About the Registration of an Enterprise

In Québec, most enterprises must register with the Registraire des entreprises as soon as they are created, by filing a declaration of registration. The purpose of registration is to consolidate, in the enterprise register, information on enterprises and individuals doing business in Québec. This information is essential to the public, business partners and government agencies that must deal with them. When an enterprise is registered, the Registrar assigns it a Québec enterprise number (NEQ). The enterprise uses its NEQ to identify itself to the Registraire as well as to other government agencies.

Following registration, the enterprise must comply with the legal obligations arising from registration throughout its existence.

The following persons and legal enterprise forms must file a declaration of registration:

• Natural persons who operate a sole proprietorship in Québec under a name that does not include their first and last names
• Naturals persons who operate a sole proprietorship and run a tobacco retail outlet or tanning salon, regardless of whether they operate the business under their first and last names
• General partnerships and limited partnerships constituted in Québec
• A partnership not constituted in Québec that carries on an activity in Québec, including the operation of an enterprise, or that possesses an immovable real right in Québec other than a priority or a hypothec
• Legal persons not constituted in Québec if they maintain their domicile in Québec, carry on an activity in Québec, including the operation of an enterprise, or possess an immovable real right in Québec other than a priority or a hypothec
• Legal persons continued under a law other than a Québec law if they maintain their domicile in Québec, carry on an activity in Québec, including the operation of an enterprise, or possess an immovable real right other than a priority or a hypothec
• Legal persons established for a private interest that are not constituted in Québec, and that result from an amalgamation, other than a short-form amalgamation within the meaning of the Business Corporations Act
• Legal persons constituted in Québec before 1994 that are not registered in the enterprise register
• A syndicate of co-ownership
• A trust operating a commercial enterprise in Québec that is not administered by a registered trustee.

Legal persons constituted in Québec after filing their articles in the Register do not need to file a declaration of registration, as they are automatically registered by the Registrar upon constitution.

An enterprise that was governed by Part I of the Companies Act or constituted under the Mining Companies Act and that has been dissolved voluntarily or by operation of the law must complete the following form: Demande de reconstitution (RE-703)  (see English courtesy translation RE-703-T ).

If you wish to register an enterprise that was constituted under a law other than a Québec law, consult the page Register a foreign enterprise to do business in Québec.

An enterprise carries on an activity or operates an enterprise in Québec if it is in one or more of the following situations:

• It possesses a Québec address.
• It or its representative possess an establishment or post office box in Québec.
• It or its representative has a telephone line in Québec.
• It or its representative performs an act in Québec for the purpose of making a profit.

To find out which economic activity codes (CAE) correspond to your enterprise’s main activities, visit Classification of activities  (in French only).

Registration fees are those paid at the time an enterprise is registered in the enterprise register. They are not the same as the annual registration fees, which are paid each year by enterprises registered in the register.

For information on the fees that apply to the declaration of registration, see Registraire des entreprises rates (in French only).

Exemption for legal persons governed by an Ontario law

Enterprises that are legal persons (corporations) in Ontario are exempt from paying Québec registration fees. Such legal persons, whether for-profit or not, must be domiciled in Ontario and governed by an Ontario law. Among these, legal persons governed by the Business Corporations Act (R.S.O. 1990, chapter B.16) or the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (S.O. 2010, chapter 15) are exempt.

Please note that only registration fees are covered by this exemption.

Registering on a voluntary basis is possible for, among others, the following legal business forms:

• natural persons operating a sole proprietorship in Québec under a name that includes their first and last name
• legal persons established in the public interest, such as public bodies and municipalities
• joint ventures (undeclared partnerships)
• associations and other groups of persons

The advantage to registering voluntarily is that it makes public an enterprise's existence as well as certain information concerning it. Once registered, the enterprise has the same obligations as an enterprise that is required to register.

To find out about all the formalities involved in registering and constituting an enterprise, consult the section Register or Constitute an Enterprise Depending on the Legal Form.

A construction contractor covered by the Québec-Ontario agreement who has no address in Québec is exempt from declaring an attorney, The construction contractor must use a paper form to file the declaration of registration.

Contact the Registraire des entreprises (in French only) to obtain this form.