate of Appointment or Change of Agent for Service".

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