Follow these steps to prepare the information you need to register an Alberta trade name or Alberta partnership and receive a registration statement.

Step 1: Choose a business name

Although there are few restrictions on a business name, you should choose your name carefully.

business names don’t have to be unique; duplicate business names may exist
but, if you choose a name that is the same as, or similar to, an existing business name, corporation name, or trademark, the owners could take your business to court. You may have to change your name or pay damages to the owners
you can’t use the words ‘limited’, ‘incorporated’ or ‘corporation’ at the end of your business name since that would imply you are running a corporation
you also can’t use the abbreviated forms of these words – Ltd., Inc., or Corp., or the French forms/abbreviations of those words
if you’re registering a limited liability partnership, you need to include ‘limited liability partnership’ or the abbreviation ‘LLP’ at the end of the name, or you can use the French terms ‘Société à Responsabilité Limitée’ or ‘SRL’

Step 2: Get a Business Name Report

This step is recommended, but not mandatory.

The report contains registered business, corporation and trademark names that are similar to your proposed business name.

The report is provided by authorized NUANS members.

Find a NUANS service provider

Step 3: Fill out the forms

Trade name/sole proprietorship

If you are registering a trade name or sole proprietorship, use the Declaration of Trade Name. (PDF, 2 pages)

Fast and easy Alberta Sole Proprietorship Online Registration.