CPA Professional Corporation – CPA Alberta-Endorsed Incorporation

Any charge CPA Alberta makes for the registration is paid to CPA Alberta directly and is not part of our price.

For firms that incorporate accounting practices in Alberta for clients

Many CPA firms set up professional corporations for partners and for client practitioners. With a partner account you file from one dashboard for every client: incorporations, annual returns, changes of directors and address, and certificates. Filed documents come back as PDFs formatted for the minute book within the hour, with a receipt for each client file. Partner pricing is available on request. Details are on our page for accounting and law firms.

Who this is for

• A CPA leaving a firm to open a public practice, billing through a corporation from the first invoice.
• A partner whose firm holds each partner's interest through a professional corporation.
• A CPA relocating to Alberta who needs the corporation in place before taking on clients here.
• Accounting firms and bookkeepers that set up professional corporations and file registry work for clients, through our partner program for firms.

How it works

1. Intake and drafting (same business day). You complete the order. A CORES-trained agent checks the name against the NUANS report and drafts the PC Registration Application, the articles and the notices for your signature.
2. CPA Alberta endorsement (15–20 business days). We submit the application and articles to CPA Alberta and follow up. CPA Alberta reviews them and returns the endorsed articles. Nothing is filed at Corporate Registry before then.
3. Registry filing (same business day). The endorsed articles, notices, NUANS report and ID go to Corporate Registry through a licensed Alberta registry agent. Orders confirmed before 3:00 pm MT are filed that day.
4. Certificate and documents (same day as filing). The Certificate of Incorporation and filed articles arrive by email as PDFs.
5. Records (1–2 business days). If you add a minute book to your order ($389 + GST), we prepare the organizational resolutions, registers and share certificates so shares are issued in the classes your plan specifies.

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.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• Incorporating first, endorsing later. An ordinary corporation registered before CPA Alberta has endorsed the articles is out of sequence. We do not file until the endorsed articles are in hand.
• Filing a version that differs from the endorsed articles. The endorsed articles are the articles that get registered. A late change to share provisions goes back to CPA Alberta, not straight to the registry.
• Voting shares held by a non-member. A spouse, a holding company or a partner who is not a licensed member cannot hold voting shares.
• A NUANS report that expires during the review. Fifteen to twenty business days is long enough for an early report to pass 90 days. We time the order to the filing date.
• A name that does not follow CPA Alberta's procedures. A rejected name restarts the clock.

What you need before you start

• Your CPA Alberta membership details. Voting shares of a professional corporation must be held by licensed members, and CPA Alberta's approval is required before you practise through it.
• The proposed name, with an alternative in case the NUANS report shows a conflict. What the name must contain follows CPA Alberta's procedures.
• Name and address for each director. At least one director, aged 18 or over. No Canadian-residency requirement has applied since March 29, 2021.
• A registered office: a physical address in Alberta.
• An agent for service: an individual located in Alberta with an Alberta address who accepts notices and legal documents for the corporation. Often that is you; if not, we can act as your agent for service.
• Your planned share structure. Voting shares stay with licensed members. Non-voting shares for family are possible only where CPA Alberta's rules allow.
• Valid ID for the incorporator.

Requirements for a CPA professional corporation in Alberta

Sequence. The PC Registration Application and the Articles of Incorporation go to CPA Alberta first. CPA Alberta endorses the articles. Only the endorsed articles are filed with Corporate Registry, and only through a registry agent.

Shareholders. Under the general Alberta rule for professional corporations, voting shares must be held by licensed members. Non-voting shares for family members are possible only where the profession's rules allow, and the regulator's approval is required.

Name. Only professions whose governing Act allows it may use "Professional Corporation" in a name. The exact wording CPA Alberta requires follows its procedures. A named corporation needs an Alberta NUANS report less than 91 days old at filing.

Corporate basics. At least one adult director, no residency requirement, a registered office in Alberta, and an agent for service located in Alberta. The registry package is the endorsed articles, the three notices, the NUANS report and the incorporator's ID.

• The PC Registration Application, completed from your details and ready for your signature.
• Articles of Incorporation for a CPA professional corporation: voting shares restricted to licensed members, and the name and share provisions CPA Alberta's procedures call for.
• Notice of Address, Notice of Directors and Notice of Agent for Service.
• An Alberta NUANS report (the name search that reserves your name for 90 days), ordered so it is still less than 91 days old after CPA Alberta's 15–20 business day review.
• Submission to CPA Alberta and follow-up until the endorsed articles are returned.
• Filing through a licensed Alberta registry agent the same business day the endorsement arrives, for orders confirmed before 3:00 pm MT.
• The Certificate of Incorporation and the filed, endorsed articles as PDFs, formatted for the minute book.

Most of the calendar time is CPA Alberta's review. We cannot shorten it, so we make sure nothing else adds to it.