Obtaining an Ontario Certificate of Status
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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.
There will be times when a company must prove to an institution of some sort that it is in good standing pursuant to the requirements under the Ontario statutes. A Certificate of Status provides this confirmation.
An Ontario Certificate of Status shows whether the company is in good standing or not, the exact and proper name of the company and the corporation number.
Revenue Canada Agency requires that every Ontario company file a tax return each year. If the company does not file Revenue Canada Agency will send notices and then eventually dissolve the company if it continues to not file. A dissolved company cannot obtain a clear Certificate of Good Standing or Certificate of Status.
Your Ontario corporation will be dissolved by the Ministry of Government Services if the annual returns are not filed. If you wish to order a Certificate of Status then you must ensure the annual returns are up-to-date or you will not receive a Certificate indicating the corporation is in good standing.
When you order an Ontario Certificate of Status it will be issued whether it is clear or not and you cannot get your money back if it is not clear. The Certificate will show the company is not in good standing. Before you will be able to obtain a clear Certificate of Status you will need to update your filings. Any document that is being certified by the Ontario government has a high cost to it. Therefore you will want to ensure that you know in advance whether your company is in good standing so you do not have to order the certificate more than once. If you have outstanding tax returns you can still get a favourable Certificate of Status as long as you have not been dissolved for this reason but you will not receive a favourable certificate if Ontario annual returns are outstanding
A Certificate of Status is not an Ontario corporate search. If you are trying to determine information about an Ontario company you should have an Ontario Corporate Profile search done rather than ordering a Certificate of Status.
Certificates of Status are sometimes required by banks, law firms, individuals on the other side of a corporate deals whereby the company might be sold, when the corporation registers a car, when a company buys property, or numerous other reasons. Any person or institution that an Ontario company is dealing with may ask the directors and officers to provide them with a Certificate of Status to ensure the company is in good standing with the Ontario government.
Resources for Canadian Business Owners provides information about Certificates of Good Standing for Ontario Companies and other legal products including Ontario Company Searches.
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