Ontario Professional Corporations must follow specific naming regulations set out in the Ontario Business Corporations Act (OBCA) and by each profession’s governing body.
- Mandatory Inclusions: A PC’s name cannot be a number name and must have “Professional Corporation” as its legal ending (i.e., legal endings such as “Limited” or “Inc.” are not allowed). For certain professions (e.g. dentistry), the name must also contain the surname of one or more shareholders exactly as it appears with the governing body and the profession practiced (e.g., “Dentistry” or “Medicine”).
- Optional Inclusions: It may also include given names or initials of the shareholders, but this is not required.
- Strict Format: No additional words, descriptors, or characters are allowed outside of the required elements. For example, “John Smith Dentistry Professional Corporation” is acceptable, but "Dr. Phil DDS/PhD Professional Corporation" and “Acme Medical Solutions Inc.” is not.
- Practice Name Registration: If the professional corporation wants to operate under a different practice or business name, that name must be separately registered under the Business Names Act, and the full official corporate name must still appear on all formal documents and communications.
- Governing Body Approval: Most professions require name pre-approval by the relevant regulatory college before incorporation is finalized. Some allow (or require) translation into French, or impose additional restrictions specific to the profession.
These naming conventions are designed to clearly identify the shareholder(s) and the nature of the professional services being offered, as well as to protect public transparency and professionalism.
Additional information regarding law PC names can be found here.
Additional information regarding dentistry PC names can be found here.
