FKINP For a federal corporation with uncertain records, FBC describes review or catch-up work, and Jahanshahi describes lawyer-assisted remediation.[3][8] CorpCentre focuses on digital administration, while CorporateMinuteBooks.ca focuses on prepared digital records and templates.[4][6] Ownr focuses on formation documents for corporations incorporated through its platform.[5] A binder or cloud folder alone does not establish complete CBCA records.[1][2]
A minute-book product is not the same as complete records
This guide applies to corporations incorporated or continued under the federal Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) and not discontinued from it. Provincial corporations are governed by the applicable provincial legislation.[2][8]
A federal corporation must keep specified records. Corporations Canada says corporations often collect them in one minute book, but it does not prescribe a particular binder, cloud platform or commercial product.[1] The records must be kept at the registered office or another location in Canada selected by the directors.[1]
Beiseker Registry, for example, offers a categorized book with sections for incorporation documents, notices, by-laws, resolutions, directors, shareholders, transfers and share certificates.[7] Those sections organize documents; they do not show whether each required record exists or accurately reflects the corporation’s history.
Check federal record completeness first
Ask whether a provider checks for each required record, rather than whether its folders have matching labels.
- Core documents: articles of amendment and amended or restated articles of incorporation; by-laws and amendments; any unanimous shareholder agreement; and shareholder-meeting minutes and resolutions.[1]
- Government notices: Form 2 for the initial registered office and first directors, Form 3 for registered-office changes and Form 6 for director changes. If a notice is filed online, the original signed notice must remain with the corporate records.[1]
- Ownership records: the share register must contain shareholder names, addresses and share details. The securities register must identify current and former security holders, their names and addresses, quantities held, and the date and particulars of each issuance and transfer.[1]
- Internal records: the corporation must maintain adequate accounting records and records of directors’ and committee meetings and resolutions. These are distinct from the records Corporations Canada describes as accessible to shareholders and creditors.[1][2]
- Individuals with significant control: most federal corporations must maintain an ISC register.[1] Under the CBCA, significant control may arise through specified share interests or rights, control in fact or joint arrangements. A significant number of shares means at least 25% of voting rights attached to all outstanding voting shares or at least 25% of the fair market value of all outstanding shares.[2]
- Annual obligations: shareholders generally appoint an auditor at each annual meeting. All voting and non-voting shareholders of a non-distributing corporation may unanimously resolve not to appoint one. Financial statements must be provided to shareholders at least 21 days before the annual meeting.[1]
Compare five minute-book service options
FBC
- Service scope: FBC describes setup or review of a new or existing minute book, filing missed returns, document preparation and filing, and annual maintenance.[3]
- Access: The services are offered to FBC Members.[3]
- Published pricing and terms: FBC calls the service affordable but gives no amount on the page.[3]
CorpCentre
- Service scope: Its subscriptions provide digital storage, reminders, e-signatures and specified updates involving directors, officers, shareholders, shares, dividends, registered offices and ISC information.[4]
- Access: Corporations formed elsewhere can onboard; services are available for business and non-profit corporations.[4]
- Published pricing and terms: The Compliance Suite costs $249 per year. Digital Minute Book & eSignatures costs $199 per year, auto-renews and permits opting out anytime.[4]
CorporateMinuteBooks.ca
- Service scope: The service provides a customized digital minute book in editable Microsoft Word and PDF formats, templates and unlimited updates for the life of the company registration.[6]
- Access: It is marketed to Canadian businesses seeking digital minute-book preparation and continuing updates.[6]
- Published pricing and terms: The provider advertises CAD 250 as a one-time preparation fee with continuing updates for the life of the company registration. This is a provider offer checked on 12 October 2026, not a guarantee of federal compliance; confirm taxes, exclusions and update turnaround before payment.[6]
Ownr
- Service scope: Incorporation customers receive initial director and shareholder resolutions, director consents, issuance notices, share subscriptions, registers, a shareholder ledger and by-laws, plus annual-return and annual-resolution reminders.[5]
- Access: Automatic document preparation is tied to incorporating through Ownr.[5]
- Published pricing and terms: Ownr advertises business launches starting at $49, but does not identify this as the price of a standalone minute-book review or maintenance service.[5]
Lawyer-assisted remediation
- Service scope: Jahanshahi Law Firm describes completeness review, ongoing maintenance, remedial resolutions for undocumented past decisions and reconstruction of a lost minute book.[8]
- Access: The page describes legal assistance with incorporation, maintenance, storage, review and reconstruction.[8]
- Published pricing and terms: The firm says law firms charge for incorporation, maintenance and storage.[8]
Of these pages, FBC and Jahanshahi expressly describe reviewing existing records or addressing past gaps.[3][8] CorpCentre, CorporateMinuteBooks.ca and Ownr do not describe retrospective legal review or remedial resolutions for an older minute book.[4][5][6]
CorpCentre excludes articles of amendment and dissolution from its unlimited update coverage, and government filing fees remain payable.[4] Its physical minute book is a three-ring binder with a slip case, dividers and ledgers; its Corporate Kit adds a seal and 20 customized share certificates.[4]
How to assess compliance claims
Treat claims such as “compliant,” “audit-ready” and “market leader” as vendor claims unless the provider supplies evidence tied to the corporation’s records. The FBC, CorpCentre, Ownr, CorporateMinuteBooks.ca and Jahanshahi pages provide no independent comparative evidence of accuracy, completeness, legal compliance or audit outcomes.
Ask for a written scope that:
- Maps each deliverable to the federal checklist and distinguishes what the provider will review, create, file, store and exclude.[1][2]
- Identifies who will assess historical share issuances, transfers, director changes and shareholder decisions, and whether legal advice or remedial resolutions are included.[8]
- Lists assumptions, government fees, excluded filings, service levels, data-export rights, renewal terms, cancellation and refunds. CorpCentre, for example, excludes amendments and dissolutions from unlimited updates and charges government filing fees separately.[4]
Apply the same caution to penalty warnings. CorporateMinuteBooks.ca does not connect its stated consequences to a specific CBCA provision, so those consequences are not verified federal penalties.[2][6] Jahanshahi’s penalty examples concern Ontario corporations and should not be presented as CBCA consequences.[8]
Choose storage, maintenance or legal catch-up
- Storage and organization: Consider a binder or digital repository when the required records have already been checked and the need is organization or access. The federal obligation concerns maintaining specified records, not buying a particular minute-book format.[1][2][7]
- Routine maintenance: FBC describes missed-return filing and annual maintenance.[3] CorpCentre covers specified corporate updates but excludes articles of amendment and dissolution from unlimited updates.[4] Ownr provides annual-return and annual-resolution reminders, while CorporateMinuteBooks.ca advertises continuing updates.[5][6]
- Substantive catch-up: Consider a completeness review when records are scattered, returns may be missing, registers do not reconcile or past decisions were not documented. FBC identifies audits, financing, investments, transfers, sales, amendments and real-estate transactions as common situations in which records may be requested.[3]
- Legal remediation: Lawyer-assisted work addresses questions requiring judgment about undocumented decisions, remedial resolutions or reconstruction of a lost book.[8]
What to confirm with each provider
- FBC: amount, contract length, cancellation terms and service-level commitments.[3]
- CorpCentre: subscription refund terms and the prices and cancellation or return terms for its physical minute book and Corporate Kit.[4]
- CorporateMinuteBooks.ca: cancellation and refund terms, jurisdiction-specific exclusions and whether substantive reconstruction is available.[6]
- Ownr: standalone review or maintenance pricing, contract and cancellation terms, and whether it reviews records of an existing corporation.[5]
- Lawyer-assisted remediation: detailed eligibility, price, contract length, cancellation terms and service-level commitments.[8]
Before engaging a provider, confirm that the corporation remains under the CBCA, inventory its records against the federal checklist, identify gaps, obtain a written scope and price, and keep the completed records at the registered office or another Canadian location selected by the directors.[1][2]
References
- Corporate records and other corporate obligations (canada.ca, 2023)
- Canada Business Corporations Act ( RSC , 1985, c. C-44) (gc.ca)
- Does Your Incorporated Business Have a Minute Book? | FBC (fbc.ca, 2024)
- Corporation Supplies | Corporate Minute Book | Digital Minute Book (corpcentre.ca)
- What is a Minute Book and Why Do All Corporations Need One? | Ownr Blog (ownr.co)
- Canada Corporate Minute Books | CAD 250 One-Time Fee | CorporateMinuteBooks.ca (corporateminutebooks.ca)
- Beiseker Registry – Corporate Minute Book (beisekerregistries.com)
- Everything You Need to Know About Corporate Minute Books – Jahanshahi Law Firm (jahanlaw.ca, 2024)
