Limited Partnership (LP) – 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.

LP or LLP: which limited partnership fits?

A limited partnership (LP) has two kinds of partners. At least one general partner manages the business and carries unlimited liability for its obligations. Limited partners contribute money, stay out of management and have their liability limited to what they contributed. This is the usual structure for real estate syndications and investment funds, where a corporation acts as general partner so that no individual carries the unlimited liability.

A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a form of partnership available only to eligible professions, where the partners practise together rather than one group funding and another managing. Most readers asking about an LLP are accountants or lawyers; if that is you, confirm the eligibility and approval steps with your regulator before ordering, and tell us what they said.

If everyone involved will manage the business, neither fits; a general partnership does. If you want one entity that limits liability for all owners, an Alberta corporation does.

Alberta limited partnership requirements

• Law: the Partnership Act. Both LPs and LLPs are registered through a registry agent with valid ID.
• Partners: at least one general partner (individual or corporation); one or more limited partners.
• Name: must carry the required legal element. A NUANS or Business Name Report is optional; registration does not protect the name and a search reduces the risk of conflict.
• Corporate general partner: an Alberta corporation needs a registered office in Alberta and an agent for service who is an individual located in Alberta, and it files an Alberta annual return every year in its anniversary month.
• LLP eligibility: restricted to eligible professions.
• Changes: amendments to the partners, name or address are filed through a registry agent.
• Government fee: paid on your behalf and included in the price.

Who this is for

• Real estate and investment structures: a corporate general partner that manages, and investors who fund the deal as limited partners.
• Accountants, lawyers and paralegals filing for clients who want the partner schedule right the first time and the documents in the file the same day. See one account for every client.
• Professional firms eligible to practise as an LLP.
• Two or more people running a business together where everyone manages. That is a general partnership, and we will point you there.

How it works

1. Send us the partner schedule and the name (about 15 minutes online). The total price is shown before you pay. Advisors can send a spreadsheet instead of re-typing.
2. We review within about an hour. A trained agent checks the name, every partner's details, the corporate general partner's status and the ID, and calls you if anything would be rejected.
3. We prepare and file the certificate through our licensed registry agent partner, [Partner registry agent name]. Complete orders are typically filed within 1–2 business days.
4. You receive the filed documents as PDFs by email the day they are filed, ready for the bank and the file.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• A limited partner described as running the business. Limited partners fund; the general partner manages.
• A corporate general partner that has not been incorporated yet, or that has been struck for missed annual returns. We check its status before filing.
• A name missing the required legal element, or identical to an existing Alberta corporation or registered name.
• An LLP requested by a business that is not in an eligible profession.
• A NUANS report more than 90 days old at filing, when one is used.

What you need before you start

1. The partnership name, including the required legal element. An Alberta NUANS report is optional; we can order one with the filing.
2. General partner details. Full legal name and address for each general partner. For a corporate general partner, its exact legal name as registered; we confirm it is active before filing.
3. Limited partner details. Full legal name and address for each limited partner.
4. The principal place of business.
5. Valid ID for the general partner, or the corporate general partner's signing officer, who signs the filing.
6. For an LLP: the profession, the regulator and any approval the regulator requires.
7. Your limited partnership agreement. It is not filed, and it is where the real terms live. Have a lawyer prepare it.

• The Certificate of Limited Partnership, or the LLP registration, prepared from your instructions and reviewed by a trained agent before filing.
• A partner schedule listing the general partner or partners and every limited partner, with names and addresses.
• A name check. An Alberta NUANS report (a name search that lists similar existing names) is optional; if you add one, we read it for conflicts before filing.
• Filed documents as PDFs by email the same day they are filed, formatted for the partnership's records and your client file.
• The corporate general partner, if needed. If a new corporation will act as general partner, we incorporate it first and file the LP once the Certificate of Incorporation is issued.
• Later amendments to the registration filed through a registry agent as partners change.