Business Lawyer - Barrister & Solicitor
Usually when you see the name of a company, it is made up of a few words such as "ABC Computer Inc.". However, sometimes you will see a company whose name is mostly just a number, such as "1234567 Ontario Inc."
Does the number have any significance and is there any difference between a company with a number as opposed to a name?
In Ontario, every corporation has a corporation number assigned to it for identification purposes. A corporation may also have a name such as "ABC Computer Inc.". When a corporation has a name, it can be identified using that name and is usually referred to as a "named company".
However, you may also come across a company that has no name other than a number -- these corporations are referred to as "numbered company". In such a case, the Ontario government will simply assign the next available corporation number and the name of the corporation will simply be the corporation number plus the word "Ontario" plus a legal ending (such as Inc., Ltd., or Corp., Incorporated, Limited, or Corporation). As such, the name of a numbered company can be something like: 1234567 Ontario Inc. There is no choice in the number, the government automatically assigns the next available number.
Why would someone choose the name as a number rather than picking an actual name for their corporation?
There are situations where one may prefer to use a numbered company instead of a named company including:
- it takes time to find a suitable name for a company which can take time and extra expense. By proceeding by way of a numbered company, there is no delay as the government simply assigns the next available number.
- one does not want to attract attention to the company and as such prefers using a number as opposed to a name
- a corporation is created for limited use and will not be promoting itself to the public and in such a case, the operators may not be concerned about the name
- the operators may want to use the corporation for various businesses and do not want to use a named corporation
Generally, there is no legal difference whether a company is a numbered company or a named company.
My legal practice consists of many businesses including named companies and numbered companies. If you are planning to start a business and would like to incorporate, please contact me and I would be pleased to assist you.
