How Do You Register a Business in Quebec?
You register it with the Quebec enterprise register: by a registration declaration for a sole proprietorship or a partnership; on the deposit of its articles for a Quebec corporation.
Registering a business means having the enterprise registrar (Registraire des entreprises) record it in the register, with its date of registration, and assign it its Quebec business number, the NEQ (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 37). This guide applies to a business that already exists as well as to one that is just starting: who must register, what to declare, by when, at what cost, and what failing to register costs. Each rule refers to the section of the law that sets it.
Registering a business with the REQ: what are the steps?
Check whether registration is compulsory, file the registration declaration with the fee within 60 days, then receive your NEQ. A Quebec corporation, for its part, is registered automatically.
- Check whether you must register. Those required to register include a person operating a sole proprietorship under a name that does not include their surname and given name, a general or limited partnership constituted in Quebec, and a partnership or corporation constituted outside Quebec that carries on an activity there (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 21). Anyone not required to register may request registration (s. 22).
- File the registration declaration. It is signed by you or your representative and is admissible only once the fees are paid (s. 68). It must be filed no later than 60 days after the date on which registration becomes compulsory (s. 32). Its content is detailed below, in the section on the documents to provide.
- Receive your NEQ. The registrar registers the business by assigning it a NEQ and recording in the register the date of registration and the information concerning it, then informs it (s. 37). The registrar refuses registration if the name does not comply with the law or if the declaration is incomplete or inaccurate, and gives the reasons (s. 36).
- Keep the file up to date. A change is declared within 30 days (s. 41), and an annual updating declaration is due every year starting the year after registration (s. 45). Our guide to the annual updating declaration gives the details.
A Quebec corporation does not follow these steps: by depositing its certificate and articles of incorporation in the register, the registrar registers it directly (s. 30; Martel, paras. 5-38 and 10-6). It then files an initial declaration within 60 days of its registration (s. 38).
“The registrar registers a registrant by assigning a Québec business number to the registrant and recording in the register the date of registration and the information concerning the registrant.”
How do you register a business in Quebec online?
The law provides for sending documents to the registrar by a technology-based medium: the Minister sets their form, sending and signature, and a third person may send them for you.
- Form and sending. The form of the documents filed with the registrar and the manner in which they are sent are determined by the Minister, according to the medium or technology used (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 109).
- Signature. The signature requirements for a technology-based document, including what may stand in lieu of a signature, are also determined by the Minister (s. 112).
- Date of receipt. The Minister determines the time as of which a technology-based document is considered received by the registrar (s. 115).
- A third person sending for you. A person who sends a document by a technology-based medium on behalf of the person required to file it is presumed to be authorized to draw up, sign and send it, if they first verified that person's identity and consent (s. 113).
In every case, plan to pay the fee with the declaration: without it, the declaration is not admissible (s. 68).
“Despite any legislative provision to the contrary, the form of the documents required to be filed with or transferred to the registrar and the manner in which they are to be sent are determined by the Minister, according to the medium or technology used.”
Create your Quebec inc. for $497, government fees included
You answer the form; we prepare the articles of incorporation and the initial declaration, then file them with the enterprise registrar.
How do you register a company name in Quebec?
The name is registered with the business: the declaration states the business's name and any other name it uses in Quebec, and the registrar refuses a name that breaks the law.
- What you declare. Your name, and any other name you use in Quebec and by which you are identified in carrying on your activity (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 33).
- Adding a name later. A new name is a change in the information in the register: it is declared by an update within 30 days (s. 41).
- Prohibited names. A name may not be declared or used in Quebec if it does not conform to the Charter of the French language, includes an expression the law reserves for another person, incorrectly states or omits the juridical form when the law requires it, falsely suggests a link with a public authority or another business, or is confusingly similar to a name used in Quebec by someone else (s. 17).
- A name in another language. You also declare the French version of that name that you use in Quebec (s. 17, second paragraph).
- Refusal and fine. The registrar must refuse to register a business whose name breaks some of these rules (s. 36), and declaring or using a prohibited name makes you liable to a fine (s. 158).
A general or limited partnership states its juridical form in its name or after it (Civil Code of Québec, art. 2197). For a corporation, the name is set out in the articles of incorporation, unless a designating number stands in lieu of it (Business Corporations Act, s. 5); our guide to the incorporation steps explains this choice.
“A registrant may not declare or use in Québec a name (…) that is confusingly similar to a name used in Québec by another person, trust, partnership or group of persons (…)”
Business registration application: what documents do you provide?
For a sole proprietorship or a partnership, the registration declaration, signed and filed with the fee; for a Quebec corporation, its articles, then an initial declaration with the same content.
What every declaration contains (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 33):
- your name, your domicile and, for a natural person, your date of birth, as well as your NEQ if you were previously registered;
- any other name you use in Quebec in carrying on your activity;
- the business's juridical form.
What it contains if applicable (same section): the directors and their positions, the ultimate beneficiaries, the president, secretary and principal executive officer if they are not board members, your two main activities with their activity code, the address of your establishments in Quebec and the number of your employees who work there. A business constituted outside Quebec also states the statute under which it was constituted, the State where it was constituted and its date of constitution.
For a partnership, in addition (s. 34): the name, domicile and date of birth of each partner, with a statement that no other person is a member (for a limited partnership, the general partners and the three greatest contributors among the special partners), and the object pursued by the partnership.
With neither a domicile nor an establishment in Quebec, the business designates an attorney residing there (s. 26).
An incomplete or inaccurate declaration is refused (s. 36). For a Quebec corporation, the initial declaration follows the form and content of the registration declaration (s. 38; Martel, para. 10-8); the articles and their schedules are explained in our guide to the incorporation steps.
“A declaration must be signed by the registrant or the registrant’s representative. It is admissible once all fees, charges and penalties required under this Act have been paid.”
Sole proprietorship: how do you register it with the enterprise register?
By filing a registration declaration with the registrar, at a cost of $41 in 2026: compulsory if you operate under a name without your surname and given name, optional otherwise.
- When it is compulsory. As soon as you operate your sole proprietorship, commercial or not, under a name that does not include your surname and given name (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 21). “Rénovations Gagnon” must be registered; “Marc Gagnon” is not required to be.
- Two exceptions and one clarification. A tobacco retail outlet and a tanning salon must register even under the operator's surname and given name (s. 21). Conversely, a pseudonym used for an artistic, literary or other cultural activity does not, on its own, require registration (s. 23).
- If it is not compulsory. You may still request registration (s. 22).
- What you declare. Your name, domicile and date of birth, the other names you use, the juridical form and, if applicable, your two main activities and the address of your establishments (s. 33).
- The deadline. No later than 60 days after the date on which registration becomes compulsory (s. 32).
The $41 annual fee only starts in the second year following registration (s. 80). Registered, the business is one with you; incorporated, it becomes a separate legal person: our guide to legal forms compares the two.
“Despite subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph of section 21, natural persons are not required to be registered solely because they use a pseudonym in the pursuit of an artistic, literary or other cultural activity.”
How much does it cost to register a business in Quebec?
In 2026, $41 for a sole proprietorship and $63 for a partnership; a Quebec corporation pays $397 to incorporate, registration included.
| Form | To register (2026) | Annual fee (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship | $41 | $41 |
| Partnership, such as a general partnership | $63 | $63 |
| Quebec corporation (Quebec inc.) | $397 for the certificate of incorporation; registration follows automatically | $106 |
| Business corporation constituted outside Quebec | $397 | Depends on its category |
| Initial declaration of a Quebec corporation | Free within 60 days | — |
The fee is paid with the declaration, which is admissible only once it is paid (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 68). The annual fee is not payable in the year following registration: a business registered in 2026 therefore does not pay it in 2027 (s. 80). A legal person governed by a law of Ontario is exempted from the registration fee (Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 4.1). The total cost of incorporating, by method, is detailed in our guide How much does it cost to incorporate in Quebec.
“(…) This obligation begins the second year following the year in which the registrant is first registered.”
A business being started: must it be registered right away?
Not on day one: the registration declaration, with the fee, must be filed no later than 60 days after the date on which registration becomes compulsory.
The starting point depends on the form:
- Sole proprietorship: the day you start operating it under a name that does not include your surname and given name (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 21).
- General or limited partnership: as soon as it is constituted in Quebec (s. 21). If it does not file its declaration, it is deemed to be an undeclared partnership (Civil Code of Québec, art. 2189).
- Business constituted outside Quebec: the start of its activity in Quebec, or of its possession of an immovable real right in Quebec other than a prior claim or hypothec (Martel, para. 10-33). It is presumed active in Quebec as soon as it has an address, an establishment, a post office box or a telephone line there, or performs any act for profit there (s. 25).
- Quebec corporation: the registrar registers it at the same time as it incorporates it (Martel, para. 10-6); only its initial declaration has a deadline, 60 days (s. 38).
Nothing prevents you from registering before you are required to: anyone not required to register may request it (s. 22).
“The registration declaration, along with the fee set out in this Act, must be filed with the registrar not later than 60 days after the date on which registration becomes compulsory.”
Unregistered business: what are the risks in Quebec?
A fine of $2,000 to $20,000, suspension of an application you bring before a court until you register and, for a general partnership, the status of an undeclared partnership.
- The fine. A business required to be registered that is not, in particular because it failed to file its registration declaration, is liable to a fine of $2,000 to $20,000 (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 155). The court that convicts it may also order the failure to be remedied (s. 160).
- Your proceedings suspended. If you bring an application before a court without being registered, an interested person may have its examination suspended until you register. For a natural person, this applies only if the application concerns the activity that requires registration (s. 24).
- Partnerships. A general or limited partnership that does not file its registration declaration is deemed to be an undeclared partnership, subject to the rights of third persons in good faith (Civil Code of Québec, art. 2189).
“A registrant who fails to be registered, in particular because the registrant failed to file the registration declaration referred to in section 32 (…) is liable to a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $20,000.”
“It shall file a registration declaration in accordance with the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (chapter P-44.1); otherwise, it is deemed to be an undeclared partnership, subject to the rights of third persons in good faith.”
Once registered, the business has other obligations with the register; our guide to the Quebec enterprise register presents them.
FAQ — Registering a business in Quebec: your questions
How much does it cost to register a partnership or corporation in Quebec?
In 2026: $63 for a partnership, $397 for a business corporation constituted outside Quebec; a Quebec corporation pays $397 to incorporate, registration included.
- A Quebec corporation does not file a registration declaration: the registrar registers it on the deposit of its articles (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 30; Martel, para. 10-6).
- Annual fees follow: $63 for a partnership and $106 for a Quebec corporation, starting in the second year following registration (s. 80).
- A legal person governed by a law of Ontario is exempted from the registration fee (Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 4.1).
Sources: Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, ss. 30 and 80; Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 4.1; Paul Martel, La société par actions au Québec, para. 10-6
Business registration fees in Quebec: what should you expect?
A registration fee paid with the declaration, then annual fees that only start in the second year following registration.
- The registration declaration is admissible only once the fees are paid (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 68).
- Every year, starting the year after registration, the business files an annual updating declaration (s. 45).
- A Quebec corporation files its initial declaration free of charge within 60 days of its registration; after that period, a penalty is added (s. 38).
Sources: Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, ss. 38, 45, 68 and 80
How do you register a foreign corporation in Quebec?
By filing a registration declaration with the registrar no later than 60 days after it begins its activity in Quebec. No permit is required.
- It must register if it is domiciled in Quebec, carries on an activity there or possesses an immovable real right there, other than a prior claim or hypothec (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, ss. 21 and 32; Martel, paras. 3-58 and 10-33).
- Having an address, an establishment, a post office box or a telephone line in Quebec, or performing any act for profit there, makes it presumed active in Quebec (s. 25).
- Its declaration also states the statute under which it was constituted, the State where it was constituted and its date of constitution (s. 33); if it has neither a domicile nor an establishment in Quebec, it designates an attorney residing there (s. 26).
Sources: Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, ss. 21, 25, 26, 32 and 33; Paul Martel, La société par actions au Québec, paras. 3-58 and 10-33
Sources
- Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (CQLR, c. P-44.1), ss. 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 41, 45, 68, 80, 109, 112, 113, 115, 155, 158 and 160, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (CQLR, c. P-44.1, r. 1), s. 4.1, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Civil Code of Québec (CQLR, c. CCQ-1991), arts. 2189 and 2197, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Business Corporations Act (CQLR, c. S-31.1), s. 5, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- The enterprise registrar's 2026 fee schedule, as set out in our guides to the cost of incorporating and to the Quebec enterprise register.
- Paul Martel, La société par actions au Québec, vol. 1, Les aspects juridiques, Wilson & Lafleur, paras. 3-58, 5-38, 10-6, 10-7, 10-8 and 10-33 (update 117, February 2026).