If you’re planning to register a business in Canada, one of the first steps you’ll need to take is conducting a NUANS (Newly Upgraded Automated Name Search) report. This report is a critical tool for ensuring that your business name is unique and available for registration. In this blog, we’ll break down what a NUANS report is, why it’s needed, and how you can obtain it to move forward with your business registration process.
What is a NUANS Report?
A NUANS report is a government-required name search that checks if your desired business name is available and doesn’t conflict with existing trademarks or corporate names in Canada. It searches a federal database to identify similar names, helping avoid legal disputes. This report is essential for federal incorporation.
Why Do You Need a NUANS Report?
- Legal Requirement for Incorporation: This report is mandatory for registering a business name in Canada.
- Avoiding Trademark Conflicts: It helps prevent legal disputes by identifying conflicts with existing trademarks.
- Brand Protection: Ensures your business name is unique, protecting your brand identity.
- Ensuring Business Name Availability: Confirms your name is available for registration, saving you from costly rebranding.
When Do You Need to get a NUANS Name search?
- During Business Incorporation:
The report is generally required when you’re filing your incorporation documents for a corporation. Without this report, you cannot proceed with incorporating your business. - When Operating Under a Trade Name/sole proprietorship/partnership:
If you’re planning to operate under a business name, you’ll need to perform a NUANS search to ensure that the trade name is available. - what is Name approval ?
Some provinces, like Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova scotia, and Federal, require name approval (instead of OR in addition to a NUANS report) when registering a business name. If you’re incorporating in these provinces, you might need a name approval instead.
Where to get a NUANS business name reservation?
You can order your NUANS report directly through our platform. Ordering a report is easy, and it can be completed quickly online.
- How Long Does It Take? NUANS report is usually processed within 1 business day. However, you can get a NUANS report within 2 hours or 10 minutes with our priority queue service fee. This fast turnaround allows you to proceed with your incorporation without unnecessary delays.
What to Do if Your Business Name Is Taken?
If the report shows that your name is already in use, you may need to come up with a new name or slightly adjust your original idea. This might include:
- Modifying your proposed name by adding a unique word or identifier.
- Using a location, like a city or province, in the name if it fits with your brand.
If you’re unsure about whether a new name you’ve come up with is still available, we can conduct a Name Pre-Search for you to test availability before ordering the official report. This is a good way to reduce the risk of rejection before you proceed with the incorporation process.
To perform a pre-search, click here:
Other Services We Offer:
We also offer several other services that can help you protect your business name and intellectual property:
Trademark Search Report:
Before proceeding with your business name, it’s crucial to check if it’s already trademarked. A Trademark Search Report helps identify conflicts, ensuring your name is both available for use and protected, and can also be used to check for conflicts when registering a trademark.
If you’re ready to proceed with your NUANS Report, or if you have any questions about name availability, trademarks, or business incorporation, we’re here to help!
Get started today by ordering your NUANS report or name pre-search via the links above, or feel free to contact us for personalized support Via Email: info@ezincorporate.ca or Tel: 647-313-2135.