How to Incorporate a Business in New Brunswick
Search by company name, corporation number, or Business Number to pull its registry record.
Ready to incorporate? Start your New Brunswick incorporation — $699 all-in → · NUANS cleared, Articles filed with the Corporate Registry, complete minute book delivered.
Incorporating in New Brunswick costs a $262 government fee when you file electronically with Service New Brunswick's Corporate Registry ($312 on paper, $362 expedited), plus a NUANS name search if you want a named rather than numbered corporation. The registry's standard processing time is up to 10 working days, and the province imposes no Canadian-residency requirement on directors. You can file Form 1 yourself through the Corporate Registry's online filing centre, or CRS can handle the whole thing — name search, Articles, Notices, organizational resolutions, share certificates, Business Number application and a full minute book — for $699 all-in + tax. This guide walks through every fee, every form, and the Business Corporations Act (NBBCA) rules that catch first-time founders.
How much does it cost to incorporate in New Brunswick?
Service New Brunswick publishes its fees under the Business Corporations Act on the Corporate Registry fee schedule. For a new provincial business corporation, budget for:
| Item | Government fee |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Incorporation — e-filed | $262.00 |
| Certificate of Incorporation — paper | $312.00 |
| Certificate of Incorporation — expedited (2 business days) | $362.00 |
| NUANS name search report (named corporations only) | roughly $15–$75 depending on provider (market estimate) |
| Annual return — e-filed, every year after | $60.00 |
| Annual return — paper | $80.00 |
| Certificate of Amendment (e.g. name change, share changes) | $212.00 |
Most incorporation fees include the mandatory $12 Royal Gazette publication, so the numbers above are what you actually pay the registry. A numbered corporation (e.g. "123456 N.B. Inc.") skips the NUANS report entirely.
Those are the filing fees only. Doing it properly also means drafting Articles of Incorporation with a share structure that fits how you intend to own the company, adopting by-laws, passing organizational resolutions, issuing share certificates and setting up a minute book — the paperwork most founders either pay a lawyer for or skip and regret later. CRS's New Brunswick incorporation service is $699 all-in + tax: preliminary name check, NUANS report, Articles drafted in English, French or both, Notices of Directors and Registered Office, direct filing with the Corporate Registry, by-laws, organizational resolutions, share certificates, Business Number application and the complete minute book. The $262 government fee is included.
How do you incorporate in New Brunswick step by step?
Everything runs through the Corporate Registry, part of Service New Brunswick (gnb.ca). Here is the sequence:
- Pick a name and get a NUANS report. New Brunswick is a NUANS province: a named corporation needs a NUANS name search report dated within the last 90 days of filing. You can order one through a NUANS search house or the NUANS system itself. The report shows similar existing names across Canada; the registry still decides whether your name is acceptable, so a distinctive name (distinctive element + descriptive element + legal ending such as Inc., Ltd. or Limited) clears faster. If you'd rather skip the name question, incorporate as a numbered company. Our NUANS name search guide explains what a report does and doesn't guarantee.
- Prepare the three filing forms. The registry requires Form 1 – Articles of Incorporation (name, share classes and any restrictions on share transfers or business), Form 2 – Notice of Registered Office (a physical New Brunswick address — not a PO box) and Form 4 – Notice of Directors. You may set a fixed number of directors or a minimum and maximum.
- Line up the people. You need at least one director, 18 or over. There is no Canadian-residency requirement. You'll also need at least one incorporator (usually the founder) to sign the Articles.
- File and pay. E-file the Articles and Notices through the Corporate Registry's online filing centre and pay $262 by credit card, or mail the paper forms with $312 ($362 for expedited service). The Royal Gazette notice of your incorporation is published automatically.
- Receive your Certificate of Incorporation. Standard processing is up to 10 working days; expedited filings are processed within 2 business days. Once the certificate issues, your corporation exists — and the clock starts on your first organizational meeting and your first annual return.
A DIY incorporation typically takes one to three weeks end to end depending on whether you pay for expedited service. CRS-filed incorporations run the same government track — name cleared on day 1–2, Articles filed by day 2–3, certificate and minute book delivered as soon as the registry issues, typically within two weeks.
Do directors need to be Canadian residents?
No. New Brunswick's Business Corporations Act does not require any director to be a resident Canadian. That puts NB alongside British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, PEI and Quebec as jurisdictions fully open to non-resident founders and boards. By contrast, federal (CBCA) incorporation requires at least 25% of directors to be resident Canadians (or at least one, where there are fewer than four), so an internationally owned business that wants a Canadian entity without adding a resident director often incorporates provincially instead.
What your corporation does need is a registered office in New Brunswick — a real street address where the registry can reach you and where your records are kept. Non-resident founders usually satisfy this through a registered-office service. If you're weighing jurisdictions, our guide to federal vs. provincial incorporation in Canada covers when the CBCA's national name protection is worth its residency rule.
Can you incorporate in French in New Brunswick?
Yes. New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province, and the Corporate Registry accepts filings in English, French or both. Your corporate name can be English-only, French-only or bilingual — and unlike Quebec, there is no requirement to have a French version at all. For a business serving Moncton, the Acadian Peninsula or Madawaska as well as Saint John and Fredericton, a bilingual name and bilingual Articles cost nothing extra at the registry. CRS drafts in whichever language you choose as part of the $699 fee.
What makes the New Brunswick Business Corporations Act different?
If you've looked at incorporating elsewhere, three things stand out:
- It's a CBCA-style statute. The NBBCA uses Articles of Incorporation plus by-laws, like the federal Act and the Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan statutes — not the Memorandum-and-Articles model used in Nova Scotia. Investors and lenders find NB corporations familiar.
- No residency rule, but a Royal Gazette step. Incorporations, amendments, amalgamations and dissolutions are published in the Royal Gazette; the $12 publication fee is bundled into the registry fee, so it's automatic, but it's why NB fees end in "2".
- A two-speed registry. New Brunswick is one of the few provinces with a published expedited track: pay $100 more and the registry processes within 2 business days instead of up to 10. If you're incorporating to meet a contract, lease or financing date, that $100 is usually the cheapest insurance available.
What happens after you incorporate?
Incorporation is day one. Your New Brunswick corporation must:
- File an annual return within 30 days after its anniversary date, every year. The Corporate Registry mails or emails the Form 24.3 reminder before your anniversary month; the e-filed fee is $60. File late and your corporation shows as "B – Not Current" on the public registry; two years of unfiled returns and the registry dissolves it. See our guide to filing your New Brunswick annual return, or CRS can file it for you — $159 all-in, 1-business-day turnaround, with the deadline tracked every year.
- Hold the organizational meeting and document it. Adopt by-laws, appoint officers, issue shares, set the fiscal year-end and appoint (or waive) an auditor — all by directors' resolutions and shareholder resolutions that go in the minute book.
- Keep a minute book. Registers of directors, officers and shareholders, the securities register, share certificates and every filing you make. Lenders, buyers and the CRA will ask for it. See what belongs in a corporate minute book.
- Tell the registry when things change. Director changes and registered-office moves are filed as they happen; a name change or share-structure change needs Articles of Amendment ($212).
- Register for tax. Your Business Number from the CRA, GST/HST registration once you pass $30,000 in revenue, and a T2 corporate return each year — handled by your accountant, separate from the registry filings.
Should you file it yourself or use a service?
If your company is one founder, one class of shares and you're comfortable filling in Form 1 from the registry's instructions, the DIY route costs $262 plus a NUANS report and a couple of hours. The government forms are not the hard part.
Where founders come unstuck is everything the forms don't ask for: share provisions that can't accommodate a second shareholder or a family trust, no by-laws ever adopted, shares never actually issued, no minute book when a bank or buyer asks for one. Fixing that later means Articles of Amendment at $212 and legal fees. CRS's $699 all-in New Brunswick incorporation covers the NUANS report, custom-drafted Articles (English, French or bilingual), the Notices, Corporate Registry filing, by-laws, organizational resolutions, share certificates, Business Number application and the complete minute book — with your annual return deadline tracked for free afterward. Not sure whether NB or federal is right? Book a free 15-minute consultation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to incorporate in New Brunswick?
The Corporate Registry charges $262 to incorporate electronically (including the $12 Royal Gazette notice), $312 on paper, or $362 for expedited two-business-day service. Add a NUANS name search for a named corporation. The e-filed annual return is $60 every year after.
How long does it take to incorporate in New Brunswick?
Service New Brunswick's standard turnaround is up to 10 working days from a clean filing; the optional expedited service processes within 2 business days for an extra $100. Allow another day or two up front for the NUANS report. Most CRS-filed incorporations are complete, with the minute book delivered, inside two weeks.
Do New Brunswick directors need to be Canadian residents?
No. New Brunswick's Business Corporations Act has no Canadian-residency requirement for directors — you need at least one director aged 18 or over. Federal (CBCA) corporations, by contrast, need at least 25% resident Canadian directors, so NB is a practical choice for non-resident founders who still want a registered office in Atlantic Canada.
When is a New Brunswick corporation's annual return due?
Within the 30 days following the corporation's anniversary date, every year. The e-filed fee is $60 ($80 on paper). Miss it and the registry marks the corporation "B – Not Current"; two years of unfiled returns leads to dissolution.
Ready to incorporate in New Brunswick? Start your NB incorporation → — NUANS report, Articles drafted in English or French, filed directly with the Corporate Registry, full minute book included.
Turnaround: name cleared in 1–2 days; certificate and minute book typically within two weeks (registry processing up to 10 working days, or 2 business days expedited). Price: $699 all-in + tax — includes the $262 government fee, NUANS report, and Business Number application.
Fees and deadlines verified against Service New Brunswick's Corporate Registry fee schedule and annual return page, August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to incorporate in New Brunswick?
The Corporate Registry charges $262 to incorporate electronically (including the $12 Royal Gazette notice), $312 on paper, or $362 for expedited two-business-day service. Add a NUANS name search for a named corporation. The e-filed annual return is $60 every year after.
How long does it take to incorporate in New Brunswick?
Service New Brunswick's standard turnaround is up to 10 working days from a clean filing; the optional expedited service processes within 2 business days for an extra $100. Allow another day or two up front for the NUANS report. Most CRS-filed incorporations are complete, with the minute book delivered, inside two weeks.
Do New Brunswick directors need to be Canadian residents?
No. New Brunswick's Business Corporations Act has no Canadian-residency requirement for directors — you need at least one director aged 18 or over. Federal (CBCA) corporations, by contrast, need at least 25% resident Canadian directors, so NB is a practical choice for non-resident founders who still want a registered office in Atlantic Canada.
When is a New Brunswick corporation's annual return due?
Within the 30 days following the corporation's anniversary date, every year. The e-filed fee is $60 ($80 on paper). Miss it and the registry marks the corporation 'B – Not Current'; two years of unfiled returns leads to dissolution.
Get a custom quote in minutes — we respond within 1 business hour.