Obtaining an Ontario Certificate of Status
January 31, 2010 by Holly Crosgrey
Filed under Business
A Certificate of Status is sometimes called a Certificate of Compliance or a Certificate of Good Standing and in Ontario a Certificate of Status is issued by the Ontario Ministry of Government Services. All companies can obtain a Certificate of Status in the jurisdiction in which they have been incorporated.
Sometimes a Certificate of Status is requested by an institution in order to confirm that a corporation has met its legal requirements and considered in good standing by the government.
If you obtain an Ontario Certificate of Status it will show the following: (a) the current name of the corporation; (b) the number assigned to the corporation by the government called the Ontario Corporation Number; and (b) whether or not the corporation is in good standing.
Ontario companies must file federal tax returns each year and if those returns are not filed for many years the federal government will eventually dissolve the company. If a company has been dissolved it will not be able to receive a clear Certificate of Status.
Ontario companies must file Ontario annual returns each year and if those returns are not filed for a number of years the company will be dissolved. You will not receive a favourable Certificate of Status if a company has been dissolved for non-filing of Ontario annual returns.
When an Ontario Certificate of Status is issued for a corporation and the certificate shows that the company is not in good standing because of some filing it has not made, money is not refunded. It will be necessary for that corporation to update its filings before it can receive a Certificate of Status which indicates the corporation is in good standing. These certificates are costly because the government charges more to certify any kind of document. The corporation will then have to ensure all of its filings are up-to-date in order to obtain the Certificate of Status it needs. It is a good idea to know before the Ontario Certificate of Status is ordered whether the corporation has done all of its annual return filings. If the corporation has not filed all of its federal tax returns it can still obtain an Ontario Certificate of Status just as long as too many years have not gone by and the corporation has then been dissolved.
An Ontario Certificate of Status is not the same thing as an Ontario company search. If you are looking to find out information such as addresses, names of officers and directors of a company, etc., this would be considered a corporate search and an Ontario Corporate Profile Report should be obtained instead.
If your corporation is selling or buying property, is entering into a major contract, wants to register a car against the corporation, a Certificate of Status might be requested by the law firm, by the government or the bank involved. Any corporation might be asked for confirmation that it has made its proper filings and be requested to provide a Certificate of Status.
Resources for Canadian Business Owners provides information about Certificates of Good Standing for Ontario Companies and other legal products including Ontario Company Searches.
