Medical Professional Corporation – CPSA-Ready Incorporation for Alberta Physicians

CPSA's own application and permit fees are paid to CPSA and are not included; see CPSA's current fee schedule. 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.

Who can hold shares in a CPSA professional corporation

Voting shares must be held by physicians with active CPSA registration. Non-voting shares may be held by the spouses, common-law partners and children of those physicians.

Whether and how family members should hold non-voting shares is a tax question for your CPA, and we do not give tax advice. Tell us what your CPA recommends and we draft the share classes to match. Many physicians also ask about a holding company; ask your CPA whether one fits your plan and we will set it up alongside.

CPSA requirements for a medical professional corporation in Alberta

• Voting shareholders: physicians with active CPSA registration.
• Non-voting shareholders: spouses, common-law partners and children of those physicians.
• Sequence: articles signed by the physician, submitted with the CPSA articles submission form, endorsed by CPSA, filed with Corporate Registry, then the PC Application Form with the Certificate of Incorporation and fee.
• Name: must follow the naming section of the CPSA Bylaws, supported by an Alberta NUANS report less than 91 days old.
• Permit renewal: every year, alongside your practice permit.
• Alberta corporation basics: at least one adult director (no Canadian-residency requirement since March 29, 2021), a registered office in Alberta, an agent for service located in Alberta, and the government fee (included in our price).
• After incorporation: an Alberta annual return every year in the anniversary month, and a CRA business number and program accounts, which are registered with CRA, not Corporate Registry.

Who this is for

• New attendings starting practice or joining a clinic, whose accountant has recommended incorporating before the first billing period.
• Residents and fellows finishing training who want the corporation ready for the day they start practice; see the FAQ below on registration status.
• Locums working across several clinics who want one corporation to contract and bill through.
• Physicians moving to Alberta who already hold a professional corporation elsewhere; a continuance into Alberta may be possible instead of a new incorporation. Call us before you order.

How it works

1. Order online (about 10 minutes). Tell us your CPSA number, your name choice and who will hold shares. The total price is shown before you pay.
2. We draft, you sign (same business day for complete orders received before 3:00 pm MT). CPSA requires the physician's own signature on the articles, so we send them to you, not to counsel.
3. CPSA review. Your signed articles go to CPSA with the CPSA articles submission form. CPSA states it processes submissions within 15 business days and returns endorsed articles.
4. Registry filing (same business day). We file the CPSA-endorsed articles and the three notices through a licensed registry agent and email your Certificate of Incorporation.
5. Permit application. You submit the PC Application Form, the Certificate of Incorporation and CPSA's fee. CPSA issues the permit, and it renews annually alongside your practice permit.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• Articles signed by counsel or the clinic manager instead of the physician.
• Voting shares issued to a spouse or child; family members may hold non-voting shares only.
• A name that does not follow the CPSA Bylaws naming section, which means re-drafting after CPSA's review.
• Applying for the permit before the Certificate of Incorporation exists.
• A NUANS report that would be more than 90 days old by the time CPSA's review is finished; we time the report so it is still valid at filing.

What you need before you start

1. Your CPSA registration number and confirmation that your registration is active. Every physician who will hold voting shares needs the same.
2. The proposed corporate name, in the form the CPSA Bylaws require. We check it and order the Alberta NUANS report (a name search that reserves the name for 90 days and must be less than 91 days old when filed).
3. Shareholders: you and any physician co-owners for voting shares, plus any family members for non-voting shares if your CPA advises.
4. Directors: full legal name and address for at least one adult.
5. A registered office (a physical Alberta address) and an agent for service (an individual located in Alberta who receives legal documents for the corporation; we can act as yours).
6. Valid ID for the incorporator, and CPSA's fee, paid to CPSA.

• Articles of Incorporation drafted to CPSA's requirements: a name that follows the naming section of the CPSA Bylaws, voting shares restricted to physicians with active CPSA registration, and non-voting classes for family members where you want them.
• The CPSA articles submission form, completed and ready to send with your signed articles.
• Same-business-day filing of the CPSA-endorsed articles, the Notice of Address, the Notice of Directors and the Notice of Agent for Service, through a licensed registry agent.
• Certificate of Incorporation and every filed document as PDFs, by email.
• Your permit package: the PC Application Form, the Certificate of Incorporation and a checklist of what CPSA needs with its fee.
• Optional: a minute book with bylaws, organizational resolutions, registers and share certificates that reflect the CPSA share restrictions, added to your order for $389 + GST.
• Reminders before your first Alberta annual return, with a note that your permit renews alongside your practice permit.