Last updated April 3, 2024
Written by
Ingvill Walmann Byrknes Ingvill Walmann Byrknes, BA
Ingvill Walmann Byrknes is a professional content writer and editor. After getting a Diploma in Library and Information Sciences from OsloMet University, Ingvill left Norway behind and ...
Reviewed by
Alan Collins Alan Collins, BCL
Alan Collins is a Legal Writer and Custodian of Records for LawDepot and a member of the Alberta Law Society. Interests in literature, language and history are what prompted him to stud...
|
Fact checked by
Kyle Adam Kyle Adam, BComm
Kyle Adam is a seasoned content creator, editor, and SEO specialist with over four years of experience. Presently, he serves as Senior Marketing Writer and Editor at LawDepot. Holding a...
Incorporation in Saskatchewan
Incorporation lets you register a business as its own legal entity, separate from its owners. By incorporating, business owners can avoid personal liability, easily transfer ownership to new shareholders, and raise capital more readily.
In Canada, you can incorporate on either the federal or provincial/territorial level. Incorporating in Saskatchewan lets your business be registered under the laws and regulations of the Government of Saskatchewan. The company will be added to the Saskatchewan Corporate Registry, allowing you to operate within the province.
How do I incorporate in Saskatchewan?
LawDepot's Incorporation makes incorporating easy and manageable. Simply fill out the questionnaire and provide us with the necessary information. We'll do all the hard work of filing and registering.
Follow these six steps to incorporate in Saskatchewan:
Step 1: Name your corporation
Come up with a name that will identify your corporation. A corporation name must be:
- Distinctive. Use a unique element to differentiate your corporation from other companies in the same industry.
- Descriptive. Include something that identifies what the corporation is or does.
- Legal. Add a legal suffix at the end, such as Ltd., Inc., or Corp.
To create a name for your business, you can use acronyms or made-up words, or you can take two existing words and combine them. Choose a name that'll give you marketing advantages by helping customers remember or identify you. Make sure that the name follows the naming guidelines provided by the Saskatchewan Corporate Registry.
When you choose your name, you should also describe the nature of your corporation's business and the locations where you'll be operating.
Every corporation name in Saskatchewan goes through a provincial name reservation process to ensure it's not already in use. Once it's approved, your name is reserved for 90 days.
When you incorporate with LawDepot, we'll send your name in for approval. If your chosen name gets rejected, we'll contact you to ask how you wish to proceed. You can either choose a new name, select to have a numbered corporation instead, or cancel your incorporation filing.
We won't charge you for the incorporation filing until your business name is approved. However, the name search fee is nonrefundable, and there's a new fee for every search.
|
You can also choose to incorporate as a numbered corporation. Numbered corporations are assigned a number instead of a name, meaning no name approval process is necessary. Instead, the Saskatchewan Corporate Registry will give you a number, and your corporation name will include these three elements:
- An assigned number
- The word "Saskatchewan"
- Your suffix of choice, such as Ltd., Inc., Corp.
Once your corporation is established, you can register a trade name, also known as a "doing-business-as" name. Alternatively, your corporation can change its name to a suitable available name at a later date. This is done by filing a shareholder's name change resolution with the Saskatchewan Corporate Registry.
Step 2: Provide a registered office address
You'll need to provide your corporation's registered office address and mailing address. The registered office address is the main location of your corporation where any government notices and documents will be served. It needs to be located in Saskatchewan, it has to be available to the public, and it can't be a PO box.
Corporate registered office addresses are publicly available through the corporate registry, so keep that in mind before entering a home address. Some small business owners will nominate the address of their lawyer or accountant.
The corporation's mailing address is where mail and other documents are sent. It can be the same or different from the registered office address. Unlike the registered address, it can be a PO box.
Name a person that LawDepot staff, registry agents, or government agents can contact if something is missing or unclear in your incorporation files.
If the contact person isn't also the incorporator, name the incorporator. The incorporator is the person responsible for organizing the new corporation. We ask that you include names, addresses, and contact information for both the contact person and the incorporator.
Next, choose the initial directors of your corporation. These directors will be in charge of the corporation until the first meeting of the company shareholders. At that meeting, the first order of business should be to confirm the appointment of the initial directors or elect someone else.
You need at least one director to conduct the corporation's affairs. The director, contact person, incorporator, and shareholder can be the same person.
Step 4: Create your Minute Book
A Minute Book is a collection of your corporation's legal records. It includes all the forms filed during incorporation and other organizational documents.
Adding a Minute Book to your LawDepot Incorporation will help you organize, store, and protect all your corporate forms and documents relating to your incorporation. Your Minute Book can be physical or digital.
You're legally required to maintain an updated Minute Book once you have filed for incorporation.
|
Officers
To prepare the Minute Book, you must name your officers. Officers manage the day-to-day affairs of the corporation. They're appointed by and report directly to the directors. Ideally, there should be three officers:
- A president
- A secretary
- A treasurer
A single officer can have multiple titles. The contact person, incorporators, and directors can all be officers.
Shares
Decide on your share structure. Shares represent units of ownership of the corporation. The shares you issue can either be of the same or different class. The share classes are:
- Class A voting common shares let shareholders receive dividends and vote in company matters. These shares are typically held by the controllers of the corporation who make the business decisions.
- Class B non-voting common shares let shareholders receive dividends but no voting rights. Corporations typically issue non-voting shares when they want to allow investment in the company without diluting the voting strength of the class A shareholders.
Your company isn't required to have class B shares. However, you must issue at least one class A share when you incorporate. Both classes of shareholders can receive dividends and corporate assets upon dissolution.
When you've decided what type of shares to issue, you need to set a share price — many corporations set an initial share price of either $0.01 or $1.00 per share.
Shareholders
At the time of filing, you need at least one shareholder. Your shareholders can be individuals or other corporations. Name your shareholders, and include their address, share class, and number of shares.
Step 5: Create your provincial sales account
To operate in Saskatchewan, you'll need a provincial sales tax number. This will let you collect and remit sales tax on your company's goods and services.
LawDepot will need the following information to register your business for a provincial sales account:
- Your commencement date, which is the day you started your business
- Your business type
- An estimate of your monthly sales
- An estimate of monthly sales for liquor or tobacco products, if any
- The number of employees you expect to hire
If your corporation is a seasonal business and will only be operating for certain periods of the year, specify which months it'll be active.
Step 6: Register for any other corporate accounts you might need
Incorporating in Saskatchewan will automatically register you for a federal business number. However, depending on your company, you might also need to register for the following:
What’s included in LawDepot’s Saskatchewan Incorporation?
Every LawDepot Incorporation includes the provincial incorporation and registration of your business. For named corporations, LawDepot can do a corporate name search on your behalf. You can also add a Minute Book, a Corporate Seal, and Share Certificates.
After you submit your responses, LawDepot will file your incorporation as soon as possible. We’ll review your documents for grammar, spelling, and completeness. If information is missing or we require clarification, we’ll contact you directly. This could potentially result in a delay in the filing process.
Note that LawDepot doesn't offer legal reviews. Consult an attorney for specific business advice.
|
Once the incorporation documents have been filed, we’ll register your business. The registration timeline depends on the type of corporation you’re creating:
- The registration of a numbered corporation should take 1-3 business days.
- The registration of a named corporation should take 4-7 business days.
Because of Saskatchewan’s provincial name reservation process, your name must be approved by the corporate registry before your application can be continued. Provincial name approval can take 2-3 days. After the name approval is received, we will move forward with your filing and registration.
Can I make changes to my incorporation once I have ordered?
Once LawDepot reviews your order, we submit it for filing within one business day. This means orders are final. Contact technical support immediately if you need to change anything in your order. We’ll do what we can to stop the filing, but it might not be possible.
Always double-check your information and ensure everything in your order is correct before submitting.
|
How much does incorporating in Saskatchewan cost?
LawDepot’s Saskatchewan Incorporation starts at $99 + provincial government fees of $235. Some of the additional services or products are optional, and you can add them as needed, while others are legally required to incorporate in Saskatchewan.
Here’s a full cost breakdown of the required fees, including those legally mandated by the government of Saskatchewan:
Service/Product |
Amount |
LawDepot Service Fee
|
$99.00 |
Saskatchewan Government Fee
|
$235.00 |
Saskatchewan Corporate Name Search For named corporations only
|
$69.00 |
Minute Book
|
Choose between two options:
- Digital Minute Book – $59.00
- Physical and Digital Minute Book – $99.00
|
Shipping and Handling
|
$20.00 |
You can choose to add any of these optional services and products to your order:
Service/Product |
Amount |
Corporate Seal
|
Choose between two options:
- Pocket Edition – $59.00
- Mark-Maker Edition – $79.00
|
Share Certificates
|
Choose your package size:
- Package of 5 – $10.00
- Package of 10 – $15.00
- Package of 25 – $30.00
|
Finally, when purchasing your Incorporation, you can select a service level:
Service |
Amount |
Regular
4-7 business days
|
No additional cost |
Rush
2-3 business days
|
$50.00 |
Super Rush
1 business day
|
$100.00 |
What’s the difference between incorporating federally or only in Saskatchewan?
Provincial incorporation lets you register in one province. Incorporating in a province is the less costly option, and your chosen name will likely be easier to secure. It’s the usual option for start-ups.
However, if you want to expand your business into a neighbouring province, you’ll have to register as an extra-provincial corporation in the new jurisdiction. You might not be able to trade under your established name if a competitor is already using a similar name.
Besides Saskatchewan, LawDepot offers incorporation services for:
|
Federal incorporation allows you to operate country-wide without registering as an extra-provincial corporation when you expand outside your home province. It costs more and requires more paperwork than provincial incorporation. However, it lets you use the same name in all provinces and territories.
As a federal corporation, you won’t need to change your name to enter a different province, even if a business in the area already has the same name. This makes marketing campaigns easier and cheaper, streamlining bureaucracy when you expand your business.
The rule of thumb is to incorporate provincially if you only plan to operate in one province or territory. If you want to expand into other provinces or territories in the future, you should incorporate federally.