Are you ready to start your new business? In British Columbia, there are a few key steps to ensure your business starts the right way. The staff at the Richmond Chamber of Commerce can offer you one-on-one service to help you navigate the process and have your name approved.
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Perhaps by this point, you have already chosen, or are thinking about, a name for your business. The first step in the registration process is securing approval of your business name. You must have your name approved if you are:
You may put up to three choices of names on a Name Approval Request form. The Corporate Registry will only examine the request until a name is approved – if your first choice is approved they do not search the remaining two. Your business name must have two components. The first part of your name must start with a distinctive non-descriptive word or phrase. e.g.: a geographical location, your name, a made-up word or phrase, or initials. The second part of your name must describe what type of business you are in, e.g.: shoe store, investments, or dog wash. A name that would meet the criteria would be John’s Shoe Store or Vancouver Doggy Wash. Names that would not be approved are The Shoe Store or The Doggy Wash.
If you are incorporating a company you must add a third component called the corporate designation: e.g. Limited, Ltd., Corporation, Corp., Incorporated, Inc.
If you are registering a Sole Proprietorship or Partnership, a corporate designation is not used.
If your request was mailed to the Corporate Registry, it normally takes three weeks and more to process the request and have your results mailed back to you. If you are doing your Name Approval at the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, the staff will contact you when your results are in – this can take from week to 3 weeks.. If you would like your request to be given priority status there is an extra charge of $100 – results within 24 hours.
If one of your names is approved, the name will be reserved for 56 calendar days. During this time you must submit your declaration form for a Sole Proprietorship or Partnership. This can be done on-line at www.onestopbc.ca. You may mail a registration form to Ministry of Finance, Corporate and Personal Property Registries, PO Box 9431 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 9V3. You must register your incorporation on-line at www.corporateonline.gov.bc.ca. If your documentation is not submitted within the 56 days, your name reservation will expire.
After your business is registered provincially, you can apply for a business license in the municipality in which you will be operating. If you’re applying for a City of Richmond Business License, details can be found online at Richmond.ca.
ASPAC’s membership with the Richmond Chamber of Commerce has helped us become an integrated part of the community as we develop River Green on the Fraser River waterfront. It has helped strengthen our brand awareness, while connecting us to important networking opportunities with key individuals across the city.
Gary Wong Vice-President & Director - Aspac Developments Ltd.
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