Oscar’s Barbershop: Registering a Trade Name

This is the third part in a blog series that follows Oscar, a prospective Albertan business owner who hopes to open a barbershop in Alberta. As Oscar gets his business off the ground, we’ll explore the steps entrepreneurs in Alberta must follow to start, grow, and protect their own businesses. In this chapter, we’ll see how Oscar registers his new barbershop.

After consulting with a business expert from Business Link and a certified business expert at AMA, Oscar had decided on a name and a structure for his new barbershop. He just needed to gather some important information and finish off the paperwork before he could register 2 Bits Barbershop as a sole proprietorship, also known as a trade name. A certified business expert at his local AMA was happy to walk him through the steps.

Gather Essential Info

The first thing Oscar had to do was round up all the information he’d need to get his paperwork ready for submission. There are five key pieces of information an entrepreneur needs to register a trade name or partnership in Alberta:

• The full legal name and address of the owner(s) of the business.
• The type of products or services the business will offer.
• The city, town or village within the province of Alberta where the business will be located.
• The selected business name.
• The date the business started. This date may be in the past or up to six months in the future.
• An email address to receive follow up documents
• Declarant’s occupation if it is an individual

Complete a Declaration

The form Oscar needed to register 2 Bits Barbershop was a Declaration of a Trade Name. He could acquire one online or from his local AMA centre. Had Oscar chosen to structure 2 Bits Barbershop as a partnership, he would’ve instead needed a Declaration of Partnership. With the information outlined above already on-hand, the process didn’t take long, and Oscar knew he could get help from an AMA certified business expert or an expert at Business Link.

Submit the Paperwork

After double-checking the document for errors, Oscar was ready to submit his Declaration of a Trade Name. As an AMA member, he could choose a number of ways to submit his paperwork, including online through his AMA Account, in person at any 17 AMA centres across Alberta, over the phone & email or via fax. Oscar chose to submit his paperwork conveniently through his AMA Online Account with support from an AMA certified business expert.

The Next Step

Once his declaration was submitted and verified, Oscar’s information was entered into the Corporate Registry system. Shortly after completing the service, he received a confirmation email with his federal business number. Now that his trade name was registered, Oscar’s business was just a few more forms away from officially opening its doors.