Certificate of Good Standing for an Ontario Company
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.
There will be times when a company must prove to an institution of some sort that it is in good standing pursuant to the requirements under the Ontario statutes. A Certificate of Status provides this confirmation.
An Ontario Certificate of Status shows whether the company is in good standing or not, the exact and proper name of the company and the corporation number.
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.
Ontario companies must file Ontario annual returns each year and if those returns are not filed for a number of years the company will be dissolved. You will not receive a favourable Certificate of Status if a company has been dissolved for non-filing of Ontario annual returns.
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 Status for Ontario Companies and other legal products including Ontario Company Searches.