What You Need to Know Before Ordering an Alberta Name Search Report

Written by Holly Crosgrey Friday, 02 September 2011 09:48

The Nuans Name Search report has seven pages to it. The report is created from the name search system. The system will compare a proposed name for an Alberta company with the current database which contains all of the names that have been registered to date across Canada.

The Nuans Name Search report has seven pages to it. The report is created from the name search system. The system will compare a proposed name for an Alberta company with the current database which contains all of the names that have been registered to date across Canada.

You will not be able to incorporate a company without providing a copy of a Name Search Report. When you go to incorporate the government will compare the name of your company to all the names on the report and this will let them know the name is available for use.

When registering a partnership or a trade name (sole proprietorship) it is not necessary to obtain an name search report. Anyone can register the same business name in Alberta when registering partnerships, proprietorships or buisness names. You need to still ensure that the name you are going to use is available and this can be done by doing a preliminary name search. A preliminary name search can let you know whether the business name you are thinking of registering is available for use without the need of ordering a full Search.

You should also have a prelim done prior to ordering a search when registering a company. The reason for this is that once you order the name search you have already paid and if there is a conflict then it is too late. If the Alberta Nuans report shows that your name is too close to another name you will have to order another report. If conflicts show up on the report you will need to order another search to ensure you have a name that is clear.

As part of the service, a search house will normally perform the preliminary name search before ordering your Alberta Nuans name search report as part of the same cost. Be sure to check the prices before ordering your searches. Preliminary name searches are ordered separately for a separate cost in cases where you do not need to order a full search otherwise they are normally part of the service for a full search at no extra cost. When you are registering a business name or partnership you would purchase a preliminary name search to ensure the name is available since you do not need a full name search report for those types of registrations.

It is important that you check your business name before you register even if you do not need to present a full Nuans report because the onus is on you to ensure you do not register a name similar to another name registered in Canada. Therefore performing a preliminary name search is a good idea.

You must have a legal element for the proposed name (explained below) but for registrations such as Alberta partnerships or Alberta trade names the legal element is not required or even allowed.

Outlined below is a breakdown of the elements of a corporation name which principles can be used for business names as well with the exception of the legal element.

When deciding on a name for your corporation, you should consider three aspects of the name as follows: (1) the Distinctive Element (2) the Descriptive Element, and (3) the Legal Element.

If the name you choose to register is "Smith Carpentry Inc. , the distinctive element is the word "Smith", which is distinctive because it is a person's last name. Another type of a distinctive element in a name might be "Tobermory" as in "Tobermory Garden Supplies Ltd." which is distinctive because it describes a location. "Starling Dental Services Corp." has the distinctive word "Starling" in it to make it stand out from other dental service companies.

The descriptive element describes the type of business. In "Johnson Carpentry Inc.", the descriptive element is "Carpentry" which describes the nature of business. In "Toronto Garden Supplies Ltd." the descriptive element is "Garden Supplies" which describes the type of products this business sells. "Dental Services" is the descriptive element for "Treelight Dental Services Corp.".

The Legal Element is the word "Inc." which is a mandatory legal ending that signifies that the name is connected to registered company. In Canada you can have the following endings for your company name: "Inc.", "Incorporated", "Ltd.", "Limited", "Corp.", "Corporation" and the French equivalents of "Ltee." "Limitee", "Inc." (same in English and French) or "Incorporee", The Legal Element distinguishes your name as a share corporation rather than a business name, sole proprietorship or non-share corporation.