How to Get a Copy of Articles of Incorporation and Corporate Documents in Canada

If your bank, lawyer, accountant, or a buyer's due-diligence team has just asked you for a copy of your articles of incorporation — or the "full corporate file" — you're not looking for a form to fill out. You're looking for someone to send you the PDF. This guide answers exactly one question: how do you get a copy of every corporate document on file for a Canadian corporation, and how fast?

The short answer, before we get into the specifics: every corporate document ever filed with the registry is still there. The registry never deletes anything. You (or a retrieval service acting on your behalf) can order a fresh certified copy of the articles of incorporation, the certificate of incorporation, and every historical filing at any time — usually within 1 business day for digital-era records.

The three documents people usually want

There are really only three things people mean when they say "I need my corporate documents":

1. Articles of Incorporation — the substantive founding document. Share classes, restrictions on share transfers, number of directors, name, first registered office. Signed on the day the corporation was created and never re-issued unless the articles were formally amended. This is what a bank, lender, or lawyer means when they say "send us your articles."

2. Certificate of Incorporation — the one-page government-stamped document confirming the corporation legally exists as of a specific date. Think of it as the corporation's birth certificate. Federal corporations get one from Corporations Canada; provincial corporations get an equivalent from their provincial registry.

3. Historical corporate filings — every other document filed with the registry over the life of the corporation: annual returns, notices of directors, changes to registered office, amendments, restated articles, revivals, notices of dissolution. Anyone doing due diligence on the corporation — a buyer, a lender, an estate lawyer, a new CFO — will ask for this complete set.

There is also a fourth category that trips up most searchers, and it's important to be clear about it up front.

What is not on file with the registry

Directors' resolutions, shareholders' resolutions, share certificates, share subscription forms, meeting minutes, by-laws, and the shareholder and securities registers are never filed with any corporate registry in Canada. They live in the corporation's internal minute book, kept at the registered office. If the minute book was lost or never assembled, no registry can send them to you — they have to be reconstructed by counsel or a compliance service.

If that's what your lawyer is asking for, our companion guide walks through it: Where Every Document Belongs in Your Corporate Minute Book — Canada.

The rest of this guide is about the documents that are held by the registry — the ones you can order.

How to order corporate documents in Canada — three paths

You have three practical paths to get a copy of your articles of incorporation and full corporate file.

Path 1 — Direct from the government registry

Every Canadian jurisdiction has a registry portal that will sell you a certified copy of the articles and, separately, a certified copy of the certificate. Government fees run roughly $20-$40 per document, per jurisdiction.

Federal corporations: Corporations Canada — you'll need to know the corporation number and pay per-document fees.

Provincial:

• Alberta: through a registry agent (Alberta doesn't operate a direct-to-public portal for corporate documents).
• British Columbia: BC Registry Services, direct.
• Ontario: Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery via ONBIS / Ontario Business Registry.
• Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, PEI, Nunavut, Yukon, NWT — each operates its own portal or delegates to an authorized agent.
• Quebec: REQ (Registraire des entreprises du Québec).

When this is the right path: you know the exact document you need, you're comfortable navigating multiple portals if the corporation has been extra-provincially registered elsewhere, and you can wait through any queue.

Path 2 — Through a registry agent

Alberta, Manitoba, and a few other provinces use authorized private agents (e.g., Alberta's registry agent network) as the front counter to their registry. If you walk into an agent's office with the corporation name and number, they can produce most documents on the spot for a service fee on top of the government charge.

When this is the right path: you happen to be near one, you like paper, or you need one specific document urgently and the corporation is Alberta-based.

Path 3 — Through a retrieval service (like CRS)

A retrieval service does the multi-registry paperwork for you and delivers a single organized PDF (or package) to your email. This is the right path when:

• The corporation has been registered in more than one jurisdiction and you need the full set.
• You need historical filings from day one — not just the current snapshot.
• You want everything named, sorted, and delivered as clean PDFs suitable for uploading to your bank's or lender's portal without renaming files.
• You want one contact, one quote, one invoice, and one delivery — instead of several logins and several receipts.
• You need it within 1 business day.

The rest of this article assumes you're going this route, because that's what most people who search for "how to get a copy of articles of incorporation Canada" actually want — a person to handle it, not a portal to log into.

You can request a quote here: Order Corporate Documents.

What you'll receive — and what a full package looks like

A typical complete corporate documents package from a retrieval service includes:

• Certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation
• Certified copy of the Articles of Incorporation (original)
• Certified copy of any amendments or restated articles filed since incorporation
• All annual returns / annual reports on file
• Every notice of change of directors and officers filed
• Every notice of change of registered office / address
• Any certificate of amendment, certificate of continuance, certificate of amalgamation, certificate of revival, or certificate of dissolution filed
• Any name-change documents (form + certificate)

Delivered as individual PDFs plus a single index file listing every document, its filing date, and the government reference number. This is what M&A due diligence, estate reconstruction, and new CFO compliance files typically need.

You can also order a narrower set — for example, just articles + certificate for a bank loan — and pay only for those documents.

How much does it cost?

Government fees vary by registry: Corporations Canada gives uncertified copies free online and charges $40 for a certified copy; Ontario copies start at $3; other provinces charge per document.

Through CRS, each document is $89 + GST, government fee included — the articles, the certificate of incorporation, or a specific past filing. Need everything on file from incorporation to date? The full set is $489 + GST, and if the documents you pick would cost more than that, you're charged the full-set price instead. You pay when you order; documents arrive by email within 1 business day.

How long does it take?

Digital-era filings (roughly 2005 onwards): same day to 1 business day.

Older paper filings: most jurisdictions have digitized filings back to the early 2000s. Anything older may require the registry to physically pull the file — usually 3-10 business days for federal and larger provinces, longer for smaller provinces or if the file is archived off-site.

If you have a hard deadline (a loan closing, an audit, a court filing), tell us up front — we can flag rush retrieval where the registry supports it.

Jurisdiction snapshot

Every jurisdiction offers substantially the same underlying documents, but the labels and delivery mechanics differ:

• Federal (Corporations Canada) — articles + certificate + all historical filings. Digital delivery for anything filed after ~2001.
• Alberta — articles + certificate + full history via the CORES registry system through an authorized agent.
• British Columbia — certificate + charter documents + full filing history via BC Registry Services (Corporate Online).
• Ontario — articles + certificate + all filings via the Ontario Business Registry (formerly ONPRO).
• Saskatchewan, Manitoba — direct-to-registry or through an agent depending on document type.
• Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI — smaller registries; digital retrieval for recent filings, paper for older records.
• Quebec (REQ) — état de renseignements and constating documents; some records only in French.
• Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut — smaller volumes; typically retrieved through the territorial registrar's office directly.

If your corporation is registered extra-provincially — for example, a BC corporation registered to do business in Alberta — you may need documents from both registries. A retrieval service handles that in one order.

Common situations we see

"The bank wants articles of incorporation and I can't find the original." — You need the articles + certificate, both certified. Typical bank package. Turnaround: same day for digital-era filings.

"We're selling the business and the buyer's lawyer wants the full corporate file." — You need the complete historical set: articles, all amendments, every annual return, every director change, every address change, every certificate ever issued. This is the "full set of documents" option.

"Our founder passed away and the family lawyer needs the corporate records." — You need the full historical set for the corporation, and separately the family lawyer will need to reconstruct the internal minute book from what the registry doesn't hold.

"I'm the new CFO and there's no compliance file." — Same as the estate case: registry does the retrieval side, but the minute book will need to be assembled internally with the corporate lawyer's help.

"CRA is auditing us and wants proof of incorporation and share structure." — Articles + certificate + any amendments to the articles. Provide the amendments so CRA can see the current share structure, not just the day-one version.

Ready to order?

Whether you need a single document for a bank loan or the complete corporate history for a sale, you can request a quote here: Order Corporate Documents →.

Tell us the corporation name (we'll look it up), what documents you need, and where to send the quote. You'll hear back within a few hours with a formal quote. Once approved, everything lands in your inbox within 1 business day.

If you're not sure what you need — or the person asking (bank, lawyer, CRA) used a term you don't recognize — reply to the quote email and we'll walk through it. We do this every day.