How to Search the Manitoba Companies Office Registry

Need the full picture on a Manitoba company? Order a corporate profile report — $69 + GST, delivered within 1 business hour → · Directors, registered office, status and filing history, pulled directly from the registry.

Manitoba corporate searches run through the Companies Office, part of Entrepreneurship Manitoba — the provincial registry for every Manitoba corporation, business name, trade name and limited partnership. Its online database, Companies Online, is free to search, but you need to create a (free) user account before you can run a name or number lookup. This guide covers where to search, what a search result actually shows you, what the registry's certificates and copies cost, and how to search Manitoba companies without creating an account at all.

Where Do You Search the Manitoba Companies Office?

The Companies Office's search database is Companies Online, the Government of Manitoba portal used for both searching the registry and filing with it. According to the Companies Office, the public can search the registry to find out who is doing business under a trade name, where a business is located, and the list of a corporation's officers and directors.

Two things to know before you start:

• An account is required. Companies Online needs a user name and password even for basic searching. Creating a "Regular Account" is free, and once you're in, the Search by Name/Number function covers business names, corporations and trade names.
• Searching is free of charge. The Companies Office's own name-reservation guidance confirms the Companies Online database search carries no fee — you only pay when you order documents or file something.

That account step is the main difference from provinces like Nova Scotia, where the public search needs no login. If you'd rather skip the registration, there are two no-account routes covered below.

Is a Manitoba Companies Office Search Free?

Yes — the database search itself is free once you have a Companies Online account. What costs money is turning a search hit into an official document:

Companies Office product	Government fee
Companies Online database search	Free (account required)
Certificate of Status	$40
Certificate of Search	$40
Photocopy of Articles	$20
Certified copy of Articles	$40
Photocopy of other corporate documents	$15
Certified copy of other corporate documents	$20

Fees are from the Companies Office's Request for Certificates or Copies form (checked October 2026). Expedited service is available at double the fee and is processed within 5 business days; regular paper copy requests are worked through in date order — the Companies Office publishes its current processing dates so you can see the backlog before you order.

If what you actually need is the registry record researched, confirmed and explained — rather than a raw printout — CRS runs a corporate search for $49 + GST, or a full corporate profile report for $69 + GST with directors, registered office, status and filing history in one document, emailed within 1 business hour.

What Does a Manitoba Search Result Show You?

A Companies Online lookup is the fast way to answer three questions:

• Does the entity exist? An exact-name match against registered corporations, business names and trade names tells you whether the company or operating name is actually on the Manitoba register.
• Who is behind it? The registry records the officers and directors of a corporation, and who is doing business under a registered trade name — the detail you need before signing a contract, chasing an invoice or vetting a supplier.
• Is it in good standing? The record shows whether a corporation is active or has been dissolved or cancelled. A Manitoba corporation that stops filing its annual returns is eventually dissolved for non-filing — so a search is the quickest way to spot a company that has quietly fallen off the register. (If it's your own corporation that's behind, see how to file your Manitoba annual return or go straight to the Manitoba annual return filing service before a bank or buyer runs this same search on you.)

For formal proof — the kind a bank, lawyer or landlord will accept — the search screen isn't enough: you'll want the Certificate of Status ($40 government fee, available online), which certifies the corporation exists and its standing on the date of issue. CRS retrieves Manitoba certificates for $109 all-in + tax, government fee included.

Can You Search Manitoba Companies Without an Account?

Yes, two ways:

1. Canada's Business Registries. Manitoba participates in the federal multi-jurisdiction search service, which aggregates provincial registries and needs no login. It returns the corporation's name, jurisdiction, registry ID and status — enough to confirm existence — though less detail than the Companies Online record.
2. The CRS search box. Our Canada corporations search queries the same registry data, covers Manitoba alongside the other participating jurisdictions, and takes a name or number with no account, no login and no fee. If the company checks out and you need the official record, you can order the profile report from the same screen.

For the full landscape of which registry covers what, see our guide to searching Canadian business registries and how to verify a Canadian company.

How Do You Verify a Manitoba Company Before You Pay It?

A practical pre-payment check takes five minutes:

1. Search the name (Companies Online, or the no-account routes above). No match for the exact name on the invoice is a red flag — trade names must be registered in Manitoba.
2. Check the status. Active is what you want; a dissolved or cancelled corporation has no legal capacity to contract.
3. Match the people. Pull the officers and directors and confirm the person you're dealing with is actually connected to the corporation.
4. Get it in writing. For transactions worth real money, order the Manitoba corporate profile report — the registry's recorded facts in one document, delivered by CRS within 1 business hour for $69 + GST.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Manitoba Companies Office search free?

Yes. Searching the Companies Online database is free of charge, but the portal requires a user name and password, so you'll need to create a free Regular Account first. Official documents cost extra — a Certificate of Status or Certificate of Search is $40 each. If you'd rather not create an account, CRS's Canada corporations search covers Manitoba with no login.

What is the Manitoba Companies Office?

The Companies Office is Manitoba's corporate registry, part of Entrepreneurship Manitoba. It incorporates Manitoba corporations, registers business names, trade names and limited partnerships, reviews proposed names, and maintains the public record of who is behind each registered entity — searchable through its Companies Online portal.

How do I find out if a Manitoba company is still active?

Search the name in Companies Online (or through CRS's free Canada corporations search) and read the status on the record: an active corporation is in good standing, while a dissolved or cancelled one has been struck from the register — often for unfiled annual returns. For formal proof, order a Certificate of Status ($40 from the registry, or $109 all-in through CRS including the government fee).

How much does a Manitoba certificate of status cost?

The government fee is $40, and the Companies Office also offers it online. CRS retrieves it for $109 all-in + tax, delivered as a PDF with no registry account or portal navigation needed on your end. Banks and lawyers accept it as Manitoba's equivalent of a certificate of good standing.

Can I get copies of a Manitoba corporation's documents?

Yes — the Companies Office supplies photocopies ($20 for Articles, $15 for other corporate documents) and certified copies ($40 for Articles, $20 for other documents), with expedited service at double the fee within 5 business days. Order through the Request for Certificates or Copies form, or have CRS handle retrieval as part of a corporate search.

Search Done — Now Get the Document

A search tells you a Manitoba company exists; the document proves it. CRS pulls the registry record for you — no Companies Online account, no forms, no waiting on the paper queue.

Corporate profile report — directors, registered office, status, filing history. Order now → Turnaround: 1 business hour · Price: $69 + GST

Certificate of Status — formal proof of good standing for banks and lawyers. Order now → Turnaround: 3 hours · Price: $109 all-in + tax, government fee included