Corporate Searches

Find out who you're getting involved with before you sign any business contracts or make any business commitments. Corporate searches can tell you who and where to send legal documents, on behalf of a corporation, and can confirm if the business can legally conduct business in Alberta . This is important information that you are entitled to.

One Stop Licence Shop's professional team can order all types of Corporate Searches. These searches will provide you with public information, about Alberta businesses, that will advise you who owns the business, what percentage of the business they own, their address or the corporate mailing address and other useful information. One Stop Licence Shop recommends that you always order a corporate search before you sign a business contract or make a business commitment. Always "search" before you "sign".

To order a Corporate you will need the legal name of the company, the number of numbered company, or the Corporate Access Number that appears on the corporate documents of the company.

Click here to obtain a Corporate Search Request form.

	What is a Corporate Search?

Corporate Registry is a centralized storehouse of information on all legal entities, businesses and non-profit organizations registered within the province. This information is public information and is available to anyone upon request.

A request for information form Corporate Registry's records is called a 'search'. There are four types of searches that are available:

Current Search - Provides current information on organizations such as how long the organization has been in operation, its' address, name of directors and/or shareholders, declarants, etc.

Historical Search - Provides the same type of information as given for a current search is available for all legal entities with the exception of trade names and partnerships. This information is for a specific past date.

Certificates of Status - Provides the current status of the organization, i.e. 'Active', 'Struck', etc. Please note, a certificate of status is not available for trade name.

Historical Certificates of Status - Provides the status of the organization on a specific past date.

Search results are provided in different formats, depending on when the information was collected and what technology was available at that time. For example, a corporation that was formed during the '70's would have their historical records on microfilm whereas a corporation that was recently incorporated will have their records stored in an electronic format.

You cannot use a corporate search to determine the availability of a name when starting a new business. You must use a NUANS report for that purpose. Corporate searches are only used to confirm information about EXISTING corporate businesses.

All corporate search services and NUANS reports are available at One Stop Licence Shop.

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If you are a business and want to set up an account with One Stop Licence Shop to obtain registry services simply complete an Application for Account form. At the end of each month you will receive an itemized statement of the registry services you have ordered. Your statement must be paid within 5 working days.

**One Stop Licence Shop has provided this page for your general information only. Policies may change without notice.