Alberta Co-operative – Incorporate Under the Cooperatives Act

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. Alberta's instructions for co-operatives direct the package to Corporate Registry in Edmonton by mail or email; either way, we prepare, check and submit it for you.

A co-operative is an organization that its members form, own and run together. People choose it when a group of workers, customers or residents wants one entity that answers to all of them rather than to a single owner. It is incorporated under Alberta's Cooperatives Act, and it is a different animal from both a business corporation and a society.

Worker co-op, housing co-op and other kinds of Alberta co-op registration

The Cooperatives Act is used for several kinds of organization. Common examples are a worker co-op (owned by the people who work in it), a consumer co-op (owned by the people who buy from it) and a housing co-op (owned by the people who live in it). The incorporation package is the same for each; what differs is what the bylaws say about membership, voting and how any surplus is handled. Whether a co-op fits your group better than a society or a corporation is a question for your lawyer; we file whichever structure you choose.

Who this is for

• Groups of three or more founders starting a worker, consumer or housing co-op who want the articles, forms and bylaws done correctly the first time.
• Community organizers who have been told a society will not work because the organization will carry on business, and who are weighing a co-op against a non-profit society.
• Advisors to co-ops who want the package prepared and the bylaws drafted for the members' meeting, with every document delivered as a PDF.

How it works

1. Order online (about 15 minutes). Give us the proposed name, the names and addresses of the three or more incorporators, the first directors, a physical Alberta address for the registered office and records, and a few lines about what the co-op will do.
2. We order the Alberta NUANS report and review it for conflicts. The report reserves the name for 90 days and must be less than 91 days old when the package is filed.
3. We prepare the package. Articles of Incorporation with the signature page and Affidavit of Execution, the Information for Incorporation form, the Notice of Address and the Notice of Directors. A trained agent checks every page and calls you if anything is missing.
4. We submit it to Corporate Registry. Complete orders received before 3:00 pm MT are prepared and submitted the same business day; Corporate Registry issues the Certificate of Incorporation.
5. We draft your bylaws. Your members adopt them at a members' meeting, the directors sign them with an Affidavit of Execution, and we file them within the 180-day window.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• A name with no co-operative legal element, or a NUANS report that is more than 90 days old at filing.
• Fewer than three incorporators on the signature page, or a signature page without the Affidavit of Execution.
• A P.O. box entered as the registered office or records address; the Notice of Address needs physical Alberta addresses.
• Bylaws drafted before the certificate but never adopted at a members' meeting, which means they cannot be filed.
• Treating the 180-day bylaw deadline as optional.

What you need before you start

1. Your name choice. A proposed name with a distinctive part and one of the legal elements: Cooperative, Co-operative, Coopérative, Coop, Co-op, United or Pool. We order the Alberta NUANS report and review it.
2. Three or more incorporators. Full legal names and addresses; each signs the Articles of Incorporation.
3. First directors. Names and addresses for the Notice of Directors.
4. Addresses. A physical Alberta address for the registered office and for the records, not a P.O. box.
5. What the co-op will do. Its purpose, who can be a member, and whether members buy shares, for the Information for Incorporation form and the bylaws.
6. Valid ID for the person signing the package.

Requirements in Alberta

• Incorporators: three or more persons may apply to incorporate as a co-operative.
• Name: must include Cooperative, Co-operative, Coopérative, Coop, Co-op, United or Pool, supported by an Alberta NUANS report less than 91 days old.
• Documents: Articles of Incorporation (signature page plus Affidavit of Execution), Information for Incorporation form, Notice of Address with physical Alberta addresses, Notice of Directors, and the NUANS report.
• Bylaws: filed separately within 180 days of the Certificate of Incorporation; made at a members' meeting and signed by the directors with an Affidavit of Execution.
• Government fee: paid on your behalf and included in the price.
• After incorporation: annual filings with Corporate Registry. Business number, GST account and tax returns are handled with CRA, not Corporate Registry.