Ontario beneficial ownership register software.
Since 2023, private Ontario corporations must keep a register of individuals with significant control — Ontario’s parallel to the federal ISC regime. Corpbook keeps that register in the required form, current, and ready to produce on request.
Not legal advice
What Ontario’s OBCA requires.
The Ontario regime mirrors the federal one closely, with its own thresholds and a key difference in how the register is disclosed.
Who is an individual with significant control
A person who owns or controls 25% or more of the shares by fair market value or votes, or who otherwise has significant influence over the corporation. Joint holders and indirect control are assessed together.
What the register records
Name, date of birth, latest known address, jurisdiction of tax residence, the dates significant control began and ended, a description of how the individual exercises control, and the reasonable steps taken to keep the register current.
How it must be maintained
The register must be updated within 15 days of the corporation becoming aware of a change, and the corporation must take reasonable steps at least once per financial year to ensure it is accurate and complete.
Who can ask to see it
Ontario’s register is kept internally and disclosed to specified authorities — including law enforcement and tax and regulatory bodies — on request. It is not a public filing, which makes a defensible internal record essential.
The 2023 amendments put directors and officers on the hook.
Ontario did not just create a record-keeping duty — it attached consequences. Failing to maintain the register is an offence, and directors and officers who knowingly authorize or permit non-compliance can face personal liability.
That moves the register out of the "we’ll get to it" pile. A maintained, audit-tracked record is the cleanest way to show the obligation was taken seriously.
Keep the register in the form Ontario expects.
Corpbook builds the register from records you already maintain and keeps it current between year-ends, not just at them.
Identify the right individuals
Corpbook works from your shareholdings and share classes to surface who meets Ontario’s control thresholds, including combined and indirect holdings.
Maintain the prescribed form
Every required field is captured in a structured, permissioned, access-controlled record — not a Word document that drifts out of date between year-ends.
Track the 15-day and annual obligations
Update windows and the annual reasonable-steps review are tracked and reminded, with each confirmation logged in an append-only audit trail.
Ontario beneficial ownership questions.
- Do private Ontario corporations need a beneficial ownership register?
- Yes. Since the OBCA amendments took effect on January 1, 2023, most privately held Ontario corporations must maintain a register of individuals with significant control. Offering corporations and certain other entities are exempt. Confirm your specific status with your lawyer.
- Is the Ontario register filed publicly?
- No. Unlike the federal CBCA regime, Ontario’s register is maintained internally and made available to specified authorities on request rather than filed in a public registry. That still requires it to be accurate, complete, and producible at all times.
- What happens if the register is not maintained?
- The OBCA amendments created offences for failing to maintain the register, and directors and officers who knowingly authorize or permit non-compliance can face personal exposure. Corpbook keeps the register current and audit-ready; it is a system of record, not legal advice.
Maintain an Ontario beneficial ownership register you can produce on demand.
Get started and build it from your share records — or book a 20-minute review to find the gaps before someone else does.