Named vs Numbered Corporation Cost Calculator
You are on the incorporation form and have to tick one. Numbered saves $25 today. Converting later costs an amendment plus re-papering every account. Work out which is cheaper given how likely you are to brand.
five-year difference
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Day One
| Item | Numbered | Named |
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Converting a Numbered Company Later
| Item | Basis | Amount |
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Five-Year Total, Weighted by Probability
| Route | Day One | Expected Later Cost | Five-Year Total |
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The Third Option Most People Miss
| Item | Detail |
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Points That Decide This
What to Do Next
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Disclaimer: Government fees are stated as $300 for Ontario incorporation, $200 for federal incorporation, $150 for Ontario articles of amendment and $200 for federal articles of amendment, with a NUANS name search report at $25 and an Ontario business name registration at $60 for five years. All fees should be confirmed against the current fee schedules at the time of filing. Professional fees shown are indicative fixed fees including HST, confirmed in writing before any engagement begins. A corporation incorporated without a name is assigned a numbering designation by the registry, and a numbered corporation may later adopt a name by filing articles of amendment supported by a NUANS report. A corporation may also carry on business under a business name different from its corporate name by registering that name under the Business Names Act, which does not change the corporation’s legal name and does not require articles of amendment. A registered business name does not confer exclusive rights to the name, and neither incorporation nor business name registration is a substitute for trademark registration where brand protection matters. Registry name approval is not a determination that a name does not infringe another party’s rights. Administrative update costs on a name change vary widely with the number of accounts, contracts and licences involved and are estimated here for planning purposes only. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice.
Day One the Difference Is Twenty-Five Dollars
The only difference at the filing is the NUANS report. Everything else is identical: same government fee, same articles, same minute book, same CRA accounts.
| Ontario | Numbered | Named |
|---|---|---|
| Government fee | $300 | $300 |
| NUANS report | Not required | $25 |
| Professional fee | $35 | $35 |
| Total | $335 | $360 |
Twenty-five dollars is not a decision. What makes this worth thinking about is what happens if you change your mind in three years.
The Conversion Itself Is Cheap. The Re-Papering Is Not.
Filing articles of amendment to adopt a name costs $150 in Ontario plus the NUANS and a professional fee. Call it $210. That is not the problem.
The problem is that your legal name appears on everything, and changing it means going back to every institution that holds it.
- Every CRA program account, being the RC, RT, RP and RZ
- Every bank account, which usually means new signing documents
- Merchant processors and payment providers
- The lease, and any supplier accounts with credit terms
- Licences and permits, which have their own processes
- Insurance policies and any bonding
- Signage, invoices, packaging and the domain where the legal name appears
None of these is difficult and all of them take time. On a business with a few bank accounts, a lease and half a dozen supplier relationships, a name change is weeks of low-grade administrative work spread across a year. That is the real cost, and it grows with every year you operate.
The Third Option Almost Nobody Uses
You do not have to choose. A numbered corporation can register a business name and trade under it. The company remains 1234567 Ontario Inc. legally, and does business as whatever you want.
In Ontario that registration costs sixty dollars for five years. Your signage, website, invoices and marketing all carry the trading name. The numbered name appears on contracts and tax filings, where nobody is making a brand judgement anyway.
| Route | Day One | Change the Brand Later |
|---|---|---|
| Named corporation | $360 | Articles of amendment plus re-papering |
| Numbered plus business name | $395 | Register a new business name, $60 |
| Numbered only | $335 | Articles of amendment plus re-papering |
This is the flexible answer for anyone genuinely unsure. Changing a business name later means registering a different one for sixty dollars. Changing a corporate name means amending the articles and re-papering every account. The trading name absorbs brand changes; the legal name does not have to move.
When Numbered Is Clearly Right
- A holding company, which has no customers and needs no brand
- A real estate or single-asset company, where the asset is the point
- A company formed for one transaction
- Where you have not settled the brand and do not want to burn a name on a guess
- Where privacy matters, since a numbered company is less searchable by name
When Named Is Clearly Right
- Consumer-facing businesses where customers see the legal name on invoices
- Where the brand already exists and you are incorporating an established business
- Where you are bidding on work and a numbered company reads as less established
- Where the name is genuinely settled and unlikely to change
A NUANS report and registry approval are not trademark clearance. The registry checks for confusingly similar corporate names. It does not tell you whether someone holds a trademark, and adopting a name that infringes one is a considerably more expensive problem than either route on this page. Where the brand matters, get proper clearance before committing.
Numbered Companies and Credibility
There is a perception issue and it is worth naming honestly. Some clients and some procurement processes read a numbered company as less established. That is not universal and it varies by industry.
In construction and trades it is completely normal. In professional services or consumer retail it can cost you. Registering a business name solves it in either case, which is why that third option is usually the practical answer.
What This Calculator Does Not Cover
- Trademark searching and registration, which is separate and more important for brand protection
- Whether a specific name will be approved by the registry
- Extra-provincial registrations where you operate outside your home province
- Domain and social handle availability
- The share structure, which is a bigger decision on the same form
- Provinces other than Ontario
The share structure on the same form matters more than the name. Our incorporation service covers both, and the classes are the part that is expensive to fix later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions on named and numbered corporations.
Related Calculators and Guides
More tools for the incorporation decision.
Get the Whole Form Right, Not Just the Name
Tell us what the company is for and who will hold shares. We will handle the NUANS, the articles, the share structure and the CRA accounts, and register a business name if that is the better route.