Federal Registered Charity – Incorporate, Register in Alberta, Apply to CRA

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 and the charity application goes to CRA under your organization's name.

Who this is for

• Founders of a national charity who want one corporation that can operate across provinces and one application to CRA, without managing three separate processes.
• Boards that know charitable status is the goal and want the purposes written for CRA from the first draft of the articles, so nothing has to be amended later.
• Alberta-based organizers who need the Alberta registration and agent for service handled at the same time as the federal incorporation.

How it works

1. Order online (about 20 minutes). Tell us the name, purposes, directors, activities and finances. The total price is shown before you pay.
2. Incorporate federally. We draft the articles and bylaws under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act with purposes that fit the charitable categories, and file with Corporations Canada within 1 business day of receiving your signatures. See federal not-for-profit incorporation for the details of this step.
3. Register in Alberta. A corporation formed outside Alberta must register here if it carries on business here. We file the extra-provincial registration through our registry agent partner, [Partner registry agent name], with an individual located in Alberta as agent for service.
4. Apply to CRA. Registered charity status is granted by CRA after the organization exists. We prepare the application with your purposes and activities, as described on the registered charity application page, within 5 business days of receiving your answers.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• Articles with purposes that are social or recreational rather than charitable, which CRA will not register.
• Applying to CRA before the corporation exists or before it is registered in Alberta.
• Governing documents that allow property to go to members, which conflicts with charitable status.
• Too few directors for a corporation that will solicit donations.

What you need before you start

1. A proposed name for the federal name search, and an Alberta NUANS report where the Alberta registration requires one.
2. Charitable purposes and the activities that carry them out, in plain language. We rewrite them for CRA.
3. Directors and officers with names, addresses and roles.
4. A registered office address for the corporation and an Alberta address for the agent for service. We provide the Alberta agent if you have none.
5. A first-year budget and a description of where funds come from and go.
6. Valid ID for the person who signs as our contact.

Requirements in Alberta

• Federal incorporation under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act with Corporations Canada.
• Alberta registration because the corporation carries on business in Alberta, with an individual located in Alberta as agent for service.
• CRA registration is a federal application, not an Alberta Corporate Registry filing, and the organization must exist before it applies.
• After registration: annual filings with Corporations Canada and Alberta Corporate Registry, plus the charity's own CRA obligations.