Ontario Business Registry (OBR) – How to Obtain the Company Key and set up a Profile in the OBR.
This page explains what the Ontario Business Registry (OBR) is and how it can be useful to your nonprofit. It also explains how to use the OBR, for example, how to set up a corporate profile and ask for a Company Key.
Creating and maintaining your OBR profile is an important part of transitioning to ONCA.
The OBR was launched on October 19, 2021, the same day that the Ontario’s Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) took effect.
You have until October 18, 2024 to review, update and file your governing documents with the Ontario government. Until then, the rules in your articles and bylaws continue to be valid provided they were valid before ONCA took effect..
You can start transitioning to ONCA even if you do not have access to the OBR to update your corporate profile.
The Ontario Business Registry (OBR)
The Ontario Business Registry (OBR) is a Government of Ontario database that stores information on all organizations registered in Ontario, including nonprofits.
Organizations have access to their information on the database and can file updates or make changes online with the government through the OBR.
The OBR can save your nonprofit time and money.
Once you get the Company Key for your nonprofit, you can file all the documents you’re required to file with the government online. For example, you can file your articles, forms, and notices, as well as any changes you may later make to them.
Some of the things you can do through the OBR include:
• incorporate as an Ontario nonprofit corporation by filing articles of incorporation,
• update your nonprofit records with the government by filing a notice of change of directors and officers, and
• renew your Ontario business name registration.
If you use the OBR, you do not have to hire a law firm search house to handle these filings for you. You also do not have to mail in articles, forms, and notices to the Ontario government. But these options are still available to you.
You can get useful information about your nonprofit using the OBR.
Basic information about nonprofits is free online. More detailed information is available on the OBR can be obtained through a profile report.
Searching the OBR
To find the nonprofit, type in its correct legal name in the “Search for” field and click “Search”. You will receive a listing of the organization you’re interested in as well as a list of organizations with similar names.
• its name,
• its Ontario corporation number,
• the date it was formed,
• the type of organization it is,
• whether it has an active or inactive status, whether the corporation was dissolved
• the legal jurisdiction that it is incorporated under
• the city or town and province of their registered corporate address.
If your nonprofit does not show up on the OBR it may be because:
• you entered the legal name of your nonprofit incorrectly
• your nonprofit is incorporated federally or in another province and was never registered in Ontario
• your nonprofit is registered in Ontario but may have changed its name, and never updated their name with the Ontario government
• your organization is not incorporated
OBR Profile Report
Ordering a profile report will give you more detailed information about the nonprofit.
Service Ontario no longer uses the ONe-Key system. All One-Key accounts need to migrate to My Ontario Accounts.
Besides listing the address the OBR has on file for your nonprofit, the profile report also tells you what information the government currently has:
• about your directors and officers
• former names your nonprofit had
• whether or not there are business names registered to the nonprofit
• government filings your nonprofit has filed
You can order a profile report directly from the OBR. You do not need an OBR account or a Company Key to order it.
You search for your nonprofit (see above). Once you find it, click on the “Request Search Products” link in the bar above the name of your nonprofit.
You then have to select how you’d like to request your ‘search product’. There are 3 ways to receive it:
• online, directly from the Ministry,
• online, from an authorized service provider, or
• by mail, directly from the Ministry.
Ordering a search product online directly from the Ministry is the best option. It is the less expensive and faster option.
After you select how you’d like to order your search product, you have to select the type of search product you want to order. Select ‘Profile report’.
If you selected “from an authorized service provider”, you are then taken to the service provider’s website. Follow the directions on the site.
If you selected ‘online, directly from the Ministry,” you then have to select whether you want a current profile or a previous one. Last, you have to type in the email address to which you would like the Profile report to be sent to.
If you selected ‘by mail, directly from the Ministry’ the profile report is mailed to the corporate address on file with the OBR. So, if the OBR does not list your current address, you have to update the address before you can request a profile report.
You have to pay a small fee online before you submit an order for a profile report.
Company Key
A Company Key is a unique 9 number code used for security purposes to access the OBR. You need your nonprofit’s Company Key to access specific details about it on the OBR or to make changes to that information.
The Company Key must be stored in a safe place and only shared with people who are allowed to file documents for your nonprofit.
• use the OBR directly
• mail in filings to the Ontario government.
• use an authorized service provider to help you file your documents with the Ontario government
• file something for a nonprofit that was incorporated before October 19, 2021
If you’re incorporating your nonprofit now, you can do so directly through the OBR. You get an e-mail with your nonprofit’s Company Key as soon as the government processes your articles of incorporation.
If you incorporated after October 19, 2021, your Company Key is emailed to your official email address, which you gave when you filed your articles of incorporation.
If your nonprofit was incorporated before October 19, 2021, you have to use the OBR to ask for your Company Key.
Click on “Get your Company Key” and search for your nonprofit by their official name.
You then need to enter the postal code of the corporate address you last sent the Ontario government. You also have to fill in your contact information.
If the postal code matches the postal code in the OBR, you will get a “successful completion” screen. The Company Key will be mailed through Canada Post to your registered office. It usually takes a week or so for the Company Key arrive.
If your nonprofit corporation has moved and not updated its corporate address, the OBR will have the old address on record. You cannot update the corporate address through the OBR. You must use a third- party service provider to update your address before you can request a Company Key.
Because a Company Key is always mailed to the nonprofit’s registered address on file with the OBR, a third party can receive your Company Key if you’ve used their address.
ONCA says nonprofits must keep certain important documents at their registered address. So if you use a third-party’s address for your registered address, you must also keep these records at that location.
But if your nonprofit’s address on file with the Ontario government is incorrect, you will not get your Company Key.
Check that the address on file is the correct one and update it if it’s incorrect.
You can check the address by ordering a profile report. You have to pay a fee to get this report.
See above for more information on ordering a corporate profile and how to change your address with the OBR.
Using the OBR
If the postal code that you enter when filling out the OBR form to get your Company Key matches what’s in the OBR database, you get a “successful completion” screen. This means you know the address linked to that postal code. And it is the same as the one in the database.
If you do not get the “successful completion” screen, then you know the database has a different address.
For a fee, you can order your profile report from the OBR to find out the address in the database.
Make sure you put a valid, physical address on your Notice of Change. You cannot use a P.O. Box for your address.
If you have a Company Key you can file the Notice of Change directly online through the OBR.
If you do not have a Company Key, you have to do this through a third-party service provider because the OBR requires you to have a Company Key before you make changes to your profile.
If your nonprofit does not have a valid physical address, then you can use the address of a willing member, a lawyer, or an accountant associated with the nonprofit. The person whose address you use must be a person you can trust to handle your nonprofit’s information and documents.
Different OBR services have different fees.
You can pay these fees online using a debit or credit card.
If you use a third-party service provider, you also have to pay their fee.
While you can do many things yourself using the OBR, you can still use a third-party service provider if you need the help. For example, they can help you complete corporate filings to maintain your nonprofit status. But you will have to pay their fees as well as any required government filing fees.
You must use a third-party service provider to obtain a company key if you do not have a current corporate address on file.
Authorized third-party service providers can be found here.
Reviewed: 2024-07-04