Incorporating in BC: Costs, BCBCA Rules and Timing
Incorporating in British Columbia looks routine until you reach the details. BC uses no NUANS report, no single articles of incorporation filing, two mandatory offices, and a private transparency register in force since 2020. This guide is BC-specific; weighing another province? See our companion piece on incorporating in Alberta.
What is the BCBCA?
The Business Corporations Act (SBC 2002, c. 57), commonly called the BCBCA, is British Columbia's provincial corporate statute. It governs the incorporation, governance, records and dissolution of BC companies.
It is not the federal Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA), and the acronyms get confused constantly. A BCBCA company is incorporated with BC Registries under provincial law. A CBCA corporation is incorporated with Corporations Canada, carries federal director residency rules, and must still register extraprovincially in each province where it operates, BC included.
How much does it cost to incorporate in BC?
| Filing | Approximate fee |
|---|---|
| Name Request, standard | about $30 |
| Name Request, priority | about $100 |
| BC limited company, basic filing | about $350 |
| Named BC company, realistic total | about $380 |
| Numbered BC company (0123456 B.C. Ltd.) | about $350 |
| BC unlimited liability company | about $1,000 plus $30 |
| Change of company name | about $100 plus $30 |
| Change of directors, or withdrawal of a filing | about $20 each |
| BC annual report | about $43.39 per year |
| Federal incorporation, online | about $200, annual return about $12 |
A numbered company is cheapest because it skips the Name Request, but a number is not a brand, so most businesses pay the $30.
BC government fees shown are those published by BC Registries as of August 2026 and can change.
How long does it take to incorporate in BC?
The waiting happens at the Name Request, and the official timelines disagree. BC's incorporation page says about 7 to 14 days. BC Registries' processing-times page, updated weekly, showed 4 business days in August 2026. Check the current queue. Priority service, about $100, returns approval in 1 to 2 business days.
An approved name is reserved for 56 days; miss that window and anyone can take it. Submit three ranked choices per request, but you get one approval per fee. After approval, filing is usually same day.
How do you incorporate in BC, step by step?
Step 1, the Name Request. BC does not use a NUANS report. You file a Name Request with BC Registries, an examiner reviews it against the register, and you get an approved name with a reservation number. Numbered companies skip it.
Step 2, the three documents. There is no single articles of incorporation filing here. Three pieces are required, and two never reach government.
| Document | Filed? | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporation Agreement | No, records book | Each incorporator agrees to take shares. Needs a signature line with the full name printed legibly, the date of signing, and the shares of each class or series taken. Banks often ask for it |
| Articles | No, records book | Internal rulebook for the company, shareholders, directors and officers. Must be mechanically or electronically produced, in consecutively numbered or lettered paragraphs. BC publishes free sample Table 1 Articles |
| Incorporation Application with Notice of Articles | Yes, filed | Company name, each director's full name and prescribed address, registered and records office mailing and delivery addresses, authorized share structure, special rights or restrictions |
Step 3, the two offices. A BC company needs a registered office and a records office, both in British Columbia. They may share an address, but each needs a mailing and a delivery address, meaning a real physical BC location, not a PO box. The registered office receives service and government correspondence and holds financial statements and minutes. The records office holds the statutory records open to inspection: certificate of incorporation, orders, central securities register, articles, incorporation agreement and transparency register.
Who can be a director of a BC company?
A private BC company needs one director minimum; a public company needs three. A director must be an individual, not a corporation, and must consent. Disqualified: anyone under 18, found incapable of managing their own affairs, an undischarged bankrupt, or convicted of an offence connected with the promotion, formation or management of a corporation, or involving fraud, unless a court orders otherwise, five years have elapsed, or a pardon or record suspension applies. A director who ceases to qualify must promptly resign.
BC has no Canadian residency requirement, so the board can be fully non-resident.
| BC (BCBCA) | Federal (CBCA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Resident Canadian directors | none | 25 percent minimum, at least one where there are fewer than four |
| Meeting rule | none | no business can be transacted at a meeting unless the required proportion of resident Canadians is present |
| Restricted sectors | none | airlines, telecom, and cultural sectors such as book retail and film distribution need a majority of resident Canadians |
That quorum rule is the trap: board composition on paper is not enough.
What is the transparency register?
Since October 1, 2020, BC private companies must keep a transparency register of significant individuals. It sits at the records office, is not filed with government and is not public. A significant individual holds 25 percent or more of issued shares or voting rights, directly or indirectly, or can elect, appoint or remove a majority of directors. Joint holdings, and holdings by spouses or relatives in the same home or persons acting in concert, are combined. See the BC transparency register page.
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Recorded per individual | full name, date of birth, last known address, Canadian citizen or permanent resident status, every country of citizenship if not, whether resident in Canada for tax purposes, when they became or ceased to be significant, and how they qualify |
| If there are none | the register must say so; if information cannot be obtained, record the reasonable steps taken |
| Updates | within 30 days of new or different information |
| Inspection | current directors, plus authorities including police, the RCMP, the CRA, the BC Securities Commission and FINTRAC |
| Penalties | up to about $100,000 for a person other than an individual, about $50,000 for an individual. Directors or officers who authorize, permit or acquiesce commit a separate offence, as does a shareholder sending false information. A due diligence defence exists |
| Extraprovincial companies | exempt, including federal corporations in BC, which follow home jurisdiction rules |
On the coming public registry, read carefully. BC has legislated a public beneficial ownership registry through the Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2023, but as of August 2026 it is not yet in force and the government has not confirmed a launch date. The official BC anti-money-laundering page still describes it in the future tense. Law firms expect it in 2026 and anticipate that private companies will have to file within six months of incorporation, annually, and within 15 days of learning of a change, with the internal register update window tightening from 30 days to 15. Those expected details come from professional commentary rather than a proclaimed regulation, so treat them as anticipated rather than settled and watch for the proclamation. Do not confuse this with the Land Owner Transparency Registry, a separate BC registry covering beneficial ownership of land. For context, Quebec launched its registry in March 2023 and the federal register launched in January 2024.
How is a BC company taxed?
| Rate | BC | Combined with federal |
|---|---|---|
| Small business, first $500,000 of active business income | 2 percent | about 11 percent |
| General corporate rate | 12 percent | about 27 percent |
| Sales tax | PST 7 percent | 12 percent with GST, against 5 percent in Alberta, which has no PST |
The small seller catch. The PST small seller threshold is $10,000 or less in gross retail sales revenue over the previous 12 months and estimated for the next 12, but revenue alone is not enough. You must also not maintain established business premises and not regularly sell from established commercial premises, meaning four or more times in 12 months. A storefront, or a home office where you meet clients, disqualifies you even under $10,000. Small sellers also lose the goods-for-resale exemption, so they pay PST on inventory. Registration takes up to 21 business days.
PST is expanding to professional services. BC Budget 2026 extends PST to certain professional services from October 1, 2026: accounting including bookkeeping and assurance, architecture, engineering and geoscience, security services including private investigation, and non-residential real estate services such as rental and strata management and trading.
BC or federal incorporation?
| Factor | BC (BCBCA) | Federal (CBCA) |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporation fee | about $350, or $380 named | about $200 online |
| Annual filing | about $43.39 | about $12 |
| Name search | Name Request, about $30 | NUANS report |
| Director residency | none | 25 percent resident Canadian |
| Transparency register | required | exempt from the BC register |
| Doing business in BC | covered | extraprovincial registration, about $380, within two months of starting, plus a BC annual report and a BC attorney to receive notices |
If that attorney resigns and is not replaced, the registration can be cancelled.
Under the New West Partnership Trade Agreement between BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, registration between partners carries no filing fees, the name reservation fee being the only exception, and partners need not file annual reports in the other provinces. The catch: the NWPTA does not cover federal corporations, so one registering into BC pays full price. Sole proprietorships and partnerships need none at all, a comparison we cover in our guide to sole proprietorship versus incorporation.
What are your obligations after incorporating?
BC calls its yearly filing an annual report, not an annual return. It costs about $43.39, is due within two months of the incorporation anniversary, and excludes financial statements and minutes. Reminders are opt-in, so do not wait for one.
Miss two consecutive years and the company may be dissolved. Restoration costs about $350, plus about $43.39 per outstanding annual report, plus a $30 name approval where applicable, and processing ran about 42 business days in August 2026, the slowest item in the BC Registries queue. Limited restoration lasts two years maximum. Keep the minute book current; see our guide to corporate records in Canada and BC's overview of incorporated companies.
FAQ about incorporating in British Columbia
How much does it cost to be incorporated in BC?
Budget about $350 for the basic filing, or about $380 with the $30 Name Request for a named company. A numbered company stays near $350, and an unlimited liability company runs about $1,000 plus the name request. The annual report is about $43.39.
How long does it take to get incorporated in BC?
Filing is usually same day online once the name is approved. The Name Request is the variable: BC's incorporation page says about 7 to 14 days, while BC Registries' weekly processing-times page showed 4 business days in August 2026. Priority service, about $100, takes 1 to 2 days.
Do I need a lawyer to incorporate in BC?
No, you can file the Incorporation Application yourself through BC Registries. Be clear-eyed about the risk: the Incorporation Agreement, the Articles and the share structure are never reviewed by government, and that is where mistakes get expensive once you add shareholders, investors or a sale.
What is the difference between registered and incorporated?
Registering a business name creates no separate legal entity, so you stay personally liable as a sole proprietor or partner. Incorporating under the BCBCA creates a distinct legal person with its own liability, tax return and records duties. Extraprovincial registration is different again: an existing corporation cleared to operate in BC.
Will I pay less taxes if I incorporate?
Only if you leave profits inside the company. BC's small business rate of 2 percent, about 11 percent combined with federal, defers tax on retained earnings, but money paid out to you is taxed in your hands anyway. Provincial tax follows where you actually operate, not where you incorporated.
Ready to incorporate?
The Name Request queue, the three documents, the two offices and the transparency register are all manageable, but each carries a deadline that costs money when missed.
Straight answer: Lexstart's core service is Quebec and Canada federal incorporation, so we will not file your BCBCA application. We help earlier, on whether provincial or federal fits what you are building and where you operate. See what our incorporation service covers, check the pricing, or get in touch first.
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