Certificates of Status for Ontario Companies

Ontario Certificates of Status are issued by the Ontario government for Ontario companies.   Sometimes these are called Certificates of Good Standing or Certificates of Compliance and all companies registered in all jurisdictions in Canada and for that matter all countries can obtain these certificates when needed. They are called Certificates of Status in Ontario.

Certificates of Status are issued when you need to provide some institution or person with confirmation that your Ontario company is in good standing.

When a Certificate of Status is issued it will say on it whether the company is or is not in good standing.  Since the Ontario annual return filing is normally done at the same time as the tax returns are filed in a section of the form, if you are behind in filing your tax returns you will also be behind in filing your Ontario annual returns.

The Certificate of Status for an Ontario company will provide the name of the company, the Ontario corporation number issued by the Ministry of Government Services and its status whether it is or is not in good standing.

Ontario companies must file federal tax returns each year and if those returns are not filed for many  years the federal government will eventually dissolve the Ontario company.  If the registered office address of the Company is current on file you will be provided with warning from them that tax returns are due. 

Ontario companies must file Ontario annual returns each year and if those returns are not filed for a number of years the company will be dissolved.   You can file your Ontario annual returns separately just to ensure that your record is up-to-date so that you will not be dissolved by the Companies Branch for non-filing if you feel that you need more time in order to file your federal returns.

It is very expensive to revive a company and the Ontario government puts the onus on the companies themselves to follow the statute requirements.  It will not remind you that you have not filed your Ontario annual returns.  Any reputable Canadian search house will be able to check for you to see that your annual returns have been filed but there is a cost for this.  You will need to order what is called an Ontario List of Documents for your company.  If it is determined that you need to file annual returns this can be done easily by a legal search house and then a favourable Certificate of Status can be issued. 

The government does not refund the money if the Certificate of Status cannot be issued.  Basically it will issue a Certificate of Status that indicates the Ontario company is not in compliance and you will then need to file any outstanding returns and order a new Certificate of Status.  A Certificate of Status is not cheap so if you know in advance you have not made your filings you should at the least ensure all Ontario annual returns are filed before ordering your Certificate of Status.  If you have some outstanding tax returns but have not been dissolved then you will still receive a favourable Certificate of Status as long as your annual returns have been filed with the Ontario Companies Branch.  Basically if too many years go by without filing your federal tax returns the Canada Revenue Agency requests the Ontario Companies Branch to dissolve your company.

A Certificate of Status is not an Ontario corporate search.  If you are trying to determine information about an Ontario company you should have an Ontario Corporate Profile search done rather than ordering a Certificate of Status.