The Ontario Companies Branch of the Ministry of Government Services issues Certificates of Status for companies incorporated in Ontario. A Certificate of Status, Certificate of Good Standing or a Certificate of Compliance are different names for the same thing and the name depends on the province or territory in which you request it. Any company in the World can obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from its country, province or territory of origin.

Certificates of Status are issued when you need to provide some institution or person with confirmation that your Ontario company is in good standing and is up-to-date in its filings.

The Certificate of Status for an Ontario company will provide the name of the company, the Ontario corporation number issued by the Ministry of Government Services and its status whether it is or is not in good standing.

All Ontario companies have to file a federal tax return within six months of the financial year end of the company in each year. If returns are not filed the tax department will request the Ontario Companies Branch to dissolve the company. If a Certificate of Status is ordered for a dissolved company it will not be clear.

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

An Ontario Certificate of Status is not the same thing as an Ontario company search. If you are looking to find out information such as addresses, names of officers and directors of a company, etc., this would be considered a corporate search and an Ontario Corporate Profile Report should be obtained instead.

Certificates of Status are sometimes required by banks, law firms, individuals on the other side of a corporate deals whereby the company might be sold, when the corporation registers a car, when a company buys property, or numerous other reasons. Any person or institution that an Ontario company is dealing with may ask the directors and officers to provide them with a Certificate of Status to ensure the company is in good standing with the Ontario government.

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

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