How to Register a Business in BC: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Starting a business in British Columbia is genuinely exciting, but let’s be honest for a second. Staring at government portals while trying to parse the difference between a provincial Incorporation Application and a CRA Business Number is a quick way to ruin a perfectly good Tuesday afternoon.

Whether you’re finally turning a weekend side hustle into an actual company or scaling up a startup, you need to clear the legal hurdles first. This guide walks you through registering a business in BC in 2026—covering entity structures, actual government fees down to the penny, CRA tax setup, and municipal licensing quirks—so you can skip the bureaucratic headaches and get to work.

What Is Business Registration in British Columbia?

At its core, business registration is just telling the provincial government that you exist and intend to collect money under a specific name. You do this through BC Registries and Online Services, which is the official provincial unit handling corporate records.

When you complete registration, you get a legal paper trail. That paper trail is what lets you invoice corporate clients, open a dedicated business checking account at TD or RBC, and apply for the local permits you’ll need to run your daily operations without getting slapped with municipal fines.

When Do You Need to Register in BC?

You can’t always just start handing out business cards. Under BC law, formal registration becomes mandatory under a few very clear conditions:

• Operating under a trade name: If you decide to do business under any name other than your exact, legal first and last name—say, Pacific Coast Landscaping instead of just John Smith—you are legally required to file a Name Request and register that trade name.

• Incorporating a provincial company: If you want the legal protection of a limited company (a BC Ltd.), you have to go through formal incorporation with BC Registries.

• Forming a partnership: Two or more people going into business together under a shared firm name need to submit a formal partnership filing.

• Extra-provincial operations: If you already incorporated a business in Ontario, Alberta, or anywhere else outside BC, but you’re opening a shop or hiring staff in Vancouver or Victoria, you must register as an extra-provincial business.

The one big exception:

If you operate as a sole proprietor using only your personal legal name—literally just writing Sarah Jenkins at the top of your invoices—BC Registries doesn’t make you file provincial registration. But don’t celebrate too early. You still need municipal licenses, and you still have to deal with the CRA if your income crosses sales tax thresholds.

Types of Business Structures in BC

Picking your business structure isn’t just about filing fees today. It dictates how much tax you’ll pay every spring and whether a lawsuit could put your personal savings or home on the line. Take your time here.

Comparison Table

Feature	Sole Proprietorship	General Partnership	BC Corporation (Inc. / Ltd.)
Legal Status	Same entity as owner	Shared entity among partners	Completely separate legal entity
Liability Protection	Unlimited personal liability	Unlimited joint & several liability	Limited liability protection
Setup Cost (Gov Fee)	$70 CAD ($30 NR + $40 filing)	$70 CAD ($30 NR + $40 filing)	$380 CAD ($30 NR + $350 filing)
Tax Rate Structure	Personal income tax rates	Flows directly to personal returns	Corporate tax rates (11% combined small business rate)
Ongoing Maintenance	Minimal (no annual report)	Minimal (no annual report)	Annual reports ($43.39 filing fee) & minute book maintenance

Sole Proprietorship

This is as bare-bones as it gets. One person owns and runs everything. It’s cheap to set up, but there is zero separation between you and the business. If someone slips on an icy sidewalk at a job site and sues you, they are coming after your personal bank account. Every dollar of profit gets added directly onto your personal T1 tax return at your regular personal tax bracket.

Partnership

A general partnership is basically a sole proprietorship split between two or more people. You pool resources, share management, and split profits. But here’s the kicker: general partnerships carry joint and several liability. That means if your business partner signs a bad contract or makes a massive financial mistake, creditors can come after your personal assets to clear the debt. If you go this route, never skip writing a airtight partnership agreement with a real lawyer.

Corporation

Incorporating creates a whole new “person” in the eyes of the law under the BC Business Corporations Act. The corporation owns its assets, signs contracts, takes out loans, and incurs debt on its own. If the company hits financial disaster, your personal risk is generally limited to what you invested in shares. Plus, active small businesses in BC pay a combined federal-provincial corporate tax rate of just 11% on the first $500,000 of income—significantly lower than upper personal income tax brackets.

Which BC Business Structure Is Right for You?

Don’t overcomplicate this choice. Look honestly at where your business is today and where you reasonably expect it to be in 12 months:

• Go with a Sole Proprietorship if: You’re freelancing on the side, doing basic consulting, or testing a low-risk idea where you’ll make under $50,000 a year and don’t carry major liability exposure.

• Go with a Partnership if: You’re launching a straightforward joint project with a partner you trust implicitly, and you want to keep startup paperwork quick and simple.

• Go with a Corporation if: You have real liability exposure, plan to hire employees, want to reinvest significant profits back into the company, or intend to raise money from outside investors.

How to Register a Business in BC (Step-by-Step)

Once you’ve decided on a structure, follow these five steps to get through BC Registries without getting stuck in administrative limbo.

Step 1: Reserve Your Name via BC Registries (NR Number)

Unless you plan to run a numbered company (like 1234567 B.C. Ltd.) or operate strictly under your personal legal name, your first stop is getting name approval.

1. Head over to the BC Name Request portal on the BC Registries website.

2. Submit up to three name choices ranked by preference. BC examiners are strict—your proposed name needs a Distinctive Element (something unique like Kitsilano North) and a Descriptive Element (what you actually do, like Plumbing or Bakery).

3. Pay the $30 CAD government Name Request fee.

4. Standard reviews take around 2 to 5 business days. Once approved, you get a Name Request (NR) Number. Mark your calendar: an NR number expires after 56 days, so don’t sit on it.

Step 2: Register Your Business Structure

Take your approved NR Number and head back to BC Registries Online before that 56-day clock runs out:

• For Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships: Select “Register a Proprietary Business,” type in your NR Number, list the owner or partner addresses, pay the $40 CAD filing fee, and download your registration confirmation right away.

• For BC Corporations: Fill out the formal Incorporation Application, upload your Notice of Articles and Articles of Incorporation, list your initial directors, pay the $350 CAD filing fee, and wait for your official Certificate of Incorporation to issue.

Step 3: Get Your Business Number (BN) from CRA

Your Business Number is a federal 9-digit ID issued by the Canada Revenue Agency. It’s essentially a Social Insurance Number for your business.

If you incorporated a BC company in Step 2, BC Registries automatically passes your details over to the CRA, and your 9-digit BN arrives automatically. If you registered a sole proprietorship, you just go online to the CRA’s Business Registration Online (BRO) portal and set it up yourself for free.

Step 4: Register for PST / GST (If Applicable)

Getting a 9-digit BN isn’t the end of tax setup. You also need to open specific tax program accounts under that number depending on what you sell:

• GST (Goods and Services Tax – 5%): Registration is mandatory as soon as your gross worldwide taxable sales cross $30,000 CAD in a single quarter or across four consecutive quarters. If you’re under $30k, you’re a “small supplier” and can hold off, though voluntary registration lets you claim back GST paid on business expenses.

• PST (Provincial Sales Tax – 7%): BC handles its own sales tax separately. If you buy or sell taxable goods, software, or legal/taxable services in BC, you need to register for a PST account through eTaxBC. Do not confuse this with GST rules—BC PST does not have a general $30,000 exemption threshold for regular retail operations selling physical goods.

Step 5: Keep Your Information Updated

Setting up the business is one thing; keeping it legal is another. If you move or change your business address, update BC Registries promptly. Sole proprietors can update addresses online for free. Corporations have a stricter rule: you must file an Annual Report along with a $43.39 fee within two months of your incorporation anniversary every single year, or the province will eventually dissolve your company.

BC Business Registration Costs

Here is the exact breakdown of official statutory fees charged by BC Registries & Online Services. No guessing, no hidden fluff:

Service / Filing Type	Government Fee (BC Registries)	Notes
Name Approval Request (NR)	$30.00 CAD	Non-refundable; valid for 56 calendar days.
Priority Name Review (Optional)	+$100.00 CAD	Speeds up name review to 1–2 business days.
Sole Proprietorship Registration	$40.00 CAD	Total initial setup cost: $70 CAD.
General Partnership Registration	$40.00 CAD	Total initial setup cost: $70 CAD.
Provincial Incorporation (BC Ltd.)	$350.00 CAD	Total initial setup cost: $380 CAD.
Extra-Provincial Registration	$350.00 CAD	Mandatory for out-of-province companies operating in BC.
Corporate Annual Report	$43.39 CAD	Mandatory annual filing fee for corporations.
Proprietorship Address Change	$0.00 (Free)	Updated anytime via BC Registries Online.

(All fees reflect current official 2026 BC Registries schedules. Government registry filings are exempt from standard sales tax).

After Registration — What Comes Next?

Holding your registration paperwork feels great, but you aren’t quite ready to flip the open sign just yet.

Business Licenses You May Need

A provincial registration from BC Registries does not give you automatic permission to operate on the ground in your city. Municipalities run on their own rules. Cities like Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, and Burnaby all require their own local municipal business licenses before you open a office, store, or even a home-based consultancy.

Planning your municipal setup? Check out our dedicated British Columbia Business Licenses Guide for specific municipal breakdowns, fee ranges, and inter-community license details.

WorkSafeBC Registration

If you plan on hiring staff, temporary day labor, or even certain sub-contractors, you need to register with WorkSafeBC. It provides workplace injury insurance, and in BC, coverage is mandatory for virtually every employer operating in the province. Skipping this can lead to massive retroactive penalties if an worker gets hurt.

Taxation and the CRA

Take your official registration documents and CRA Business Number straight to the bank to open a dedicated commercial bank account. Never mix personal and business money—it makes tax time an absolute nightmare.

• Sole Proprietors: Report your business income and expenses on Form T2125 as part of your personal personal income tax filing each April.

• Corporations: You must file a separate T2 Corporate Income Tax return within six months of your corporate fiscal year-end, whether you made money or lost it.

FAQs

Conclusion

While it is true that incorporating your business in British Columbia will require some patience, it will also ensure that your assets are safe from any legal problems that may arise in the future. Just follow all of the steps, pay all of the statutory filings and get everything in order at your city hall and with the CRA before you begin work with your first client.

But if you want to avoid all of this work with filings and documents altogether, we at Bizincs will help you out with this process.