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How to Register a Business in New Brunswick: Fees & Steps

Updated: July 2026. Corporate Registry fees and instructions were checked July 13, 2026.

A New Brunswick Certificate of Business Name costs $112, including the mandatory $12 Royal Gazette publication fee. It is renewed every five years for $62, also including publication.

This is the common sole-proprietorship route. It does not incorporate the business. A New Brunswick business corporation costs $262 electronically and has its own annual filing. See How to Incorporate in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick flag beside a Canadian flag

Who needs to register?​

A person carrying on business under a name other than their own generally registers that business name under the Partnerships and Business Names Registration Act. Partnerships also register their name. A corporation registers a separate operating name when it trades under a name different from its legal corporate name.

Registration does not create limited liability or grant trademark ownership. Search the Corporate Registry and Canadian Trademarks Database before adopting the name.

Current fees​

FilingFeeFrequency
Certificate of Business Name$112Initial; includes $12 Gazette fee
Renewal of Business Name$62Every 5 years; includes Gazette fee
E-filed NB incorporation$262Initial; includes Gazette fee
NB corporate annual return$60 online / $80 paperAnnual

Choose a structure​

  • Sole proprietorship: simple personal tax reporting, with personal liability for the business.
  • Partnership: two or more owners; document profit, authority and exit terms.
  • New Brunswick corporation: separate entity and shares, with T2, records and annual return.
  • Federal corporation: federal name review and mobility, but New Brunswick registration/maintenance can still apply.

The certificate fee is not the corporation's real cost. A basic professionally prepared T2 often starts around $1,500 with clean books; outsourced accounting and records can put annual administration around $2,000–$3,000.

Register a sole proprietorship or business name​

  1. Choose the name and structure. Confirm that a business-name registration, rather than incorporation, matches the intended entity.
  2. Search conflicts. Review Corporate Registry and trademark records.
  3. Open the online filing centre. Select Register a business name from the Corporate Registry.
  4. Enter the business and proprietor details. Provide legal names, addresses, activity, effective date and required declarations.
  5. Pay $112 and submit. Save the certificate and the BN information assigned through the common Business Number system.
  6. Calendar the five-year renewal. Renewal is $62; update addresses or agent-for-service details when required.

Corporate Registry registration is separate from CRA program accounts, municipal licences, WorkSafeNB and sector permits.

Incorporation summary​

A provincial corporation e-files Form 1 Articles of Incorporation, Form 2 Notice of Registered Office and Form 4 Notice of Directors. It needs a New Brunswick registered office that is not only a P.O. box, at least one director, a share structure and post-certificate organization.

The ordinary provincial corporation rules do not impose a general resident-Canadian-director minimum. The full decision and filing sequence is in the New Brunswick incorporation guide.

CRA accounts, HST and payroll​

  • BN: New Brunswick uses the CRA Business Number as a common identifier. Confirm which program accounts are actually open.
  • HST: New Brunswick uses 15% HST. The federal small-supplier test generally uses $30,000 of taxable supplies in one quarter or over four consecutive quarters.
  • Payroll: open an RP account before source-deduction remittances are due.
  • WorkSafeNB: determine whether workers and industry activities require coverage.

Licences and permits​

Use BizPaL for a combined checklist, then confirm with the municipality and regulator. A Moncton restaurant, Fredericton consultant and Saint John contractor will not have the same local or industry requirements.

Stay compliant​

Sole proprietors renew the business name every five years, report income on the T1 and file active HST, payroll, WorkSafeNB and licence returns.

Corporations file their annual registry return, T2 and active program returns, maintain registered-office/director information and keep corporate/shareholder and significant-control records. The registry return is not the tax return.

Frequently asked questions​

Does the $112 include a name search?

The official Certificate of Business Name fee includes the mandatory $12 Royal Gazette publication charge. Search and professional-provider costs can be separate depending on the route used.

Can I use Inc. in a business name?

Corporate legal elements should not be used to make an unincorporated business appear incorporated. Form a corporation if that is the intended legal entity.

Does the registration include licences?

No. Corporate Registry records the name or entity. Municipalities and regulators separately issue licences and permits.

Put renewal beside the certificate​

The initial filing lasts five years, not forever. Store the certificate, BN details and renewal date together, then complete HST, WorkSafeNB and licence steps that apply to the operation.