Transparency Register

As part of government’s commitment to end hidden ownership of companies in British Columbia and to help crack down on illegal activities, the Business Corporations Act:

1. Requires B.C. private companies to create and maintain a transparency register listing the significant individuals of the company, and
2. Fully eliminates pre-existing bearer shares in B.C. companies by requiring the possessor to exchange bearer shares for registered shares before exercising any of the rights.

Both measures are intended to help companies and, in some cases authorities, identify the actual individuals (i.e., natural persons) who own and control B.C. private companies.

For more information on bearer shares, please visit the Bearer Share Certificates Elimination webpage.

• What is the transparency register?
• How does it work?
• What to do if the transparency register is requested to be viewed?
• Exclusions

What is a transparency register?

A transparency register is a list of information on a company’s significant individuals.

A transparency register is a specific document that only private companies incorporated in B.C. are required to have and is held in each company’s own records office. The public does not have access to the transparency register. Only current directors of the company, law enforcement and specific inspecting officials have access, subject to certain rules.

As of October 1, 2020, private companies in B.C. are required to keep and maintain a transparency register of beneficial owners, including individuals who have direct or indirect control of the company or its shares. Information collected includes full legal name, date of birth, citizenship and last known address.

How does it work? 

Initial set-up

Companies need to contact their shareholders to compile the required information. Companies can request that their shareholders provide information for the transparency register at any time. Shareholders have a duty to take reasonable steps to gather the requested information and to send it to the private company promptly.

Once a company determines that someone is a significant individual, the company will have to notify that person.

Learn more on creating the transparency register.

Maintenance

Companies will keep their transparency register up-to-date. Companies must make updates to their transparency register within 30 days of receiving new or different information.

Companies that are unable to obtain or confirm information from shareholders (for set-up and/or updating) must record all reasonable steps and efforts taken to gather the required information.

Contents

Each company will keep the following information about every significant individual:

1. full name, date of birth and last known address
2. if they are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
3. if they are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, every country or state of which they are a citizen
4. if they are a resident in Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada)
5. the date when they became or ceased to be a significant individual in the company
6. a description of how they are a significant individual

What to do if the transparency register is requested to be viewed?

• Current directors of the company
• Police force in BC
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police 
• Tax authority of BC
• The Canada Revenue Agency
• The British Columbia Securities Commission 
• The BC Financial Services Authority (formerly FICOM)
• The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), and
• The Law Society of British Columbia

Exclusions

Companies Not Governed by the B.C. Business Corporations Act 
Legal entities not governed by the B.C. Business Corporations Act, including B.C. societies and cooperatives are not required to create and maintain a transparency register. 

Extra-provincial companies that are registered to do business in B.C., but are incorporated outside B.C. (e.g., companies incorporated in another province or federally), are also excluded from the B.C. transparency register requirement. It is recommended that you consult the legislation in your home jurisdiction to find out if your company is required to complete a similar transparency register in that jurisdiction.
 

Public Companies
B.C. public companies, like companies traded on a stock exchange, are not required to create and maintain a transparency register. These companies already have additional rigorous reporting requirements with other regulatory bodies, including the B.C. Securities Commission, the Registrar of Companies and any stock exchange on which the company’s shares are listed.
 

Excluded Companies
The following types of companies have also been excluded from the transparency register requirements:

• Companies that are a wholly owned subsidiaries of a public corporation
• Trust companies as defined in the Financial Institution Act
• Insurance companies as defined in the Financial Institution Act
• Government corporations as defined in the Financial Administration Act
• Companies that are wholly owned subsidiaries of a special act corporation¹ 
• Companies incorporated or wholly owned by a municipality or regional district
• Companies that operate an independent school in British Columbia
• Companies converted under the School Act
• Companies that are wholly owned by one or more Indigenous nations

If your company is one of the above, you are not required to create and maintain a transparency register. Please see the Business Corporations Regulation for details. 

Footnote:
¹ A special act corporation is a corporation that is incorporated by passing a federal or provincial statute rather than under a corporate law of general application such as the Business Corporations Act.