How to File an Annual Return for a Medical Professional Corporation
Enter your company name, Corporate Access Number, or Business Number to see its status, due date, and file in one step.
Search your corporation above to file its annual return — $169 all-in + GST for a professional corporation, filed in 1 business day.
Every medical professional corporation in Canada carries two separate annual obligations, on two different clocks, enforced by two different bodies. Physicians lose corporations over this every year — not because they refused to file, but because they filed one and assumed it covered the other.
Government fee included. Filed within 1 business day. Deadline monitored every year.
This page is about the one most people forget: the corporate annual return you owe the provincial registry. It is not your college renewal, and your college will not remind you about it.
What is a medical PC annual return?
It is the yearly filing that keeps your corporation alive on the provincial corporate registry. It confirms the corporation still exists and that the registry's record of it — directors, registered office, shareholder details where applicable — is current.
It has nothing to do with medicine. Your corporation is a corporation first; the professional-corporation permit sits on top of it. The registry does not care that you are a physician, and the college does not care whether you filed your annual return.
What it is not:
- Not your tax return. Filing a T2 does not file your annual return; they go to different places for different reasons.
- Not your college permit renewal. That is the second clock, below.
- Not optional if you had no income. A dormant corporation still files.
The two clocks every medical PC runs on
This is the distinction that costs physicians their corporations:
| Registry annual return | College permit renewal | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Provincial corporate registry | Your college (CPSA, CPSO, CPSBC…) |
| What it keeps | The corporation's legal existence | Your authority to practise through it |
| Timing | Anniversary-based, varies by province | Set by the college, often a fixed date |
| If you miss it | Struck from the register; the company ceases to exist | Permit lapses or is revoked |
Both must happen. Neither substitutes for the other.
In Alberta, for example, CPSA charges $200 + GST per physician shareholder for annual renewal, and the PC renewal window opens alongside your practice permit with a 31 December deadline. That is the college clock. The Alberta corporate registry clock is separate and anniversary-based — and it is the one with no reminder attached.
In Ontario, the CPSO certificate of authorization renews on the anniversary of the certificate's issue date — not 1 June, which is your personal registration renewal and a date physicians frequently confuse with it.
Our professional corporation renewals calendar lists the verified regulator deadlines and fees for every college and law society we cover.
When is the registry annual return due?
The registry deadline is anniversary-based in almost every province, but the window differs sharply:
- Alberta — within 1 month of the incorporation anniversary. One of the tightest in Canada.
- British Columbia — within 2 months of the anniversary.
- Ontario — filed with the Ontario Business Registry; an Ontario PC also needs its CPSO certificate current.
- Prince Edward Island — within 30 days of the anniversary.
- Federal (CBCA) — within 60 days of the anniversary date.
Because it moves with your incorporation date rather than a calendar date, there is no shared deadline to remember and no province-wide reminder campaign. That is precisely why it gets missed.
What happens if a medical PC misses its annual return?
The registry does not fine you. It removes you.
Continued non-filing leads to the corporation being struck or dissolved. For a practising physician that is considerably worse than a late fee:
- Your professional corporation no longer legally exists, so billing through it becomes a problem you will discuss with your accountant and possibly your provincial health plan
- Bank accounts held in the corporation's name can be frozen
- Your college permit sits on top of a corporation that is no longer there
- Restoring it means a revival plus every missed annual return, at additional cost and weeks of delay
The asymmetry is the point: a filing that costs $169 and takes a business day, versus a revival that costs $899 and takes weeks.
Why does a professional corporation cost more to file?
A PC annual return is $169 all-in + GST, against $159 for an ordinary corporation. The difference is not a surcharge for the letters after your name — it is real extra work:
- Shareholder eligibility is restricted. Only licensed members of the profession (and, in some provinces, specified family members or holding companies) may hold voting shares. That constrains what can be reported and what changes are permissible.
- The name is regulated. A medical PC's legal name generally must carry the physician's surname and end in "Professional Corporation". Name-affecting changes need the college's agreement, not just the registry's.
- Two records must agree. What the registry shows and what the college shows need to match. A director or shareholder change reported to one and not the other creates a discrepancy that surfaces at the worst moment — usually during a permit renewal or a bank review.
We check the corporation is a professional corporation when you search for it and price accordingly, so the figure you see is the figure charged.
How to file it
If you are doing it yourself, the shape is the same everywhere: log in to the provincial registry, locate the corporation, confirm or update the registry's details, and pay the government fee. Most provinces gate that behind a per-corporation credential — a company key in Ontario, an access code or company password in BC, an entity access code in Saskatchewan — which is the step that stops most people, because it arrives on a notice that gets thrown away.
Alberta is the exception, and it is worth knowing why: Alberta filings go through an authorised registry agent rather than a customer portal, so there is no code for you to produce. CRS is a Certified CORES Registry Agent, which means an Alberta medical PC annual return needs nothing from you but the corporation's name.
To have us file it: search your corporation in the box at the top of this page, confirm anything that has changed since last year, and pay. We file with the registry within 1 business day and email the confirmation for your records.
Related guides
- CPSA professional corporation permit — Alberta — setting one up, and the annual CPSA renewal
- Professional corporation renewals — every regulator deadline in one table
- Medicine professional corporation — Ontario
- Professional corporations in Alberta
- Corporate revival — if the corporation has already been struck
Frequently asked questions
Is a medical professional corporation annual return the same as my college renewal?
No, and this is the most common and most expensive misunderstanding. The annual return goes to the provincial corporate registry and keeps the corporation legally in existence. The college renewal — CPSA, CPSO, CPSBC and so on — keeps your authorisation to practise through that corporation. They have different deadlines, different fees and different consequences, and filing one does nothing for the other.
What happens if my medical corporation is struck for not filing?
The corporation ceases to exist as a legal entity. Billing and banking through it become immediate problems, and your professional-corporation permit sits on top of something that is no longer there. Restoring it requires a revival application plus every outstanding annual return, which costs substantially more than the filings would have and takes weeks rather than a day.
How much does it cost to file an annual return for a professional corporation?
$169 all-in + GST through CRS, including the government fee. An ordinary corporation is $159; the difference reflects the restricted shareholder rules, the regulated naming requirements, and the need to keep the registry record consistent with the college record.
Do I need my company access code or password to file?
In most provinces, yes — a company key in Ontario, an access code or company password in BC, an entity access code in Saskatchewan. Alberta is the exception: filings go through an authorised registry agent, and CRS is a Certified CORES Registry Agent, so no code is needed. If you don't have your credential in the provinces that require one, we help you recover it rather than turning the order away.
When is my medical PC annual return due?
It is tied to your incorporation anniversary, not a fixed calendar date, and the window varies: 1 month in Alberta, 2 months in British Columbia, 30 days in PEI, 60 days federally. Because there is no shared deadline, there is also no province-wide reminder — which is why this is the filing that gets missed.
Can I file annual returns for several missed years at once?
Yes. Catch-up filings are billed per year at the same rate, and they are usually the cheapest way back into good standing provided the corporation has not yet been struck. If it has been struck, a revival is required first.
Turnaround: 1 business day from order. Price: $169 + applicable tax — all-in, including the government fee, for a professional corporation.
Search your corporation at the top of this page to file, or look it up in the registry first if you want to check its status.
Frequently asked questions
Is a medical professional corporation annual return the same as my college renewal?
No, and this is the most common and most expensive misunderstanding. The annual return goes to the provincial corporate registry and keeps the corporation legally in existence. The college renewal — CPSA, CPSO, CPSBC and so on — keeps your authorisation to practise through that corporation. They have different deadlines, different fees and different consequences, and filing one does nothing for the other.
What happens if my medical corporation is struck for not filing?
The corporation ceases to exist as a legal entity. Billing and banking through it become immediate problems, and your professional-corporation permit sits on top of something that is no longer there. Restoring it requires a revival application plus every outstanding annual return, which costs substantially more than the filings would have and takes weeks rather than a day.
How much does it cost to file an annual return for a professional corporation?
$169 all-in + GST through CRS, including the government fee. An ordinary corporation is $159; the difference reflects the restricted shareholder rules, the regulated naming requirements, and the need to keep the registry record consistent with the college record.
Do I need my company access code or password to file?
In most provinces, yes — a company key in Ontario, an access code or company password in BC, an entity access code in Saskatchewan. Alberta is the exception: filings go through an authorised registry agent, and CRS is a Certified CORES Registry Agent, so no code is needed. If you don't have your credential in the provinces that require one, we help you recover it rather than turning the order away.
When is my medical PC annual return due?
It is tied to your incorporation anniversary, not a fixed calendar date, and the window varies: 1 month in Alberta, 2 months in British Columbia, 30 days in PEI, 60 days federally. Because there is no shared deadline, there is also no province-wide reminder — which is why this is the filing that gets missed.
Can I file annual returns for several missed years at once?
Yes. Catch-up filings are billed per year at the same rate, and they are usually the cheapest way back into good standing provided the corporation has not yet been struck. If it has been struck, a revival is required first.
We'll pull your registry record, confirm what's changed, and file. No lawyer needed.