Guidelines for Incorporating in Quebec
Step 1 - Numbered vs. named
- The company name must French but can have an English version. The English version must be a direct translation of the French name
- The legal ending for the company name must be 'Inc' or 'ltée', 'Ltd'
- When selecting your company name, please bear in mind that the more distinctive the name, the more likely it is to be accepted
- If your chosen name contains common or popular words, or is the same or confusingly similar to another company in the province, then it may be rejected
- If you choose to incorporate a numbered company, then the number will be automatically selected for you by the government
- The process of incorporation for numbered companies is quicker than that for named companies since there is no name search required
- When your Quebec numbered company is incorporated, a trade name can also be registered and you can carry out your business under that trade name. However, for all legal and government paperwork, the numbered company will be recognized by the number rather than the trade name
Step 2 - Designate a Head Office in Quebec
- The company must designate a residential or commercial address as the Head Office
- This address cannot be a PO Box number
- If your company does not have such an address, consider our Virtual Offices available in Montreal
Step 3 - Choose Your Company Directors and Officers
- There must be at least 1 director selected and he/she must be over 18 years of age
- Directors can only be individuals
- You must provide the details of each Director's address
- Directors can also be shareholders and officers of the same company
- The Officers consist of a company's senior management. For example; President, Secretary and Treasurer
- Each company must appoint a President and a Secretary
- One person can be the President, Secretary, shareholder and Director of the company
- Please note that it is not mandatory that Directors of a company incorporated in Quebec be Canadian residents
Step 4 - Selection of Shareholders
- Shareholders control the company since they own shares in the company. Shareholders can be individuals or corporations
- You must choose to appoint between 1 and 50 shareholders
- Their full names and residential address details must be entered in the application form
Step 5 - Provide Company Information for Registration with the Government
- You will need to provide information about the number of employees your corporation will have, if any, as well as the business activities
Step 6 - Determine your Company's Capital Stock Structure, Restrictions on Stock Transfer & Limitations on Business Activities
- All new businesses must determine the following at the point of incorporation:
- a. Share structure
- b. Restrictions on Stock Transfer
- c. Limitations on Business Activities
- d. Other Activities
- This information must be presented in separate Schedules which we will include with the incorporation request filed with the government
We allow you to upload your own schedules in PDF format. Each Schedule must be clearly identified with a heading at the top of each Schedule document. For example, "Schedule 1 - Share Structure", etc
Alternatively, you can use our standard schedules, which are available in the application process