Alberta Society – Incorporate a Non-Profit Online

ACS is a private company. Our CORES-trained agents prepare your filing and submit it through a licensed Alberta registry agent. We are not a government office or a registry agent.

Society or non-profit company in Alberta: which one do you need?

A society is formed under the Societies Act Alberta. It needs 5 or more people, its purposes must be social, recreational, cultural or charitable, it cannot carry on trade or business, and it cannot pay dividends or distribute its property to members. This is the structure most clubs, associations and community groups use.

A non-profit company is formed under Part 9 of the Companies Act. It is the alternative for a non-profit that operates more like a business. Which one fits depends on what your organization will do, so get legal advice before choosing. This page covers the society; if you need a Part 9 company, call us and we will explain what is involved.

Registered charity status is separate again. It is an application to the Canada Revenue Agency, not to Corporate Registry, and incorporating a society does not grant it.

Who this is for

• Founders of a community group, sports club, arts collective or parent association who need a legal entity before they can open a bank account, sign a lease or apply for grants, and who want plain-language help with the paperwork.
• Volunteer boards replacing an informal committee with directors, bylaws and a name that is registered in Alberta.
• Groups planning to apply for registered charity status later, who need the society incorporated first.
• Organizers who are not sure whether a society is the right structure, and want the difference between a society and a non-profit company explained before they pay.

How it works

1. Order online (about 15 minutes). Enter the name, purposes, applicants, directors and bylaw choices; the total price is shown before you pay.
2. We order and review the NUANS report (usually within the hour) and check that the name has all three elements and does not conflict with an existing Alberta name.
3. We draft the package (1–2 business days): the Application to Form a Society, bylaws, Notice of Address, Notice of Directors and Service Request, then send it to the applicants to sign.
4. We file through our licensed registry agent partner, [Partner registry agent name], within 1 business day of receiving the signed package, and email the Certificate of Incorporation and filed documents as soon as Corporate Registry issues them.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• Purposes that describe a business ("to sell", "to operate a shop") when a society's objects must be social, recreational, cultural or charitable.
• Fewer than five applicants on the application, or an applicant listed without an address.
• A name missing its legal element, or its descriptive element, such as "Bow Valley Runners" with no "Association" or "Club".
• Bylaws that leave out provisions the Societies Act requires.
• A NUANS report that will be more than 90 days old by the day the signed package comes back.

What you need before you start

1. Five or more applicants. Full names and addresses of the people forming the society, who will sign the application.
2. A name with three parts: a distinctive element, a descriptive element and a legal element such as Society, Association, Club, Foundation, Institute, League, Council or Centre. "Bow Valley Trail Runners Association" has all three.
3. Your purposes. One to five short statements of what the society exists to do, kept to social, recreational, cultural or charitable aims. No trade or business.
4. Directors. Names and addresses for the Notice of Directors.
5. An address in Alberta for the Notice of Address, where Corporate Registry can send notices.
6. Bylaw choices. Who can be a member, how meetings are called, how directors are elected, and how records are kept. We ask plain-language questions and draft from your answers.
7. Valid ID for the applicant who signs as our contact, which our registry agent partner requires.

Requirements to register a society in Alberta

• People: 5 or more applicants.
• Purposes: social, recreational, cultural or charitable. A society cannot carry on trade or business, and it cannot pay dividends or distribute property to its members.
• Name: distinctive + descriptive + legal element (Society, Association, Club, Foundation, Institute, League, Council, Centre and similar), supported by an Alberta NUANS report less than 91 days old. The NUANS report is mandatory for a society.
• Documents: Application to Form a Society, Bylaws, Notice of Address, Notice of Directors and a Service Request.
• Government fee: paid on your behalf and included in the price.
• After incorporation: an annual return filed with Corporate Registry each year, and, if you want charitable status, a separate application to CRA.

• An Alberta NUANS report, a name search that reserves your name for 90 days, ordered by us and reviewed for conflicts. It is mandatory for a society and included in the price.
• Application to Form a Society, drafted from your answers: the society's name, its purposes (called its objects) and the five or more applicants.
• Bylaws, the rules for running the society, drafted from your choices on membership, meetings, directors and records.
• Notice of Address and Notice of Directors, plus the Service Request form the registry requires.
• Certificate of Incorporation for the society and every filed document as PDFs by email.
• Optional, priced separately: a minute book for the society's bylaws, registers and meeting minutes.

Most societies go from order to filing in 1–3 business days once the applicants have signed.