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Ontario Certificates of Status are issued by the Ontario Ministry of Government Services for Ontario companies. Sometimes these are called Certificates of Good Standing or Certificates of Compliance and all companies registered in all jurisdictions in Canada and for that matter all companies registered in any country can obtain these certificates when needed. They are called Certificates of Status in Ontario.

Sometimes a Certificate of Status is requested by an institution in order to confirm that a corporation has met its legal requirements and considered in good standing by the government.

If you obtain an Ontario Certificate of Status it will show the following: (a) the current name of the corporation; (b) the number assigned to the corporation by the government called the Ontario Corporation Number; and (b) whether or not the corporation is in good standing.

Ontario companies must file federal tax returns each year and if those returns are not filed for many years the federal government will eventually dissolve the company. If a company has been dissolved it will not be able to receive a clear Certificate of Status.

Your Ontario corporation will be dissolved by the Ministry of Government Services if the annual returns are not filed. If you wish to order a Certificate of Status then you must ensure the annual returns are up-to-date or you will not receive a Certificate indicating the corporation is in good standing.

When you order an Ontario Certificate of Status it will be issued whether it is clear or not and you cannot get your money back if it is not clear. The Certificate will show the company is not in good standing. Before you will be able to obtain a clear Certificate of Status you will need to update your filings. Any document that is being certified by the Ontario government has a high cost to it. Therefore you will want to ensure that you know in advance whether your company is in good standing so you do not have to order the certificate more than once. If you have outstanding tax returns you can still get a favourable Certificate of Status as long as you have not been dissolved for this reason but you will not receive a favourable certificate if Ontario annual returns are outstanding

In my experience sometimes individuals are not clear on the document they need to obtain. An individual may wish to determine who the directors and officers are of a company. In this case an Ontario Corporate Profile is required rather than a Certificate of Status.

If your corporation is selling or buying property, is entering into a major contract, wants to register a car against the corporation, a Certificate of Status might be requested by the law firm, by the government or the bank involved. Any corporation might be asked for confirmation that it has made its proper filings and be requested to provide a Certificate of Status.

Resources for Canadian Business Owners provides information about Certificates of Good Standing for Ontario Companies and other legal products including Ontario Company Searches.

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