Search results show each federal corporation's corporation number with its business number under it, when the federal record has one. Type a nine-digit business number to find whose it is. For a corporation formed in a province, search that provincial registry.
In short
- The business number (BN) is a unique nine-digit number the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) gives a business. A business has only one.
- Every federal corporation gets one automatically when it is incorporated, and the federal record shows it: search by name above.
- CRA accounts add two letters and four digits to the BN: RC for corporation income tax, RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll.
- No official search finds any business's BN by name. The federal corporation search, Canada's Business Registries and the CRA's list of charities show it for the entities they cover.
How the business number lookup works
Search by name
Type the corporation's legal name, or part of it, in the search box above. The search results list each federal corporation with its corporation number, and its business number under it.
Or search by number
Type a nine-digit business number to open the corporation it belongs to, or the registered charity, when the number is on the public record.
Open the corporate profile
The company page shows the BN with its status, registered office, incorporation date and filing record, and links to the official registry record at Corporations Canada.
What a business number is
The business number is a unique nine-digit number the Canada Revenue Agency gives a business, and a business can only have one. Other federal programs, the provinces and municipalities use it too. It is not the corporation number: Corporations Canada gives a federal corporation its corporation number, and the CRA gives it a BN (see the corporation number lookup).
A federally incorporated corporation gets its BN and a corporation income tax account automatically once its incorporation is approved, with no separate registration with the CRA. Registering or incorporating in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island or Saskatchewan also gives a BN. In Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, a business registers for a BN with the CRA separately.
Program accounts: RC, RT, RP and the others
Each CRA account adds a two-letter code and a four-digit reference number to the BN. The CRA's own example: business number 123456789, GST/HST account 123456789 RT 0001.
| Code | Account |
|---|---|
| RC | Corporation income tax: every incorporated business |
| RT | GST/HST |
| RP | Payroll deductions |
| RZ | Information returns, such as T5 and T5018 |
| RR | Registered charities |
| RM | Import and export, run by the Canada Border Services Agency since October 21, 2024 |
| RD and RE | Excise duty, and excise tax and special levies |
| RG, RN, LT, RU, PT | Air travellers security charge, insurance premium tax, luxury tax, underused housing tax and global minimum tax |
Registry search: where a business number is available to the public
- Corporations Canada's federal corporation search is searchable by name, corporation number or business number, and shows a federal corporation's BN in its 15-character corporation income tax form, such as 123456789RC0001. The first nine digits are the BN.
- Canada's Business Registries searches the federal corporate registry and those of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan at once, by name, business number or registry ID. Each result gives the business number, the registry ID, the type of entity and the jurisdiction whose registry holds it. A Quebec record shows its Quebec enterprise number (NEQ) instead of a BN.
- The CRA's list of charities shows each registered charity's BN with RR 0001; this site's charity pages show it too.
Ontario's Business Identification Number (BIN), given when you register a business name or partnership, is not the federal BN.
Beyond the number: the company registry and incorporation records
A business number identifies a business for tax; it does not show whether the company is in good standing. For due diligence, check the company registry where it was incorporated: its legal name, status, registered office and filings. A federal corporation's page on this site shows them, and its corporation number, assigned on incorporation, amalgamation or continuance. As official proof, Corporations Canada issues a Certificate of Compliance ($10 online), and provincial registries issue their own certificates, which several call a certificate of status. Checking a company before doing business walks through it.
When a business number cannot be looked up
The CRA does not publish a list of business numbers, and no official search finds any business's BN from its name. A sole proprietor with no CRA accounts has no BN at all, and a business registered only in Quebec has an NEQ but may not have a public BN. To check a supplier's GST/HST number, use the CRA's GST/HST Registry: the GST and HST number lookup explains how. To find your own business's number, see find my business number.
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up a Canadian business number?
Search the company's name on this page or on Corporations Canada's federal corporation search: both show a federal corporation's business number. Canada's Business Registries shows it for many provincial corporations too. No official search finds every business's number by name.
Is a BN the same as a GST number?
Not quite. The business number is nine digits. The GST/HST number is the same nine digits followed by RT and four digits, such as 123456789 RT 0001, and a business has one only if it registered for GST/HST.
What is the difference between RT0001 and RC0001?
Both are accounts on the same business number. RC0001 is the corporation income tax account, the form the federal corporation search shows. RT0001 is the GST/HST account.
How can I check if a business number is valid?
Search it on this site or on the federal corporation search, which find the federal corporation it belongs to. To check that a GST/HST number was registered on the date of an invoice, use the CRA's GST/HST Registry.
Does every business have a business number?
No. Every corporation has one, but an unincorporated business only needs a BN when it registers for a CRA account such as GST/HST or payroll.
Is my CRA number the same as my business number?
Yes, the Canada Revenue Agency calls its nine-digit business identifier the business number (BN). Your CRA account numbers are that BN with a two-letter code and four digits added.
Official sources
- Business number and CRA program accounts(opens in a new tab)
What the business number is, from the Canada Revenue Agency.
- When you need a business number(opens in a new tab)
Who needs a BN, and which provinces issue one when you register.
- Program accounts you may need(opens in a new tab)
Every CRA program account and its two-letter code.
- Ways to find an existing business number(opens in a new tab)
The CRA's own list of places to find a BN.
- Search for a federal corporation(opens in a new tab)
The official federal search, which shows each corporation's BN.
- Canada's Business Registries(opens in a new tab)
The federal and seven provincial registries searched at once.
- List of charities(opens in a new tab)
The CRA's search of registered charities, with each charity's BN.
This page explains the general rules. It is not tax or legal advice for a particular situation. The Canada Revenue Agency's and Corporations Canada's own pages are the official word; this page was last checked against them on Oct 28, 2026.