NUANS Report for Other Provinces – Name Searches Outside Alberta

NUANS is the name-search database used by the federal government and several provinces. A report lists existing names that look or sound like the one you want, and the examiner at the registry uses it to decide whether your name can be granted. Each report is run for one jurisdiction, so the first question is always: where are you filing?

Who this is for

• The founder incorporating federally, or in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or another NUANS jurisdiction, who needs the report that registry will accept.
• The Alberta owner expanding into another province who needs a name search there before registering.
• The accountant or law firm that already orders Alberta NUANS reports from us and wants the other provinces handled from the same account.

How it works

1. Tell us the exact name (distinctive element, descriptive element and legal element) and the jurisdiction you are filing in. About 5 minutes.
2. We pre-screen the name and tell you if it is clearly blocked before the report is ordered.
3. We order the NUANS report for that jurisdiction, or the province's own name search where NUANS is not used.
4. A trained agent reviews the report for close matches and emails it to you, usually within the hour, with a note on anything the examiner could refuse.

Which jurisdictions use NUANS, and which run their own name search

How old a report may be when you file differs by jurisdiction. We check the report's date against your planned filing date before we order it.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• An Alberta NUANS report ordered for a federal or Ontario incorporation, which that registry will not accept.
• A name searched without its legal element, or with the wrong one, so the report does not match the articles.
• A report that will be older than the jurisdiction allows by the time the articles are ready.
• A BC or Saskatchewan name sent for a NUANS search when that province runs its own system.

What you need before you start

• The exact proposed name, including the legal element (Ltd., Inc., Corp. or the full word).
• The jurisdiction you are incorporating or registering in, and the date you expect to file.
• Your contact email for delivery of the report.
• If the name is already in use somewhere (a trade name, a related company), tell us; it helps us read the report.

Requirements in Alberta

• A named Alberta corporation, society or extra-provincial registration needs an Alberta NUANS report, which reserves the name for 90 days and must be less than 91 days old when filed. A numbered company needs no report.
• A federal (CBCA) corporation registering extra-provincially in Alberta is not required to provide a NUANS report (alberta.ca).
• Corporations from British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba register in Alberta through Alberta's Online Extra-provincial Registration at no cost; NUANS treatment for those registrations.
• Filings in other provinces go to that province's registry, not Alberta Corporate Registry; our partner site handles those: https://www.corporateregistryservices.ca.