Guides
Register a Wedding Planning Business in Ontario: The Order
Register wedding planning business Ontario in the right order: ServiceOntario name first, then CRA accounts, then the city license, then venue insurance.
What to take away
- Register the business name with ServiceOntario before you advertise or sign any contract in Ontario.
- Open CRA program accounts only after the legal structure and name are settled.
- Confirm municipal licensing in the city where you sign clients, because a provincial registration does not cover local bylaws.
- The setup is right when you can produce the active business name report and the CRA business number on request.
What to prepare before you file
Settle the legal form before you pay for a name. A sole proprietorship is the lightest option for one owner: it starts with a name registration and nothing else. A corporation is a separate legal person created under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. You clear the proposed name with a NUANS name search report, file Articles of Incorporation through the Ontario Business Registry, file the initial return, and keep filing annual returns after that. The liability and tax trade-offs of a corporation against a sole proprietorship turn on how much risk you carry, not on how big the practice is.
Budget for the provincial fees before you file. The ServiceOntario schedule of registration fees lists $60 for a new business name registration under the Business Names Act, processed immediately online, and $300 for an incorporation under the Business Corporations Act, online or by mail. Those charts show only the government fees: a lawyer, accountant or licensed service provider who files for you adds its own charge.
Before You File
- Choose legal formsole proprietorship, partnership, corporation
- Run NUANS preliminary name search
- Have government ID for each owner
- Decide GST/HST registration timing
- List Ontario cities where you sign clients
The registration order
- Register the Ontario business name for your wedding planning practice through ServiceOntario's Ontario Business Registry. If the name is rejected as too similar, add a city or descriptor and refile the same day.
- Confirm your CRA business number (BN), then add program accounts. Ontario is one of the provinces where you receive a BN when you register or incorporate with the province, so step 1 normally produces it. The CRA adds each program account to that nine-digit BN with two letters for the program (RT is the GST/HST program) and a four-digit account number. You need the GST/HST account once you have to register for GST/HST; that guide for Canadian coordinators covers the threshold and the timing. Accounts are added through Business Registration Online or with Form RC1, Request for a Business Number and Certain Program Accounts.
- If you plan to pay employees, open a payroll deductions account with the CRA the same way, before the first payday. The official page on payroll deductions and contributions tells you what to withhold and remit.
- Apply for the municipal business licence in each city where you sign clients. For Toronto work, Toronto Municipal Licensing and Standards sets the licensing rules before you sign a venue contract.
- Obtain a Wedding Planner Certificate of Insurance before venues ask for it, then open a separate business bank account using the registered name and business number.
If you incorporate, step 1 changes and the rest follow it. Order the NUANS name search report first, then file Articles of Incorporation through the Ontario Business Registry. Incorporating with Ontario gives you the BN and, as part of the same process, a CRA corporation income tax (RC) program account, so step 2 only adds the GST/HST and payroll accounts. File the initial return, then carry on with steps 3 to 5.
Hiring also adds a provincial registration. Under section 75 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, every Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 employer must register with the WSIB within 10 days after becoming such an employer, so ask the WSIB how your business is classified before the first assistant starts.
Where judgement replaces a checklist
The province registers names, but it does not decide how you operate. A provincial name registration is not a licence to sign clients in every Ontario city. Each municipality can require a business licence. Some exempt home-based coordinators who meet specific tests.
The province will register a sole proprietorship without checking whether you actually plan to run it as one; a sole proprietorship overview explains the owner's personal liability. You have to read the city bylaw and call the clerk if the wording is vague. Where the bylaw is silent, keep a written record of the clerk's answer and the date.
A province-wide name registration does not licence you to operate in every Ontario city. Check the city bylaw before you sign a client there.
How to tell the registration is right
You are done when you can produce three records in one client folder. The profile report from the Ontario Business Registry should show the exact registered name and the status 'active'. The CRA confirmation letters should list the business number, effective date, and program account numbers. The municipal licence or written exemption should name the city and the activity. If a venue asks for proof, you can retrieve the business name report within one business day.
The registration also has to stay right. If your address or other details change, you must tell the ministry within 15 days, and a corporation files an Annual Return through the Ontario Business Registry each year within 6 months of its fiscal year-end.
Fixing it when the registration is not
The most common failure is a name rejection from the Ontario Business Registry because the proposed name is too similar to an existing one. Recover by changing the second word or adding a geographic qualifier, then refile the same day.
If a municipality says a licence was required after you have already signed a client, stop taking new bookings in that city until the licence is issued. Keep the written notice and the issuance date with the client file.
