ecore OBR FAQ

As the new registry will replace the governments outdated 30-year-old technology, we can now provide more opportunities to offer you uninterrupted access to eCore’s market leading offerings:

24/7 access to an expanded array of Ontario registrations and reports 
Newly designed customer interface for key product offerings
Customizable dashboards for easy management of your current and new entities
Integration with market-leading Corporate Record Management solutions
Scannable QR codes allowing for real-time verification of businesses
Enhanced security and data accuracy with an audit trail of all changes

All Ontario businesses and not-for-profit corporations, who wish to self-serve direct with government, will be able to use the registry to complete business registrations, filings, and other transactions online. Ontario businesses and not-for-profits can still use a Service Provider to take advantage of the many additional features available through our solutions.

Intermediaries, such as legal professionals, are asked to use a Service Provider for immediate online fulfillment.

Dye & Durham has been working closely with the Ministry to ensure our customers’ needs are met. Dye & Durham has a direct connection with the OBR, to offer our customers all the benefits of the OBR, along with features only available through Service Providers, such as electronic Ministry Filings through our Partner Portal, and all the other services across Canada for a one-stop-shop experience.

With the launch of the new Ontario Business Registry, search products will be consolidated, reducing Ontario reports from 17 products to 4. Search products will:

Contain more information
Be available 24/7 and in real-time
Deemed certified or have a scannable QR code

The main four reports are:

Certificate of No Match
Entity Profile Report
Request Document Copy
Certificate of Status

Please register for the Electronic Due Diligence webinar for a full overview and demo of these changes.

Search products have been consolidated, reducing Ontario reports from 17 products to 4. Our search products will be available 24/7 and will be certified in real-time.

The new Certificate of No Match will replace the current:

Certificate of Non-filing
Statement of No Record (Uncertified)
Certificate of No Record
Statement of No Match Found
Certificate of Non-registration

The new Profile Report will replace the current:

Corporation Profile Report (Certified/Uncertified)
Corporation Point in Time Report (Certified/Uncertified)
Corporation Document List (Certified/Uncertified)
List of Expired Business Names Registered by a Corporation (Certified/Uncertified)
Business Name Report (Certified/Uncertified)
Limited Partnerships Report (Certified/Uncertified)
BNLP Document List (Certified/Uncertified)
Partnership business Names Report (Certified/Uncertified)

The new Request Document Copy will replace the current:

Document Replica (Certified/Uncertified)
Microfiche Order (Certified/Uncertified)
Master Business Licence Reprint

The Certificate of Status will be available.

A company key is a unique sequence of numbers assigned to a business. The company key is necessary to authorize an account to make changes to your records with the Ministry. The key-holder is responsible for keeping the key confidential. It should only be shared with an authorized Service Provider or an intermediary. Dye & Durham is an authorized Service Provider with delegated authority to transact on filings and can bypass the company key requirement for all existing businesses, and new entities created through our solutions.

The company key will be sent to the official email address when a new business is registered.

If you are the owner of an existing business, you may sign up on the Ontario Business Registry website to retrieve your company key.

If you're an intermediary, you can ask your clients for their company key. If you require a company key for a filing through Dye & Durham, our team can support you in obtaining the company key. Email us at [email protected] for support. Please note that there are many instances where you will not need a company key. See next question for more information.

In most cases, a company key is not required to proceed with your filing (see table below for further details). You can complete and submit your forms to us in electronic copy without a company key.

As a Service Provider connected to the OBR, Dye & Durham has delegated authority on filings and can bypass the company key requirement for all existing businesses, and new ones created through Dye & Durham’s solutions after October 19th (i.e., eCore, white glove services, etc.)

Corporate filing tip for businesses registered after October 19, 2021: To avoid having to ask clients for their company key, use the same Service Provider you used to register the business for any subsequent filings. If you first used Dye & Durham to register the business, you will not be asked for a company key for subsequent filings. You can simply leave that field blank. In cases where a company key is required, a message in eCore will appear to include the key.

Majority of businesses in Ontario have been registered through Dye & Durham or through other vendors that use our APIs, meaning we have delegated authority on all businesses registered through us and a company key is not required. If you don’t know how or when the company was registered, you can proceed with the filings and if you receive an error asking for the company key, email us at [email protected] and we will help you retrieve the company key to complete a filing. The company key has a turnaround of 3 business days from the Ministry. At this time, there are no fees associated with this service.

The Ontario Business Register is meant to be available 24/7. Therefore, if articles are submitted through eCore on weekends, outside of normal business hours, or on a statutory holiday, and they are transactions that are fulfilled automatically by the system, the endorsement date will be the date submitted. eCore continues to offer the ability to have documents filed at a specified date in the future. Please note, this does not apply to filings sent to our team through email. Please refer to the turnaround table below for more details.

The most common issue customers are experiencing when submitting an Initial Return or Notice of Change is omitting to hit the "Add Title" button when adding an officer or director. Ensure you first select the Title and Date Appointed, and then hit "Add Title" to confirm the selection. You will see the selection appear with a light green background once it's been successfully added.

Other key CIA filings tips are as followed:

CIA filings have moved in the same area as Articles of Incorporation. Ensure you are using the Corporate Filings navigation under "Corporate" to complete CIA filings.
Ensure you are completing all mandatory fields, including the official email address and NAICS code.
A Company Key is required to complete the filing when the business was registered after October 19, 2021, AND not first registered using Dye & Durham. Otherwise, you can leave it blank or input 9-zeros.

Yes, MOF approval is still required. The consent letter that MOF currently provides today is being replaced by an electronic consent that can take up to 30 days to receive.

Upon electronic submission of filing:

a notification is sent out advising that the application has been sent to MOF for review
MOF provides electronic consent back to MGCS (can take up to 30 days)
MGCS provides notification that the application is being reviewed
MGCS reviews and approves filing (2 business days if submitted electronically)

The entire process can take up to 32 days.

Effective/Endorsement Dates:

Because it can take up to 30 days to receive MOF consent,

If the preferred request date is before MGCS gets consent back from MOF, the date will be the date of MOF Consent;
If the preferred request date is after MGCS gets consent back from MOF, the date will be the requested date

With the launch of the Ontario Business Registry, CorpLink and Fast Company customers can submit electronic Ontario ministry filings using our powerful eCore integration.

CorpLink:

One click submit to eCore, with the ability to validate data prior to submission
All data from CorpLink passes through to your existing eCore account and is automatically filed via CorpLink
Registered documents are returned to CorpLink, and the application updates the corporate name, date of incorporation, OCN number and election dates fields. The Charter documents are imported to the corresponding electronic minute book section of CorpLink

Fast Company:

File both AOI and CIA directly through Fast Company.
One click submit to eCore, with the ability to validate data prior to submission.
All data from Fast Company passes through to eCore fields in Forms & Registers.
Registered documents are returned to the matter and stored in the DP Filer and can easily be added to the Virtual Minute Book.
Corporate name, date of incorporation and OCN number are passed into the appropriate fields in Fast Company.

Don’t have a CorpLink or Fast Company account? Email [email protected] to enquire.

To start using eCore from within Fast Company, simply select the solicitor or law clerk with eCore credentials from the Solicitors database or Support Staff database by clicking on the magnify glass next to the Solicitor or Law Clerk field on Tab A of a record. Highlight the Solicitor or Law Clerk and click Edit. Enter the solicitor’s or law clerk’s Client ID and User ID on Tab 2 in the Personnel screen and click OK.

You are now able to file all your Incorporations and Form 1’s from within the Forms & Registers tab of Fast Company when selecting electronic registration and clicking on the eCore Validate button.

Note: If you do not know your eCore credentials, log into eCore and they will appear in the account box.

Ontario Business Registry
Frequently Asked Questions

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Company Key

Corporate Filings

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Ontario Business Registry Frequently Asked Questions