A NUANS® Report is required for federal and most provincial incorporations, non-profits, extra-provincial registrations, as well as for registering sole proprietorships, partnerships, and trade names in certain jurisdictions. A name search helps ensure the proposed name doesn’t conflict with existing businesses.

No. If you're incorporating a numbered company (e.g., 1234567 Canada Inc.), you do not need a NUANS® Report because the name is automatically assigned by the government.

If your report shows that the proposed name is too similar to an existing name, it will likely be rejected. You'll need to choose a new name and order another report. This can lead to additional time and cost, so using the pre-search tool before ordering is strongly recommended.

No. While the federal and some provincial governments (Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, etc.) use the NUANS® system, Quebec, BC, Manitoba use a different system for name searches. Always check with the relevant provincial registry to confirm the requirements.

A NUANS® Report is valid for 90 days from the date it is issued. If you don't complete your registration or incorporation within that period, you’ll need to order a new report.

If you are incorporating a Limited Liability Company (LLC), you must choose one of the approved legal suffixes (e.g., Ltd., Inc., Corp., etc.). Each suffix carries the same legal significance, so the choice is purely based on appearance or preference. However, if the name is intended for a sole proprietorship, a Master Business License, a trade name/business name registration, or a non-profit organization, no legal suffix is required.

A NUANS® Report that shows an exact or partial conflict with an existing name will not be accepted. In such cases, you’ll need to request a new report using a different name. This process may need to be repeated until a name is approved, which can result in additional time and costs. To help avoid this issue, the government offers a pre-search system within the name database. This allows you to check name availability in advance and reduce the risk of conflicts before ordering a NUANS® Report.