Ongoing compliance is everything your Canadian corporation has to keep filing and maintaining after incorporation to stay in good legal standing — annual returns, minute book updates, director and shareholder resolutions, a registered office address, and notice-of-change filings whenever your directors, address, or share structure changes. Incpass manages all of it for you, so your corporation never falls into default with Corporations Canada or your provincial registry.
Last reviewed: August 2026
What’s Included in Our Ongoing Compliance Service
- Annual Return Filing — filed with Corporations Canada or your provincial registry before your deadline, every year, with reminders so you’re never caught off guard.
- Individuals with Significant Control (ISC) Register — kept current and filed alongside your annual return, as required for CBCA corporations since January 2024.
- Minute Book Maintenance — your corporate minute book updated with resolutions, share issuances, and director or officer changes as they happen.
- Shareholder & Director Resolutions — drafted for annual meetings, dividend declarations, and any corporate action that requires a formal resolution.
- Registered Office Address — a compliant Canadian registered office, so you always have a valid address on file with your government registry.
- Notice of Change Filings — submitted whenever your directors, officers, or registered address change.
- Compliance Calendar & Reminders — we track every deadline specific to your province and structure so nothing is missed.
Why Ongoing Compliance Matters
Incorporation is the easy part. Every Canadian corporation — federal or provincial — has to file an annual return to keep its “active” status. For CBCA corporations, that return is due within 60 days of your incorporation anniversary date, and since January 2024 it has to include your ISC register information as well.
Miss the deadline and your corporation is marked overdue — which means you can’t obtain a Certificate of Compliance, a document banks, landlords, and investors routinely ask for. Stay in default long enough and Corporations Canada can move to administratively dissolve your corporation. A dissolved corporation can’t hold a bank account, sign contracts, or enforce its legal rights — and reviving it later costs more, and takes longer, than staying compliant would have.
Separately, non-compliance with the ISC register requirements introduced under Bill C-42 carries penalties of up to $100,000 on summary conviction.
Source: Corporations Canada, Annual Return requirements. Filing rules and fees are confirmed with the relevant federal or provincial registry at the time of service.
What Happens If You Fall Behind
| Timeline | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Within 60 days of anniversary | Annual return (and ISC filing) due |
| After 60 days | Corporation marked “overdue” — no Certificate of Compliance available |
| ~90 days after anniversary | Corporations Canada issues a default notice |
| Extended default | Corporation becomes eligible for administrative dissolution |
| After dissolution | No bank account access, no ability to contract — revival required to resume operating |
How It Works?
- We map your compliance calendar. Based on your incorporation date, province, and structure, we build a deadline calendar specific to your corporation.
- We prepare and file on your behalf. Annual returns, ISC updates, and notice-of-change filings are prepared and submitted before each deadline.
- We maintain your minute book. Resolutions, share ledger updates, and director changes are recorded as they happen — not reconstructed under pressure during a bank or investor review.
- We remind you before anything is due. You’ll never find out about a missed filing after the fact.
Who Needs This
Any incorporated business in Canada — including non-resident founders using a nominee director to meet residency requirements, who may not have someone on the ground to track provincial or federal deadlines directly.
Conclusion
Don’t let a missed filing put your corporation’s legal status at risk. Talk to our compliance team, and we’ll map out exactly what your corporation needs and when.
FAQs
What’s the difference between an annual return and an annual corporate tax return?
An annual return is a corporate registry filing that confirms your corporation’s basic information is current — it’s separate from your corporate income tax return, which is filed with the CRA. Most corporations owe both, on different schedules.
What happens if my corporation is dissolved for non-filing?
You lose the ability to operate — no contracts, no bank account access, no ability to enforce legal rights in the corporation’s name. Revival is possible but adds cost and delay you wouldn’t otherwise face.
Do provincial corporations have the same rules as federal ones?
The requirement to file annually applies across federal and provincial registries, though deadlines and fees vary by province. We track the specific requirements for your jurisdiction as part of this service.
Can Incpass take over compliance for a corporation it didn’t originally register?
Yes. We can pick up ongoing compliance for any active Canadian corporation, regardless of who handled the original incorporation.