A Master Business Licence, often known as MBL, is a business name registration statement provided by Service Ontario. Individuals who wish to register a small business in Ontario can apply easily online and can receive the final documents in email in 2 business hours. An MBL is an overall business set up allowing for 3 specific situations:
Liability Protection for an MBL:
When an MBL is owned by an individual (sole proprietorship) or two or more individuals (general partnership), it does not provide liability protection. However, if the MBL is owned by a corporation (Trade Name/DBA/Operating Name) then it provides liability protection through the corporation. If you want to register a business that has features of limited liability protection, you must incorporate it.
MBL provides the following:
- Registration is valid for a 5 year period
- The ability to operate a business name within Ontario
- To open a Bank account, tax accounts, obtain cheques, business cards
- Advertise and promote the business name
The Master Business Licence does not provide the following:
- Name protection against other business names in Ontario
- Corporate tax benefits
- Continual registration
- Flexibility to make changes to the registration