How do you incorporate a transportation business in Quebec?
To incorporate a transportation business in Quebec, you form a business corporation, then declare the CAE code of your main activity, chosen among the 56 codes of the sector.
Trucking, moving, parcel delivery, taxi, charter buses, air or water transportation, warehousing or telecommunications: incorporation follows the same steps as for any other business. What is specific to your sector is the economic activity code (CAE) you enter in the corporation’s initial declaration.
For the rest of the process:
- the incorporation steps;
- the cost of incorporating;
- the right time to incorporate;
- choosing a legal structure;
- after incorporation, your GST and QST numbers.
Which CAE code fits a transportation business?
The “Transportation, storage and communications” sector has 56 CAE codes, from 4511 to 4999: freight and passenger transportation, storage, telecommunications, postal services and public utilities.
The codes fall into these groups:
- 4511 to 4529: air transportation, airports, aircraft leasing and maintenance;
- 4531 to 4532: rail transportation and related services;
- 4541 to 4559: water transportation, ferries and marine services;
- 4561 to 4569: trucking;
- 4571 to 4589: passenger transportation (public transit, school and charter buses, limousine, taxi) and other transportation;
- 4591 to 4599: road maintenance, services to freight forwarders and other transportation services;
- 4611 to 4619: pipeline transportation;
- 4711 to 4799: grain elevators, cold storage and other storage services;
- 4811 to 4839: radio, television, cable and telecommunications;
- 4841 to 4842: postal and courier services;
- 4911 to 4999: electricity, gas, water and other public utilities.
Here are the most common codes, with the exact labels of the Registraire des entreprises:
| Code | Official label (French, as filed with the Registrar) | In English |
|---|---|---|
| 4511 | Transports aériens (vols réguliers ou nolisés) | Air transportation (scheduled or charter flights) |
| 4513 | Transports aériens spécialisés (vols non réguliers) | Specialty air transportation (non-scheduled flights) |
| 4523 | Entretien d'aéronefs | Aircraft maintenance |
| 4531 | Transports ferroviaires | Rail transportation |
| 4541 | Transports par eau de voyageurs et de marchandises | Water transportation of passengers and freight |
| 4551 | Manutention de cargaisons | Cargo handling |
| 4555 | Agences d'expédition maritime | Marine shipping agencies |
| 4561 | Camionnage de marchandises ordinaires | General freight trucking |
| 4562 | Déménagement et entreposage de biens usagés | Moving and storage of used goods |
| 4563 | Camionnage en vrac par camion-citerne | Bulk tank trucking |
| 4565 | Camionnage de produits forestiers | Forest products trucking |
| 4569 | Autres camionnages | Other trucking |
| 4573 | Transports par autobus scolaires | School bus transportation |
| 4574 | Transports par autobus nolisés et d'excursion | Charter and sightseeing bus transportation |
| 4575 | Services de limousine aux aéroports et aux gares | Airport and station limousine services |
| 4581 | Taxi | Taxi |
| 4589 | Autres transports | Other transportation |
| 4592 | Services aux commerces transitaires | Services to freight forwarders |
| 4599 | Autres services relatifs aux transports | Other transportation services |
| 4791 | Entrepôts frigorifiques | Cold storage warehouses |
| 4799 | Autres services d'entreposage | Other storage services |
| 4823 | Fournisseurs de services Internet et sites portails de recherche | Internet service providers and web search portals |
| 4824 | Revendeurs de services de télécommunications | Telecommunications service resellers |
| 4839 | Autres services de télécommunications | Other telecommunications services |
| 4842 | Services de messagers | Courier services |
None of the 56 codes in the sector carries an asterisk: none is restricted to members of a professional order. The CAE code describes what your business does; it is neither a permit nor an authorization.
All 56 codes are in our CAE search tool, filtered on transportation.
Which CAE code fits a truck driver, a trucking company or a moving company?
Trucking has six codes, from 4561 to 4569, depending on the freight carried, including 4562 for moving; a driver who incorporates to bill a carrier has a dedicated guide.
The trucking codes:
- 4561 — Camionnage de marchandises ordinaires (general freight trucking);
- 4562 — Déménagement et entreposage de biens usagés (moving and storage of used goods);
- 4563 — Camionnage en vrac par camion-citerne (bulk tank trucking);
- 4564 — Autres camionnages en vrac (other bulk trucking);
- 4565 — Camionnage de produits forestiers (forest products trucking);
- 4569 — Autres camionnages (other trucking).
Are you a driver whose carrier asks you to work through your own corporation? Our guide to the incorporated truck driver (“Driver Inc.”) covers this specific case: why some carriers require it, the steps to set up your corporation, its taxation and the requalification risks this model carries.
Which CAE code fits starting a delivery business or becoming an independent parcel delivery driver?
Delivering parcels for your clients matches code 4842 “Services de messagers” (courier services); carrying freight by truck falls under trucking instead, codes 4561 to 4569.
The codes to compare:
- 4841 — Services postaux (postal services);
- 4842 — Services de messagers (courier services);
- 4561 — Camionnage de marchandises ordinaires (general freight trucking);
- 4569 — Autres camionnages (other trucking).
Do you deliver for a single client or a platform that asks you to bill through your own corporation? That is the incorporated driver model: read our guide to the incorporated truck driver before accepting it, for its steps, its taxation and its requalification risks.
Do you only deliver the products you sell? Your code stays the one of your trade (see the FAQ below).
Which CAE code applies if you both transport and store goods?
Declare first the code of the activity that brings in most of your revenue, then the code of your second activity; an “Other…” code fits when nothing matches exactly.
The law requires you to declare the business’s two main activities, in order of importance, with the code for each. Example: a trucking company that also rents out warehouse space declares 4561 first, then 4799; if the warehouse becomes its main source of revenue, the order is reversed.
The sector has “Other…” codes when your activity has no label of its own:
- 4529 — Autres services relatifs aux transports aériens (other air transportation services);
- 4549 — Autres transports par eau (other water transportation);
- 4559 — Autres services relatifs aux transports par eau (other water transportation services);
- 4569 — Autres camionnages (other trucking);
- 4589 — Autres transports (other transportation);
- 4599 — Autres services relatifs aux transports (other transportation services);
- 4619 — Autres transports par pipelines (other pipeline transportation);
- 4799 — Autres services d'entreposage (other storage services);
- 4839 — Autres services de télécommunications (other telecommunications services);
- 4999 — Autres services publics (other public utilities).
Has your activity changed? The code is corrected with an updating declaration.
Which CAE code applies if your activity touches transportation without belonging to it?
Reselling goods, digging with your machinery, renting out vehicles without a driver or running an ambulance belongs to another sector of the CAE tool, with its own codes.
Buying and reselling goods, imported ones included, belongs to the “Wholesale and import” sector, codes 5011 to 5999. As long as you sell transportation, storage or services to freight forwarders (4592), your code stays in this sector. Once your corporation buys goods to resell them, and that resale brings in most of its revenue, your first code is in wholesale.
Our guide to starting an import or wholesale business covers that sector and its codes.
The other neighbours of transportation:
- Excavation, equipment rental with operator: 4214 Travaux d'excavation et de nivellement (excavation and grading work), 4215 Location d'équipement (avec opérateur) (equipment rental with operator) — “Construction” sector; see our guide How do you incorporate a construction business in Quebec?
- Vehicle rental without a driver, travel agency: 9921 Services de location d'automobiles et de camions (car and truck rental services), 9961 Agences de voyages et de vente de billets (travel and ticket agencies) — “Other services” sector; see our page on personal and other services.
- Ambulance: 8689 Services d'ambulance (ambulance services) — “Health and social services” sector; see our page on health and social services businesses.
Ready to start your business?
Complete online incorporation: articles of incorporation, initial declaration with the REQ and your NEQ — $497 all-in, government fees included.
Frequently asked questions about transportation businesses
Does an airport or a port have its own CAE code?
Yes: code 4521 covers airport operation and maintenance, and code 4552 covers port administration. Services around ships have their own codes too, such as 4551 for cargo handling and 4554 for ship piloting services.
Do I need a transportation code if my corporation delivers its own products?
No, in general: the code describes the activity that brings in most of your revenue. A store or a wholesaler that delivers its own sales keeps the code of its trade; transportation becomes a main code only if it is what you sell to your clients.
Is an Internet provider or a reseller of cell phone plans in this sector?
Yes: in our CAE tool, telecommunications are part of this sector. Code 4823 covers Internet service providers and web search portals, 4824 telecommunications service resellers, and 4839 other telecommunications services.
Why do electricity, gas and water appear in this sector?
Because our CAE tool groups codes by range: codes 4911 to 4999 (electric power generation and distribution, gas distribution, water distribution, other public utilities) follow the transportation and communications codes, and are classified in this sector.