How to Change the Directors of a Corporation (Federal, AB, BC, ON, MB)

Director joined or left your corporation? CRS files the notice of change with the registry — $99 + GST, done in 1 business day →

Changing the directors of a Canadian corporation is a two-step job: the corporation makes the change internally (a resolution, a resignation, a consent to act), and then it reports the change to its corporate registry — and in every major jurisdiction, that second step has a 15-day deadline. Federal, Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Manitoba corporations all have 15 days from the change to file a notice of change of directors. The good news: the government filing is free or cheap almost everywhere. The catch: each registry has its own form, portal and access credential, and a filing that doesn't match the public record gets bounced.

Here is what has to happen inside the corporation, which form each registry wants, what it costs, and what goes wrong when the public record is left stale.

What has to happen inside the corporation first?

The registry filing only reports a change — it doesn't make one. The change itself happens under your governing statute and by-laws, and it needs paper in the minute book:

• Adding a director. Shareholders elect directors by ordinary resolution — at the annual meeting or by a written shareholder resolution. Most by-laws also let the existing board fill a casual vacancy or appoint additional directors between meetings, within limits set by the articles and statute. Either way, the new director should sign a consent to act before the appointment takes effect.
• A director resigning. A resignation is effective when a written resignation is received by the corporation (or at the later time stated in it). No shareholder vote is needed — but the resignation letter belongs in the minute book.
• Removing a director. Removal is a shareholder decision: an ordinary resolution at a meeting called for that purpose. The board can't simply vote one of its own members off.
• Record the change. A directors' resolution (or shareholder resolution) documenting the change, plus an updated register of directors, go into the minute book. If your corporation doesn't have a maintained minute book, that's a separate problem worth fixing — see our minute book guide.

Watch the minimums while you do it: a corporation must have at least one director at all times (public companies in B.C. need three, and Ontario not-for-profits need three). If your sole director resigns with no replacement, the corporation is offside until someone is appointed. Federal (CBCA) corporations have one more constraint — at least 25% of directors must be resident Canadians (at least one, if there are fewer than four).

How do you report a director change to the registry?

Every jurisdiction below gives you 15 days from the date of the change. What you file, and where, differs:

Jurisdiction	Filing	Where	What you need
Federal (CBCA)	Changes Regarding Directors (Form 6)	Corporations Canada Online Filing Centre	Corporation key; names, addresses, effective dates
Alberta	Notice of Change of Directors	Any authorized Corporate Registry service provider (registry agent)	Completed form + valid ID; incoming directors' names, addresses, appointment dates; outgoing directors' cessation dates
British Columbia	Notice of Change of Directors (Form 10, filed online)	BC Registries / Corporate Online	Incorporation number + access code or company password; date of change; each director's name and delivery address
Ontario	Notice of Change (Corporations Information Act)	Ontario Business Registry	9-digit company key; director names and dates exactly as on the public record
Manitoba	Change of Director/Officer Information	Companies Office online portal (or paper by mail)	Director names, appointment/resignation dates

Three province-specific wrinkles worth knowing:

• Ontario bounces mismatches. The OBR validates your filing against the existing public record — a director's name or elected date that doesn't match exactly gets the application returned as deficient. The ministry itself recommends pulling a current record before filing; a corporate profile report shows you precisely what the registry has on file, so you cease and appoint against the right data the first time.
• Alberta is registry-agent-only. Like most Alberta corporate filings, there's no public self-serve portal — the notice goes through an authorized service provider, with ID, per alberta.ca. Alberta also expects director address updates within the same 15 days, on a separate Change of Address of Director(s) form.
• B.C. separates directors from officers. The director change files any time through Corporate Online under section 127 of the Business Corporations Act — but officer information only updates with the company's annual report, not through this filing.

What does it cost to file a notice of change of directors?

The government side of this filing is one of the cheapest in corporate law:

Jurisdiction	Government fee
Federal (CBCA)	$0 — free online, processed in 1 day
Ontario	$0 — free online through the OBR
Manitoba	$0 — no filing fee
British Columbia	$21.50 to appoint or cease a director ($0 for a director's name or address change)
Alberta	No flat government fee published — you pay the registry agent's service charge, which varies by agent

Fees verified on the registries' own pages, October 2026. What costs money isn't the fee — it's getting it wrong: a deficient Ontario filing, a B.C. filing without the company password, or an Alberta trip to a registry agent with an incomplete form all cost you another cycle, while the public record stays wrong.

What happens if you don't file the change?

Nothing dramatic happens on day 16 — which is exactly why so many corporations are caught years later with a public record showing directors who resigned long ago. The real costs show up downstream:

• The 15-day requirement is law, not a suggestion. It sits in the governing statutes — the CBCA federally, the Corporations Information Act in Ontario, the Business Corporations Act in B.C. and Alberta — and a corporation that lets its filings lapse can face consequences ranging from rejected filings to compliance problems when it next needs something from the registry.
• Banks, lenders and lawyers check the registry, not your minute book. Financing, real-estate closings and due diligence all start with a registry search. A departed director still showing on the public record means statutory declarations, delays, or a deal held up while you fix filings — and you can check what the registry currently shows in our free corporation search.
• Departed directors stay exposed. Someone who resigned but still appears on the registry keeps getting CRA and registry correspondence tied to the corporation, and has to explain their way out of apparent liability for a company they left. Former directors frequently discover this the hard way.
• It compounds. Stale directors, a stale registered office and missed annual returns tend to travel together — and unfiled annual returns are what actually get corporations dissolved.

Does a director change affect your other corporate records?

Usually yes — the registry notice is rarely the only update owed:

• The minute book. Register of directors updated, resolutions and consents filed. This is also what your accountant and lawyer will ask for.
• The transparency register. If the incoming or outgoing director is also an individual with significant control (an ISC — a 25%+ owner or someone with control in fact), the ISC register needs updating too, and federal corporations must file ISC changes with Corporations Canada within 15 days of recording them. Directorship alone doesn't make someone an ISC, but in owner-managed corporations the same people usually wear both hats. See our guide to corporate transparency registers.
• The annual return still stands. Filing a notice of change does not replace your annual return — they're separate filings, and the annual return is the one that confirms your corporation's continued existence each year.

How does CRS handle a director change?

You tell us who's coming on and who's leaving; we prepare and file the notice of change with the correct registry — federal or provincial — and confirm when the public record is updated. $99 + GST, filed in 1 business day. We verify the existing record first, so Ontario filings match and nothing bounces. If the paperwork behind the change is missing, we can prepare the director or shareholder resolutions ($79 + GST) that belong in your minute book too.

Update your directors now →

Turnaround: Filed within 1 business day of payment. Price: $99 all-in + GST.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to report a director change in Canada?

Fifteen days from the date of the change, in every major jurisdiction: federal CBCA corporations, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba all set a 15-day deadline for the notice of change of directors. The clock runs from the effective date of the election, appointment, resignation or removal — not from when you get around to the paperwork.

Is there a government fee to change directors of a corporation?

Mostly no. The federal filing is free, Ontario's Notice of Change is $0 online through the Ontario Business Registry, and Manitoba charges no fee. British Columbia charges $21.50 to appoint or cease a director. Alberta publishes no flat government fee — the filing goes through a registry agent, and you pay the agent's service charge.

Do I need shareholder approval to remove a director?

Yes — removing a director before their term ends is a shareholder decision, made by ordinary resolution at a meeting called for that purpose. The board cannot remove one of its own members. A resignation is different: a director can resign unilaterally by delivering a written resignation to the corporation, with no vote required.

What happens if the registry still shows a director who left years ago?

The public record is wrong until a notice of change is filed, and anyone who searches the registry — banks, lawyers, the CRA — sees the departed director as current. File the notice now with the actual historical dates of the change; registries accept late filings with the real effective dates. The former director remains publicly tied to the corporation until it's done.

Can the same filing update the registered office address?

No — the registered office is a separate notice in every jurisdiction (and a separate form, like Alberta's Notice of Change of Address). Many corporations update both at once since the triggers often coincide. CRS files both; the director/officer change and address change are separate orders so you only pay for what you need.