Start Your Store
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Step 1 of 13

Choose your structure and business name

Decide how the business is set up and what it is called.

Time
1–2 hours
Cost
Free
BC Registry name search ↗

Choose your structure and business name: step-by-step guide

Screenshots use a made-up example business. Official sites change, so yours may look slightly different.

  1. Name Request page with the action selector for starting a new business name
    1. Open Name Request and choose the action that matches what you're doing. For a new business, pick the option to get a business name.
  2. Name Request page with the How to Build Your Name guidance
    2. Read How to Build Your Name before you type anything. A name needs a distinctive part and a description, and it must not clash with an existing name.

Screenshots captured 2026-10-06. See something different? Report a problem

Structure

Start as a sole proprietorship. It is the cheapest and simplest option, and you can incorporate later if the business grows.

The trade-off is that you are personally liable for the business. Insurance (step 7) is how you manage that risk.

Name

  • If you trade under just your own legal name (for example "Jane Smith"), you do not have to register a name.
  • If you use any other name, for example "Jane's Gift Shop", you must register it in the next step.

Pick a name that is unique, easy to spell and easy to say. Search it at BC Registry before you fall in love with it.

Keep it practical

Choose a name you are comfortable seeing on a bank statement, a licence and a shipping label.

Your checklist