General Partnership – Register in Alberta 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. CORES is Alberta's Corporate Registry System, and business owners cannot file in it themselves.

Do you need a partnership agreement in Alberta?

Not to register. Registration records the partnership under the Partnership Act; the agreement is a private contract between the partners and is never filed.

You still want one, and here is why. A general partnership is not a separate legal entity. Each partner is personally liable for the partnership's debts and obligations, including ones another partner takes on for the business. A written agreement sets out how you share profits and losses, who decides what, what each partner contributes, and what happens if one of you wants out, falls ill or dies. Without it, you are relying on the default rules in the Partnership Act and on memory.

We do not sell agreement templates, and we do not give legal advice. Have a lawyer prepare it; for most two- or three-person partnerships it is a short document, and it is far cheaper than a dispute.

Partnership registration requirements in Alberta

• Law: the Partnership Act. The declaration is filed through a registry agent with the partners' names and addresses and valid ID.
• Name search: a NUANS or Business Name Report is optional, recommended but not mandatory. Registration does not protect the name; a search reduces the risk of conflict.
• What registration does: it records who is behind the business name. It does not create a separate legal entity, limit any partner's liability or protect the name.
• Renewal: no annual return. Changes to partners, address or name, and cancellation, are filed through a registry agent.
• Government fee: paid on your behalf and included in the price.
• Alternatives: a limited partnership when some partners only invest, or an Alberta corporation when you want a separate legal entity between you and the business.

Who this is for

• Two friends starting a trades or service business who want to invoice under one name and open one bank account.
• A couple running a business together who want both names on the registration.
• Co-founders not ready to incorporate who want to be properly registered now and revisit a corporation when the business grows.
• Investors who will not manage the business. They usually want a limited partnership instead; we will tell you if that is you.

How it works

1. Order online (about 10 minutes). Plain-language questions; the total price is shown before you pay.
2. We review within about an hour. A trained agent checks the name, each partner's details and the ID, and calls you if anything would be rejected.
3. We prepare and file the declaration through our licensed registry agent partner, [Partner registry agent name]. Complete orders received before 3:00 pm MT are filed the same business day.
4. You receive your certificate by email, with our note on next steps: bank account, CRA business number, and your agreement if it is not done yet.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• No written agreement. We cannot prepare it, but we ask, and we explain what is at stake before you file.
• A partner who left, or joined, but was never registered, so the registry record still shows the wrong people.
• A name identical to an existing Alberta corporation or registered trade name.
• Ltd., Inc. or Corp. in the name, which implies a corporation that does not exist.
• The wrong registration: investors who will not manage the business asking for a general partnership when a limited partnership is what they mean.

What you need before you start

1. The business name, exactly as you want it to appear. An Alberta NUANS report is optional; we can order one with your registration.
2. Every partner's full legal name and home address.
3. The business address in Alberta.
4. Valid ID for the partner signing the declaration.
5. Your partnership agreement, if you have one. It is not filed, but this is the moment to get it done. Have a lawyer prepare it.

• Your declaration of partnership, prepared with every partner's name and address and reviewed by a trained agent before filing.
• A name check. We read the name for obvious problems, and if you add an Alberta NUANS report (a name search that lists similar existing names) we read it for conflicts before filing.
• Your partnership certificate as a PDF by email, the document the bank, your landlord and suppliers ask for.
• Later changes handled. When a partner joins or leaves, or the address changes, the change is filed through a registry agent, and we can file it for you.
• A plain-English note on what the registration does, what it does not do, and why a partnership agreement matters.

Orders received after 3:00 pm MT, or with missing information, are filed the next business day once complete.