Alberta Professional Corporations Explained: The Rules for Every Regulated Profession

A professional corporation is still an Alberta corporation under the Business Corporations Act. It needs at least one director aged 18 or over, a physical Alberta address as its registered office, an individual located in Alberta as its agent for service, and an Alberta NUANS report less than 91 days old, because it is a named corporation. The package is filed through a registry agent, and the government fee is $275. Our guide to how to incorporate a business in Alberta covers those basics.

On top of that, four rules apply to every profession:

1. The name. Only professions whose governing Act allows it may use "Professional Corporation" in a name, and each regulator has its own naming rules.
2. Voting shares. They must be held by licensed members of the profession.
3. Non-voting shares. Family members may hold them only where the profession's rules allow.
4. The permit. The regulator's permit or approval is required, and the order of steps differs by profession.

This is the section to read twice. Filing in the wrong order means a rejected application, a second registry filing, or a corporation that exists but cannot practise.

Lawyers and CPAs: approval or endorsement first, then registry

For a lawyer, the Law Society of Alberta approves the articles before anything is registered at Corporate Registry. Only after the Certificate of Incorporation is issued do you file the Form 8-1 permit application with the Law Society, attaching that certificate.

For a CPA, the sequence is a PC Registration Application together with the articles, then CPA Alberta's endorsement of the articles, then the endorsed articles filed through a registry agent. CPA Alberta quotes 15–20 business days, so build that into your start date.

Physicians: CPSA endorses the articles, you file, then you apply for the permit

The physician signs the articles first. They go to CPSA on the CPSA articles submission form, and CPSA endorses them within 15 business days. The endorsed articles are then filed with Corporate Registry, and only then does the physician submit the PC Application Form with the Certificate of Incorporation and the fee. The permit is renewed every year alongside the practice permit. The full sequence is in our medical professional corporation guide for Alberta physicians.

Dentists: CDSA reviews the articles first

Only registered CDSA members may incorporate. The dentist or dentists sign the articles and email them to [email protected]. CDSA's own review takes about 4 business days, but the college advises allowing about 6 weeks overall, and its incorporation fee is $400.

Engineers and geoscientists: registry first, then the APEGA Permit to Practice

Engineers work in reverse. They incorporate an ordinary Alberta corporation through Service Alberta first. Then, because any company practising engineering or geoscience must hold an APEGA Permit to Practice, the corporation applies to APEGA, names a Responsible Member, and pays the new application fee of $495.25 + GST. "Professional Corporation" is not a designation used for engineers.

The professional corporation shareholders rules in Alberta protect the public by keeping control with licensed members. Voting shares go to members in good standing: physicians with active CPSA registration, registered CDSA members, Active members of the Law Society. Non-voting shares are for family only where the rules allow. CPSA names spouses, common-law partners and children of the physician shareholders; CDSA allows family members under Bill 53; CPA Alberta's rules are set out in its procedures.

That has two practical consequences. A holding company or an unlicensed business partner cannot hold voting shares. And the non-voting class has to exist in the articles from the start, because adding it later means Articles of Amendment and, for most professions, another trip through the regulator. Whether family should hold non-voting shares at all is a tax question, so ask your CPA; we draft the classes to match both the regulator's rules and your accountant's plan.

• Your professional liability. A professional corporation does not remove your personal responsibility for your own professional work; your regulator continues to hold you, the individual, accountable. Keep your professional liability insurance in place and ask your lawyer what the corporation does and does not shield.
• Your licence. The permit sits alongside your registration, not in place of it, and it is renewed every year.
• The ordinary duties of a corporation. An annual return every year in the anniversary month, with a $50 government fee; a minute book with registers and resolutions; and a T2 corporate tax return filed with CRA.
• Whether it is worth doing. That depends on your income, how much you draw and your family situation. Ask your CPA. We set the corporation up the way they recommend.

Our prices are total fees before GST (5%), government fee included. Government fees mentioned in this guide are current as of September 2026; confirm against the Alberta Registry agent product catalogue.

• Filing at Corporate Registry before the Law Society or CPA Alberta has approved or endorsed the articles. The order is regulator first, registry second.
• Applying for the CPSA permit without a Certificate of Incorporation. The permit application needs the certificate, which needs the endorsed articles.
• Voting shares issued to a spouse, a holding company or a business partner who is not a licensed member. Voting shares belong to licensed members only.
• A name that ignores the regulator's rules. A lawyer's corporation must contain "Professional Corporation" or "P.C."; a physician's name must follow the CPSA Bylaws naming section.
• Engineers waiting for a "professional corporation" that does not exist. Incorporate, then apply to APEGA for the Permit to Practice.
• A NUANS report that expires during regulator processing. It must be less than 91 days old when the articles are filed; 15–20 business days at the regulator eats into that window.
• Missing the renewal. Lawyers renew by December 31 via the Lawyer Portal; physicians renew alongside the practice permit; dentists pay the annual permit.