Federal Non-Profit Corporation – Incorporate Nationally and Register in Alberta

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. The federal step is filed with Corporations Canada; the Alberta step is filed through our registry agent partner.

Federal not-for-profit in Alberta: when national incorporation makes sense

An Alberta society is formed under the Societies Act and is the simplest structure for a group whose work stays in Alberta. A federal not-for-profit corporation is incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (the CNCA) and is the usual choice when the organization will operate in more than one province or wants to carry one name across the country.

Federal incorporation does not replace provincial registration. A corporation formed outside Alberta must register in Alberta if it carries on business here, so the federal corporation is registered extra-provincially in Alberta as a second step. We treat the two as one order.

Registered charity status is separate again. It is granted by the Canada Revenue Agency after the organization exists, through a CRA application rather than a registry filing. If charitable status is the goal, the registered charity application follows the Alberta registration.

Who this is for

• Founders of a non-profit with chapters, members or programs in more than one province, who want one corporation rather than a society in each.
• Organizations whose funders or partners expect a federal corporation, and who want the Alberta registration done at the same time so nothing is missed.
• Groups based in Alberta with national ambitions, who have been told by their lawyer or accountant that the CNCA fits better than the Societies Act.
• Boards planning a charity application, who need the corporation incorporated and registered in Alberta before CRA will consider them.

How it works

1. Order online (about 20 minutes). Enter the proposed name, the purposes, the directors, the registered office and your membership structure. The total price is shown before you pay.
2. We check the name. We order the name search Corporations Canada requires and review it for conflicts.
3. We draft the articles and first bylaws (1–2 business days) and send them to the incorporators to sign.
4. We file with Corporations Canada within 1 business day of receiving the signed package and send you the Certificate of Incorporation as soon as it is issued.
5. We register the corporation in Alberta through our licensed registry agent partner, [Partner registry agent name], with a Notice of Agent for Service naming an individual located in Alberta. Filed documents follow by email.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• Incorporating federally and then operating in Alberta without the extra-provincial registration.
• Too few directors for the type of corporation.
• Purposes written for a business, or purposes that will not fit a later charity application.
• No agent for service in Alberta, which the Alberta registration requires.
• A name that conflicts with an existing name in the federal search or in Alberta.

What you need before you start

1. A proposed name for the name search, or instructions to use a numbered name.
2. Your purposes. Short statements of what the corporation exists to do.
3. Directors. Full names and addresses, with enough directors for your type of corporation.
4. A registered office address for the federal corporation.
5. Membership classes and voting rules for the articles and bylaws. We ask plain-language questions and draft from your answers.
6. An Alberta address and an individual located in Alberta to act as agent for service. If you have neither, we provide an agent for service with an Alberta address.
7. Valid ID for the person who signs as our contact, which our registry agent partner requires.

Requirements in Alberta

• Federal statute: the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, administered by Corporations Canada.
• Alberta registration: a corporation formed outside Alberta must register in Alberta if it carries on business here, including soliciting business in Alberta or having a resident agent, representative, warehouse, office or place of business in Alberta.
• Name search for Alberta: an Alberta NUANS report less than 91 days old is part of the standard extra-provincial package; CBCA business corporations are exempt, and we confirm the treatment for a federal not-for-profit before ordering.
• Agent for service: an individual located in Alberta with an Alberta address; the agent does not need to be a lawyer.
• Government fees: the Corporations Canada incorporation fee and the Alberta registration fee, both paid on your behalf and included in the price.
• After incorporation: annual filings with Corporations Canada and Alberta Corporate Registry, and a separate CRA application if you want charitable status.

Most federal not-for-profits go from order to the federal filing in 1–3 business days once signed; the Alberta registration follows the federal certificate.