Partnerships and Trade Names

When two or more people engage in business with a goal of earning a profit, they can create either a corporation or a Partnership. In a Partnership, each person becomes a partner of the other and each is liable for the debts and liabilities incurred by the other person in the conduct of the business.

Partnerships may make sense for small- to mid-sized businesses, but typically as a business grows, partners incorporate to invite other shareholders to participate in the business or to write an agreement to more formally govern their business relationship.

When partners do business, they typically give their business a name, but a name does not establish a business as a separate legal entity.

This is a Trade Name and partners must register Trade Names with the Government of Alberta so the public can conduct a search to distinguish ownership of businesses that operate under similar trade names.

There are no requirements for Trade Names to be unique, but Trade Names cannot include “Corporation”, “Corp.”, “Limited”, or “Ltd.” to distinguish them from incorporated businesses.

Rangeland Agencies can help you register a Trade Name, come into the office if you have any questions about Partnerships or Trade Names.