Type a company's name to see its corporation number, or a number to open its page. This covers every federal corporation and Quebec's register; a corporation formed in another province has its number on that province's register.
In short
- Corporations Canada gives every federal corporation a corporation number, usually seven or eight digits, printed on its certificate of incorporation.
- Search a company by name above: the results show each federal corporation's number, with its business number under it when the record has one.
- The official federal search writes the number with a hyphen before the last digit (1234567-8) and needs every digit, the last one included.
- A corporation formed in a province has that province's number instead, such as Quebec's ten-digit enterprise number (NEQ).
How to use the corporation number lookup
Search the name
Type the corporation's name, or part of it, in the box above: a free name search of every federal corporation. Each one that matches is listed with its corporation number, and its CRA business number under it.
Open its page
The company page is a free corporate profile: the corporation number with a button to copy it, the business number, the status, the registered office and the dates, as the federal record shows them.
Check the official record
Each page links to the corporation's record at Corporations Canada. For a closing, a bank account or a contract, order a certificate of compliance, which is the official proof.
What a federal corporation number is
A corporation number is the number Corporations Canada assigns to a federal corporation when it is incorporated, amalgamated or continued. It is usually seven or eight digits long, and it is printed on the certificate of incorporation, amalgamation or continuance.
The official federal search shows it with a hyphen before the last digit, as in 1234567-8, and finds a corporation only when every digit is typed, the last one included. This site shows the same digits without the hyphen. A corporate name can change, and so can the exact legal name a contract must use; the number never does, so it is the surest way to identify a corporation and its registration.
A corporation without a word name is named after its number: a federal numbered company's name is its full corporation number followed by "Canada" and a legal ending, such as 12345678 Canada Inc.
Corporation number, business number and other identifiers
A corporation has several numbers from different offices. People often say "incorporation number" for the corporation number; for a provincial corporation it means the number its province gave.
| Number | Given by | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation number | Corporations Canada, to a federal corporation | 7 or 8 digits: 1234567-8 |
| Business number (BN) | The Canada Revenue Agency, for tax | 9 digits: 123456789 |
| Program account | The Canada Revenue Agency, one for each tax account | The BN, 2 letters and 4 digits: 123456789 RC 0001 |
| Ontario Corporation Number | Ontario, to a corporation registered there | Shown on the Ontario Business Registry |
| Quebec enterprise number (NEQ) | Quebec's Registraire des entreprises | 10 digits |
| Corporation key | Corporations Canada, as an access code | 8 digits, shared only with people who file for it |
The business number is not the corporation number: they come from two different offices. The business number lookup explains it. The corporation key is not a public number: it is the code for filing changes with Corporations Canada, shared only with people who have authority to file.
Provincial corporation numbers and registry search
Most small businesses are incorporated under their own province's law, and each provincial corporate registry gives its own identifier:
- Ontario: the Ontario Corporation Number (OCN) identifies a corporation on the Ontario Business Registry. The Business Identification Number (BIN) is given when you register a business name, such as a trade name, or a partnership, and Ontario warns not to confuse it with the federal business number. A federal corporation that registers in Ontario receives an OCN when it files its Initial Return.
- British Columbia: the incorporation number is letters and numerals; a BC company's starts with BC, as in BC0578072.
- Alberta: the Corporate Access Number (CAN) is on the Alberta certificate of incorporation.
- Quebec: every enterprise registered in Quebec has a ten-digit Quebec enterprise number (NEQ), which this site's Quebec section searches.
Look up any provincial corporation on its province's registry, all of them listed on the resources page, or several at once through Canada's Business Registries, which searches the federal registry and seven provincial ones by name, business number or registry ID.
Verify a federal corporation with Corporations Canada's records
The corporation number is the surest way to check that you are dealing with the legal entity you think you are: names can be similar, but the number belongs to one corporation only. Its page on this site shows its status (active, amalgamated, or dissolved and the reason for the dissolution), its registered office address, its directors and its annual return filing history. Since January 2024, a federal corporation files information on its individuals with significant control with Corporations Canada each year, and part of it is public. Before a closing or a large contract, order a certificate of compliance from Corporations Canada, the official proof that a federal corporation exists and is up to date with its filings. Checking a company before doing business walks through the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What is a corporation number?
It is the number Corporations Canada assigns to a federal corporation when it is incorporated, amalgamated or continued. It is usually seven or eight digits long and never changes, even when the name does.
Where do I find my corporation number?
It is printed on your certificate of incorporation, amalgamation or continuance. You can also search your corporation's name on this site or on Corporations Canada's federal corporation search, which both show it.
How do I find a company's corporation number by its name?
Search the name in the box on this page. Each federal corporation that matches is listed with its corporation number, and its page shows the number with its business number and its official record.
Is the corporation number the same as the business number?
No. Corporations Canada gives the corporation number, and the Canada Revenue Agency gives the nine-digit business number used for tax. A federal corporation has both, and its page on this site shows both.
What is an incorporation number?
It is another name for the corporation number. For a federal corporation it is the number Corporations Canada gave it; for a corporation formed in a province, it is the number that province gave it.
Why does the federal search show a hyphen in the number?
Corporations Canada writes the corporation number with a hyphen before its last digit, as in 1234567-8. The digit after the hyphen is part of the number: a search without it finds nothing.
Is the corporation number the same as the corporation key?
No. The corporation key is an eight-digit access code Corporations Canada emails when a corporation is formed, used to file changes. Share it only with people who have authority to file for the corporation; the corporation number is public.
Official sources
- Glossary for the Canada Business Corporations Act(opens in a new tab)
Corporations Canada's definitions of the corporation number and the business number.
- Search for a federal corporation(opens in a new tab)
The official federal search, by name, corporation number or business number.
- Corporation key(opens in a new tab)
What the corporation key is, and how to replace a lost one.
- Ontario Business Registry(opens in a new tab)
Ontario corporations and their Ontario Corporation Numbers.
- Quebec enterprise number (NEQ)(opens in a new tab)
What the NEQ is and who receives one.
- Business Corporations Regulation (British Columbia)(opens in a new tab)
How British Columbia defines a company's incorporation number.
- Alberta corporate income tax(opens in a new tab)
Where Alberta's Corporate Access Number appears.
- Canada's Business Registries(opens in a new tab)
Several provinces' registers searched at once.
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.