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Incorporation
Discover the Angrove Law difference in business incorporation or business registration in Nova Scotia.
A simple and affordable process to incorporating your business for small to medium size businesses.
Business Incorporation Pricing
Standard Incorporation
Duration
2 meetings
Locations
NS
Price
$450
Additional Fees
as per gov
Regulated Business Incorporation (ex: doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc.)
Duration
2 meetings
Locations
NS
Price
$600 - $800
Additional Fees
Gov Registration
Additional Fees
Independent Legal Counsel (if requested)
Steps to Incorporate in Nova Scotia with Angrove Law
- Book a consultation meeting today! Meeting will take 15 minutes or less.
- Fill out the incorporation questionnaire and sign the authorized filer form.
- 45 minute meeting (in-person, virtual, by phone, or over e-mail) to confirm questionnaire and explain next steps.
- Wait while we draft your incorporation documents.
- Set up final meeting, can be done in-person or over Zoom depending on your comfort with online signing.
- Sign, witness, and deliver. Your second and final meeting usually takes 30 minutes.
- The last step? Accept minute book and incorporation documents. Set up with CRA, insurance, benefits, etc.
Incorporation forms you need that we prepare and register for you
- Authorized Filer
- Consent to Subscriptions
- Statutory Declaration
- Memorandum of Association
- Articles of Association
- Name Reservation Request
- Directors Consent
- Share Certificates
Some items to consider before your first meeting with Angrove Law
- Who will have control over day-to-day affairs of the company?
- Will you be taking a slary or dividents? Do you need to show salary for maternity leave or disablity benefits?
- How many business owners are there? How much 'power' will they each have?
- Are there any grants, funding, or tax benefits you'd like to take advantage of?
- What are your growth plans? What are your succession plans?
Details about Specifics of Incorporating Your Business in Nova Scotia
All businesses operating in Nova Scotia must register with the Registry of Joint Stocks Companies (RJSC). The RJSC is an office of the provincial government that registers and regulates business in NS.
By carrying on business without registering you might be subject to penalties. You also may not be able to lease space or may face fines in other legal disputes. Not registering might be easy, but it’s not worth the risk! Even if you’re not incorporating and are acting as a sole proprietorship – you need to register!
In January 2019, the Government of Nova Scotia lowered the fee to incorporate a company to $200. The NS government may also charge you for name registration, business dissolution, and registering a partnership or shareholder agreement. Currently, a name search for registration costs $65 in Nova Scotia and $80 in Canada.
We do not make a profit on the government fees that get passed on to your business when you incorporate.
Regardless of the type of business you choose, you must reserve your business name with the RJSC. How? The RJSC will determine whether your name (or a similar name) is already used in Atlantic Canada, for a fee. This is called a NUANS search. You may also search Canada-wide for an extra fee. Check out the previous tabs for pricing.
If your name is unique enough – great! It’s yours! We will take care of this process for you at Angrove Law included in your incorporation. The government fee will be passed on to you.
How to choose your business name? There are three parts of the name that are required by law. They are:
- Distinctive: something unique, like your name or location (“’Angrove”; “Seashell”)
- Descriptive: something that gives the public an idea of what your business does (“Basement Repair”; “Salon”)
- Corporate: only incorporated companies need a corporate element; it must be either “Ltd.” “Limited” or “Inc.” “Incorporated”
- An incorporated company may choose to simply go by its Business Number (e.g. “7654321 NS Limited”). There is no cost to reserving a numbered company.
Learn More About Your Incorporation Documents
Articles of Association
Consents
Statutory Declaration
Articles of Association
Your Articles of Association explain how the comapny will be run. The RJSC provides a standard form document that you may use. However, many companies, especially small businesses would benefit from some customization.
What do you mean? Many of our clients request “Restriction on Share Transfers” to be included in their Articles of Association. This means that another business owner can’t sell their share of the company to anyone else without first consulting the other business owners and giving them the opportunity to buy or find a buyer first!
This is only one of many ‘standard’ customizations that we are happy to do at Angrove Law for no extra cost. Reach out to us to learn why incredible companies like Halifax’s favourite brunch restaurant – Bliss choose Angrove Law!
Consents
There are two types of consents that are required when you incorporate a company. First, a consent to subscriptions. Meaning, a letter accepting that you are an owner of the company. Second, a directors consent. This is a letter from a director and/or officer of the company (person who controls the business affairs) to the company saying they will accept the responsibilities of their position.
At Angrove Law, we are happy to draft these documents for you and send them to the right government office. All you have to do? Acknowledge you understand them and sign!
Statutory Declaration
A statutory declaration is a legal vow confirming that you have registered your business or incorporated your company following the Nova Scotia Companies Act. This is a testament that needs to be notarized and sent to the RJSC with your other incorproation documents. Some might say it’s the most imporntant – you’re making a promise that you followed directions and incorporated properly!
Download Nova Scotia Statutory Declaration.
If you would like to incorporate on your own. At Angrove Law, we provide notary services. That said, we suggest you get help with your incorporation unless you’ve done it before and are confident in the process!
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