What is a Numbered Company?

A Numbered Company is a legal company created without specifying a specific name prior to incorporation. Accordingly, these companies are simply assigned a generic name that typically takes the form of a number followed by a jurisdiction and the company’s abbreviation. For example a numbered company registered in Ontario might take the form of 49384950 Ontario Inc.

Numbered companies can still carry-on business with a trade or marketing name that is different than the legal name assigned to the company upon incorporation. This typically requires some form of business name registration in the jurisdictions where the company is carrying-on business. For example, you can incorporate a numbered company with the legal name 49384950 Ontario Inc., but can carry-on business with the name Vandelay Industries so long as the various laws of business name registration are followed in the jurisdictions you are operating.

Some people prefer to have named corporation rather than a numbered corporation and this is possible as well, but it requires a few additional administrative steps. Some of these steps may also take additional time to complete. This includes doing a NUANS prior to incorporation.

Some of the main reasons for incorporating as a numbered company vs a named company include:

• A NUANS search is not required if you are registering a numbered company.
• A NUANS can take time and delay the incorporation process.
• A NUANS Search costs money.
• The business may not be operating publically (e.g. a holding company) and so a proper name simply may not be necessary.