REG 708B Rev. 2013 / 11 / 05
NAME APPROVAL REQUEST INSTRUCTIONS
IMPORTANT – READ CAREFULLY
RESEARCH YOUR CHOICES!
The Names Examiner searches the Corporate Register only. This
register includes the names of corporations incorporated or
registered extraprovincially in British Columbia. It does not include
names of British Columbia firms, trademarks or corporations
registered outside British Columbia. If you want to ensure your name
is not used outside of British Columbia, you could also access the
Trademarks database at www.strategis.ic.gc.ca, or you may wish
to search other jurisdictions in Canada. Most public business and
trademark registers in Canada are reflected in the NUANS database,
which may be searched for a fee through private search firms.
The approval of any name is at the discretion of the Registrar. You
are paying for three choices. Do not commit to any name before
it is approved. Provide three choices for each company you wish
to name, in descending order of preference. Check them out for
potential conflicts through telephone listings, business directories
and other publications.
Occasionally this office will reject all three of your choices. If that
happens, it will be necessary for you to complete another Name
Approval form with three more choices and submit it to this office
with another reservation fee.
GENERAL
This form is used for the approval of all corporate and business names in
British Columbia.
The first step in incorporation (company, society, cooperative association,
financial institution) or registration of firms (partnership, proprietorship) or
extraprovincial companies, is the approval of the name through the Name
Reservation Section of the Corporate Registry.
Once your name is approved, it is reserved for you for a period of
56 calendar days. Any renewals of the reservation period will require
payment of another reservation fee.
If you need assistance call our help telephone number 1 877 526-1526.
Once your name is reserved, the next step is to submit the necessary
information to incorporate a company or society, register a proprietorship,
partnership or limited partnership or register a foreign entity as an
extraprovincial company.
Please go to the Corporate Registry’s website for information on how to
incorporate or register, as well as information on other services provided
by the Corporate Registry.
The website address is: www.bcregistryservices.gov.bc.ca
Approval of a name by the Registrar for either a corporation or a firm
does not provide a proprietary right or interest in the name under any
circumstances. It is intended solely to protect the public interest by:
• preventing names of corporations which are so similar as to confuse
or mislead; and
• providing a record which allows the public to determine which
individuals are associated with a corporation or firm name.
A corporation or a firm name may be registered under the same name
as another firm. As a result there are many duplications of firms names,
however, a firm or a corporation name will not be accepted if it can be
confused with another corporate name.
FIRM NAMES (partnership, proprietorship, limited partnerships,
limited liability partnership)
Registration of a firm does not provide any protection for that name
and does not mean that the name will be available if you decide to
incorporate a company using this name.
Fees
The payment of fees in advance is a mandatory requirement of doing all
business with the Corporate Registry office. The fee to submit a Name
Request to the Corporate Registry by mail is $30.00
Applicants are urged to consult the current Fee Schedule. Payment
of the wrong amount is a common cause for the rejection of name
requests. Cheques and money orders are to be made payable to the
Minister of Finance.
PRIORITY SERVICE
Names are processed in the order of time of receipt. Upon request and on
payment of an additional fee, an application will be processed in priority to
others, normally within 24 hours of receipt.
PROCESS
This form allows you to make a maximum of three choices, in order of
preference, for each name approval. If you wish to have more than one
name approved, you must complete an additional form and pay another
fee. Your first choice for a name may be approved, if available, and
held for a period of 56 calendar days. Any renewals of the reservation
period will require payment of another reservation fee. Your 2nd and 3rd
choices are not examined unless the initial choice of name is not
available. Regardless of whether your three choices are all examined or
not, the full fee is charged.
A name approval request may be made on this form, or in writing with the
same information as is required on this form.
You can apply for your name in the following ways:
OVER THE INTERNET: Go to Name Requests Online at
www.bcregistrynames.gov.bc.ca to submit your Name Approval
Request electronically, for examination by the Name Reservation Unit
at the Corporate Registry. Payment is by credit card. There is online
information you can access to help you through the process. The fee to
submit online is $30 and a BC OnLine service fee of $1.50 plus GST.
BY SERVICE BC CENTRE: Visit any Service BC Centre who
will transmit the request to the Registrar. For locations go to
www.servicebc.gov.bc.ca.
BY ONESTOP SERVICE DELIVERY LOCATION: Visit your local OneStop
service delivery location. They will transmit the request to the Registries.
User fees may apply. For locations go to www.bcbusinessregistry.ca.
BY MAIL:
Names Reservation Section, Corporate Registry
PO Box 9431 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9V3
You can also apply for your name by visiting the Names Unit located on
the 2nd Floor, Suite 200, 940 Blanshard Street, Victoria, BC V8W 3E6.
Results will be confirmed in the same manner as the application was
made.
NAME COMPONENTS
In assessing names, the Registrar’s staff analyze them according to
their constituent components. The form of name acceptable in principle
consists of a distinctive element, followed by a descriptive element and
ending with a corporate designation (if applicable).
e.g. ABC Manufacturing Ltd.
Distinctive Element
Descriptive Element
Corporate Designation
DISTINCTIVE ELEMENT
The distinctive element serves to differentiate names having identical or
similar descriptive elements, and for that reason, is the most important
element to be examined in the name.
Names such as “Tire Shop Ltd.” and “Shoe Store Ltd.” lack an appropriate
distinctive element and would be rejected for that reason.
They would be acceptable, if prefixed with an additional distinctive element
(e.g. coined word, geographical location or personal name) that would
distinguish them from all the other tire shops and shoe stores.
e.g. Vancouver Tire Shop Ltd. Sandell’s Shoe Store Ltd.
Coined and made-up words are acceptable distinctive elements, provided
they do not conflict with others already registered.
e.g. Intertex Enterprises Ltd. Fabuform Diet Centre Ltd.
A uniquely coined word, used in addition to a geographical location
(e.g. Altrex Canada Ltd.), is normally considered sufficiently distinctive by
itself that a descriptive element is not usually required.