Shelf Corporation – Buy an Aged, Never-Traded Alberta Corporation

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.

What an aged corporation in Alberta does, and what it does not do

What it does: it gives you an Alberta corporation whose Certificate of Incorporation carries an earlier date, with every annual return that has fallen due already filed. The shares, directors, addresses and agent for service are transferred to you, and the corporation is ready to open a bank account the day the changes are filed.

What it does not do: it has no credit history, because it has never borrowed, billed or banked. It has no contracts, no revenue and no reputation. Lenders, suppliers and landlords assess the business you actually run and the people behind it, and an earlier date on a certificate does not change that. If anyone tells you an aged corporation will unlock financing, walk away.

It also changes nothing with CRA. The corporation still needs its own business number and program accounts, registers for GST when the small-supplier threshold is crossed, and files a T2 corporate tax return every year. Ask your CPA whether an earlier incorporation date matters for your situation; if it does not, a new Alberta corporation filed today is usually the simpler choice.

Who this is for

• Owners whose lawyer or accountant has given a specific reason for needing a corporation that already exists as of an earlier date.
• Advisors who need an Alberta entity in good standing today, with a clean minute book and filed notices they can hand to the client.

How it works

1. Choose a corporation. We show you what is available and the incorporation date of each.
2. Tell us the new details. Directors (18 or older), a physical Alberta registered office, an agent for service who is an individual located in Alberta, the shareholders, and whether you want a new name.
3. We transfer and file. The share transfer is recorded in the minute book with the resolutions; the Notice of Change of Directors, Notice of Change of Address and Notice of Change of Agent for Service are filed through our registry agent partner, [Partner registry agent name]. Complete orders received before 3:00 pm MT are filed the same business day.
4. Optional name change. Articles of Amendment with a fresh Alberta NUANS report, priced separately.

Common mistakes we catch before filing

• Buying a shelf corporation in the belief that it comes with a credit file.
• A P.O. box entered as the registered office, or a company named as agent for service.
• A shareholder register left unchanged, so the next annual return reports the wrong top five shareholders.

What you need before you start

1. The reason an earlier date matters, confirmed with your lawyer or CPA.
2. Full legal names and addresses of the new directors and shareholders.
3. A physical Alberta address for the registered office.
4. An agent for service who is an individual located in Alberta, or ours.
5. Valid ID for the person signing the transfer.

Requirements in Alberta

• Directors: at least one adult; no Canadian-residency requirement since March 29, 2021.
• Agent for service: an individual located in Alberta with an Alberta address.
• Registered office: a physical Alberta address.
• Annual return: due every year in the corporation's anniversary month; the first one after the transfer is on you, and we remind you.
• A name change needs Articles of Amendment and an Alberta NUANS report less than 91 days old.