Many of you have probably heard by now of the new Business Registry change in the Province of Ontario. These changes impact incorporated businesses including professional corporations. With the launch of the ‘Search the Ontario Business Registry’ feature by Service Ontario, anyone can enter in the name of your corporation or your last name and obtain the address of your corporation. If the address of your corporation is either the hospital or your clinic, that is not a significant concern as this information is also available on the CVO website. However, if the registered address of the corporation is your home address, I would encourage you to change it for privacy and security purpose.

Professional bodies are working with the Province of Ontario to resolve this issue. However, until any resolution is brought forward, I would suggest the following:

1) Search the Ontario Business Registry for your professional corporation.

2) Confirm if the registered or head office address is your home address. As mentioned above, if the address is your hospital or clinic, then there is no further action needed.

3) If the address is your home address, you may change the address to your place of work by completing Form 1, Initial Return / Notice of Change. Alternatively, you may also request your company key by clicking on ‘Get your company key’ on the above website. Once you receive the key, you can continue to follow the instructions under ‘Access your existing business or not-for-profit corporation’.
4) Should you change the registered address, please inform me. Your corporate minute books will also need to be updated with the changed address at the year-end meeting.

Hopefully, in the coming weeks, there will be further details and a resolution will be reached to protect medical professionals with enhanced privacy measures.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Rishi Kapadia, CPA, CA, Founder of Physicians CPA.