LLP Registration – Extra-Provincial Limited Liability Partnership in Alberta

A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which a partner is not personally liable for another partner's professional negligence. In Alberta, LLPs are registered under the Partnership Act alongside trade names, partnerships and limited partnerships, and they are the usual structure for law and accounting firms with more than one partner. An LLP formed elsewhere keeps its home registration; the Alberta filing records it here so the firm can open an Alberta office or take on Alberta clients.

Register LLP in Alberta: eligibility comes first

Alberta limits LLPs to professions whose rules allow it, so the first check is whether your partners' profession qualifies. For a professional LLP, the Alberta regulator of that profession also has a role. The Law Society of Alberta regulates lawyers and CPA Alberta regulates chartered professional accountants, and each has its own rules for firms practising in Alberta.

The route then depends on the home jurisdiction:

• British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. New West Partnership (NWPTA) jurisdictions; NWPTA covers LLPs, and registration goes through Alberta's Online Extra-provincial Registration at no government cost (alberta.ca). Our NWPTA page explains that route for corporations.
• Ontario, Quebec, the other provinces or another country. The registration is filed through a registry agent with the home-jurisdiction documents.

Who this is for

• The Ontario or Quebec law firm or accounting firm opening a Calgary or Edmonton office.
• The BC or Saskatchewan professional LLP adding Alberta partners and wanting the NWPTA filing done once, correctly.
• The firm administrator or law clerk who needs the filed documents in PDF, same-day answers and partner pricing.
• The partner moving to Alberta who must practise here under the firm's name while the home office stays put.

How it works

1. You tell us the profession, the home jurisdiction and the partners on the short online form, and name the Alberta agent for service.
2. We confirm eligibility and the regulator sequence for your profession before you pay, so nothing is filed out of order.
3. You upload the home-jurisdiction documents; we tell you if the certificate of status needs to be refreshed.
4. A CORES-trained agent reviews the package and orders the Alberta NUANS report (a name search that reserves the name for 90 days) where one is required.
5. We file through a licensed Alberta registry agent, or through the NWPTA online route, and email you the filed documents within 1–2 business days of a complete package. ACS is a private company; we are not a government office or a registry agent.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• Filing the registration before the regulator has signed off, where that is the required order.
• A name that conflicts with an existing Alberta firm. Registration does not protect the name; a NUANS search reduces the risk.
• Naming the firm, rather than an individual in Alberta, as agent for service.
• Treating an Ontario LLP as an NWPTA filing. The online route covers BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba only.

What you need before you start

• The LLP's exact registered name, home jurisdiction and registration number.
• A certified copy of the LLP's home registration and proof of current status from the home registry.
• The name, address and professional status of each partner, and confirmation of good standing with the Alberta regulator where required.
• An agent for service: an individual located in Alberta with an Alberta address. We can act as your agent for service.
• Valid government photo ID for the person signing.

Requirements in Alberta

• The profession must be one Alberta allows to practise through an LLP, and the Alberta regulator's requirements for the firm must be met.
• The agent for service is an individual located in Alberta; they do not need to be a lawyer.
• Alberta business names have no periodic renewal; changes and cancellations are filed through a registry agent. Any annual return or regulator filing is confirmed before you order.