BC Incorporation: Costs, Steps and Federal Option

BC incorporation costs $350 for a numbered company or about $380 for a named company, before professional fees. It usually suits founders operating mainly in British Columbia who want a provincial company with no director residency requirement; federal incorporation costs $200, but a federal company that operates in BC must also register provincially for $350. This guide explains the 2026 filing steps, current registry timing, BCBCA rules, annual duties, and the trade-offs between the two routes.

Fees and rules are current as of September 11, 2026. Government schedules and processing queues can change. This guide provides general information, not legal or tax advice.

How much does it cost to incorporate in BC in 2026?

The official BC company incorporation process costs $350 in government filing fees. A named company also needs a $30 name request, bringing the usual government total to about $380. A numbered company skips the name request. Legal, accounting, registered-office, records-office, and service-provider fees are separate.

The filing fee creates the legal entity, but it does not organize the company for you. A complete setup may also need tailored share rights, director and shareholder resolutions, share issuances, a securities register, tax registrations, and a records book. Compare providers by the documents and legal review included, not only by the filing price.

How do you incorporate a company in BC?

To incorporate in BC, choose a numbered or approved name, sign an incorporation agreement, adopt articles, set the registered and records offices, appoint at least one director, and file the Incorporation Application. The registrar then issues the certificate, certified application, Notice of Articles, and company number.

1. Choose a numbered or named company. A numbered company receives a name such as 0123456 B.C. Ltd. and avoids the name-approval step. A named company needs an approved name with a legal ending such as Ltd., Inc., or Corp.
2. Request the name, if needed. Submit up to three ranked choices. An approval is reserved for 56 days, so the incorporation must be completed before it expires.
3. Prepare the internal documents. Every incorporator signs the Incorporation Agreement, and the company adopts its Articles. These records define the founder’s share subscription and the company’s internal rules.
4. Set the offices and director. A BC company needs a registered office and a records office with physical delivery addresses in British Columbia. A private company needs at least one individual director, with no Canadian residency requirement.
5. File the Incorporation Application. File through Corporate Online or the BC Registry application and pay the $350 fee. Once processed, the company exists as a separate legal person.

The Incorporation Agreement is not optional merely because it stays private. Banks and professional advisers may ask to see it, and it belongs in the company’s records book with the Articles, resolutions, registers, and share records.

How long does BC incorporation take?

The name request is usually the variable step. BC’s incorporation page says a standard name request takes about 7 to 14 days. The Registry Services processing page updated September 9, 2026, lists five business days for priority name and search requests and ten business days for other priority filings. These are current estimates, not guarantees.

A numbered BC company removes the name-approval wait, but the registry still must process the incorporation filing. The safest approach is to review the current BC Registry Services processing times immediately before a transaction or launch.

What is the BCBCA?

The BCBCA is British Columbia’s Business Corporations Act. It governs BC companies from incorporation through governance, annual filings, records, amalgamation, restoration, and dissolution. It is provincial legislation, not the federal Canada Business Corporations Act, commonly shortened to the CBCA.

For most private founders, the practical BCBCA rules are:

• one director is enough, and the director does not have to live in Canada;
• the registered office and records office need physical delivery addresses in BC;
• the Articles determine share classes, rights, restrictions, and transfer rules;
• the company must maintain corporate records, including its central securities register;
• a private company must maintain a transparency register of significant individuals; and
• an annual report is due every year.

The company is legally separate from its shareholders, but limited liability is not absolute. A founder can still be personally exposed through a personal guarantee, director liability, unpaid share subscriptions, fraud, or obligations assumed before the company existed.

What is the difference between BC and federal incorporation?

BC incorporation is normally the simpler route for a business centred in the province. Federal online incorporation offers stronger nationwide name rights and a federal corporate identity, but a federal company carrying on business in BC must also register there. That adds a $350 filing and a second annual-report obligation.

A federal corporation does not need a BC name reservation before registering extraprovincially. It must register within two months after it begins carrying on business in the province. If its head office is outside BC, it also needs an attorney for service who is a BC resident individual or a BC company.

Companies from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba use the simplified New West Partnership Trade Agreement route. The government registration fee is waived, although a name search or professional service may still cost money. Federal corporations are not covered by that fee waiver.

Does incorporating in BC lower corporate tax?

Incorporating under the BCBCA does not by itself move corporate income to British Columbia. Provincial corporate tax generally follows the company’s permanent establishments and income allocation, not the statute used to create the company. An Ontario business cannot obtain BC tax rates merely by forming a BC company.

BC’s provincial corporate tax rates are 2% for qualifying small-business income and 12% at the general rate. Combined with federal rates, that is about 11% on qualifying income within the small-business limit and about 27% at the general rate. Eligibility and allocation require a tax review.

BC’s PST is 7%. The small-seller rules use a $10,000 revenue threshold and other conditions, so being below $10,000 is not always enough. From October 1, 2026, BC is also expanding PST to specified professional services, including certain accounting, architecture, engineering, security, and non-residential real-estate services.

What ongoing duties follow BC incorporation?

A BC company must file its annual report within two months after each anniversary date and pay $43.39. Missing two consecutive annual reports can lead to dissolution. The company must also keep its offices, directors, records, tax accounts, and ownership information current throughout the year.

The annual report is not a substitute for the company’s records book. Directors’ resolutions, shareholder resolutions, share issuances, transfers, registers, and major agreements should be documented when they happen. A current corporate records system makes banking, financing, a sale, and professional review much easier.

Is the BC transparency register public?

No. As of September 11, 2026, the operative BC requirement is still a private, company-held transparency register for significant individuals. It is kept at the records office and is available to current directors and specified authorities, not to the general public.

A significant individual generally owns or controls at least 25% of the shares or voting rights, or can elect or remove a majority of directors. The register records identity, citizenship, tax-residency, address, dates, and the basis of control. New or different information must be entered within 30 days.

BC enacted amendments in 2023 for a future public registry, but those provisions are not yet in force in the consolidated BCBCA current to September 8, 2026. Do not confuse the proposed corporate registry with the separate Land Owner Transparency Registry, which is already public. Federal CBCA corporations already file information about individuals with significant control with Corporations Canada.

Frequently asked questions about BC incorporation

Can a non-resident be the sole director of a BC company?

Yes. The BCBCA has no Canadian residency requirement for directors, so a non-resident can be the sole director of a private BC company. The company still needs registered and records offices with physical delivery addresses in BC. Federal corporations follow a different 25% resident-Canadian director rule.

Do I need a lawyer to incorporate in British Columbia?

No law requires every founder to hire a lawyer for a routine BC incorporation. Legal review becomes valuable when there are multiple shareholders, custom share classes, investor rights, a tax rollover, regulated activities, or cross-border ownership. A filing service may submit forms without designing the legal structure behind them.

Is a numbered BC company faster or cheaper?

A numbered company saves the $30 name-request fee and removes the name-approval wait. The $350 incorporation fee remains the same. You can operate under a separate registered business name, but that does not change the company’s legal name and may add another registration and renewal obligation.

Does a federal corporation avoid BC registration?

No. A federal corporation that carries on business in British Columbia must register as an extraprovincial company within two months. The current BC filing fee is $350, and no BC name reservation is required for a federal corporation. It must then maintain both federal and BC annual filings.

Does incorporating in BC automatically protect my personal assets?

No. Incorporation separates company liabilities from shareholders in many situations, but it does not erase personal guarantees, fraud, pre-incorporation obligations, unpaid share amounts, or statutory director liabilities. Banks and landlords may still demand guarantees. Insurance, careful contracting, and current records remain important parts of the protection.

Is the BC transparency register available to the public?

No. The current register is kept privately at the company’s records office. Directors and specified law-enforcement, tax, regulatory, and professional authorities may inspect it under the Act. The public-registry amendments enacted in 2023 have not yet taken effect, so public filing should not be described as a current duty.

Incorporate in BC with the right structure

The filing route should match where the business operates, who will direct it, how the founders will own shares, and whether nationwide name protection matters. A cheap filing can become expensive when the share structure, ownership records, or extra-provincial obligations are wrong.

Lexstart can help you incorporate online with the core documents needed to organize the company, not only submit the registration. For a non-standard structure, investor transaction, or cross-border situation, contact the team before filing.