Every Ontario corporation is required to have a registered office address in Ontario. The purpose of the registered office address is to have a place where the corporation’s records are accessible and where the corporation can receive notices. Therefore, a post office box (or PO Box) is not permitted.
One of the most common changes corporations undergo in their lifecycle is a change of address. This occurs often. For example, when a corporation first starts up, it might use the residential address of one of the founders, but once the business grows, a commercial space is leased for the business. Or, as another example, the business decides to relocate when a lease expires or when it seems like a good business decision to do so.
Regardless of the reason, there are four steps that you need to take when the registered office address of your Ontario corporation changes, and with Tobuso, you can easily take care of the first three items:
Step 1 – Directors’ Resolution
In order to change the address of an Ontario corporation, you will need to pass a resolution of the directors of the corporation. This can be done at an in-person meeting of the directors. But more often than not, small corporations take care of this kind of business by passing written resolutions. In order to pass a written resolution of directors, you usually need all directors to sign (not just a majority).
Step 2 – File a Notice of Change with Ontario’s Business Registry
Once a directors’ resolution is passed, you must file a Notice of Change with Ontario’s business registry. The purpose of the Notice of Change is to update the corporation’s address in the public record (whereas the directors’ resolution is part of the internal records of the corporation).
The Notice of Change must be filed within 15 days of the address change.
Step 3 – Update the minute book of the corporation
Your Ontario corporation’s minute book should be updated immediately with the directors’ resolution and the filed Notice of Change. This way, your records will be complete and up to date.
Step 4 – Notify everyone else
You will need to notify everyone else about the address change. Some of the most important people to notify are the corporation’s bank and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Others can include the Canada Revenue Agency, Google Business Profile, suppliers, advisors, shareholders, utilities, customers, and others with whom you have entered into contracts.
If this sounds tedious for a simple address change, then you’re right… it is!
Luckily, you can easily take care of steps 1, 2, and 3 using the Tobuso platform. With just a few clicks, the directors’ resolution for an address change is prepared and sent out for digital signing, and once signed, the Notice of Change is filed for you, and the minute book is automatically updated. There’s nothing more for you to worry about, and you can focus on the real work involved in changing addresses!
We hope this article gave you more insight into what is involved in updating the registered office address of your Ontario corporation! And if you need help changing your Ontario corporation’s address, click here and follow the prompts.
