# What Is an Ontario Initial Return and When Must a New Corporation File It?

> In Ontario, an Initial Return (Form 1) is a mandatory filing under the Corporations Information Act that reports a corporation's directors and their address for service. Ontario business and not-for-profit corporations must file it within 60 days after incorporation, amalgamation, or continuation into Ontario. There is no government fee, and filing is done through the Ontario Business Registry.

Published 2026-08-21 · Last reviewed 2026-08-16 · [Canonical page](https://canadalegalcenter.ca/articles/what-is-an-ontario-initial-return-and-when-must-a-new-corporation-file-it/)

Legal information, not legal advice.

## Filing an Ontario Initial Return: the steps

An Initial Return is the first mandatory filing a new Ontario corporation makes after it comes into existence. It tells the province who runs the corporation, specifically its directors, so the public record is accurate from the start. Here is the process in order.

### Step 1: Confirm the 60-day filing window has started

The clock starts on the date of incorporation, amalgamation, or continuation into Ontario. [All Ontario business and not-for-profit corporations must file a Form 1 Initial Return](https://www.ontario.ca/page/form-initial-return-notice-change-making-changes-corporate-information) setting out prescribed information within 60 days of that date, under the Corporations Information Act. The statute itself confirms the same 60-day deadline in plain terms: the [initial return must be filed within 60 days after the date of incorporation, amalgamation or continuation of the corporation](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-c39/latest/rso-1990-c-c39.html). Missing the incorporation date entirely is the most common way this deadline gets misjudged, since it is not tied to a fiscal year-end or a tax filing date.

### Step 2: Gather the required information

The return must list all directors of the corporation, their address for service, and the date each was elected or appointed (or, if applicable, the date they ceased to be a director). This is [confirmed on the Ontario.ca Form 1 guidance page](https://www.ontario.ca/page/form-initial-return-notice-change-making-changes-corporate-information), which sets out both the 60-day deadline and the specific director details the return must contain.

### Step 3: File through the Ontario Business Registry

Since May 5, 2021, the Canada Revenue Agency no longer accepts these filings on the Ministry's behalf. Corporations now [file through the Ontario Business Registry using an Ontario.ca Login](https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-business-registry-all-services). There is no Ministry fee for this filing: [Ontario.ca states plainly that there is no Ministry fee to file an Initial Return or Notice of Change](https://www.ontario.ca/page/form-initial-return-notice-change-making-changes-corporate-information).

### Step 4: Check whether a special timing rule applies

Most corporations follow the standard 60-day rule above. But a corporation that was not formed under the Business Corporations Act, the Corporations Act, the Co-operative Corporations Act, or the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, and that is also required to register a name under the Business Names Act, faces a different order of operations. In that case, [the initial return must be filed before the corporation's name is registered](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-c39/latest/rso-1990-c-c39.html) under the Business Names Act, not within 60 days after some later event.

### Step 5: Extra-provincial corporations use a different trigger date

A corporation incorporated outside Ontario that starts doing business in Ontario is not exempt. [Every extra-provincial corporation that begins to carry on business in Ontario must file an initial return](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-c39/latest/rso-1990-c-c39.html) setting out prescribed information as of the date of filing, and the 60-day deadline runs from the date the corporation begins carrying on business in Ontario, not from its home-jurisdiction incorporation date.

### Step 6: Keep the return current with a Notice of Change

The Initial Return is not a one-time snapshot that stays accurate forever. If any of the reported information changes, for example a director resigns or a new one is appointed, the corporation must file a Notice of Change setting out all current information [within 15 days after the change takes place](https://www.ontario.ca/page/form-initial-return-notice-change-making-changes-corporate-information), rather than filing a fresh Initial Return.

## A worked example

A business corporation is incorporated in Ontario on March 1. Under the 60-day rule, its Initial Return is due by April 30. It files through the Ontario Business Registry, listing its two directors, their addresses for service, and their appointment dates from the incorporation documents. No fee is charged. Six weeks later, on June 15, one director resigns and a new director is appointed. Because this is a change to already-filed information, the corporation has 15 days from June 15, not another 60, to file a Notice of Change reflecting the new director's details.

## Common mistakes

- **Confusing the incorporation date with a fiscal year-end.** In Ontario, the Initial Return's 60-day clock runs from the date of incorporation, amalgamation, or continuation, a fixed date that has nothing to do with the corporation's chosen fiscal year.
- **Assuming a fee applies.** Some corporations delay filing because they expect a government charge; in Ontario there is no Ministry fee for the Initial Return or a Notice of Change.
- **Refiling an Initial Return after a director change.** Once the Initial Return is filed, later changes go through a Notice of Change (15-day deadline), not a repeat Initial Return filing.
- **Overlooking extra-provincial obligations.** A corporation formed outside Ontario that starts operating here still owes an initial return, timed from when it begins carrying on business in Ontario rather than from its original incorporation date.
- **Missing the pre-registration filing order.** For the narrower group of corporations that must register a name under the Business Names Act and were not formed under Ontario's main corporate statutes, the initial return has to be filed before that name registration, not within a post-incorporation window.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is there a fee to file an Ontario Initial Return?**

No. In Ontario, the Ministry charges no fee to file the Initial Return or a later Notice of Change, according to the Ontario.ca guidance page on Form 1.

**Do extra-provincial corporations need to file an Initial Return in Ontario?**

Yes. An extra-provincial corporation (one incorporated outside Ontario) that begins carrying on business in Ontario must also file an initial return, but the 60-day clock runs from the date it begins carrying on business here, not from its original incorporation date.

**What happens if a director changes after the Initial Return is filed?**

In Ontario, a change to director information (a new director, a resignation, a changed address for service) is reported through a separate Notice of Change filed within 15 days of the change, not by refiling the Initial Return.

**Where do I file the Initial Return?**

In Ontario, initial returns are filed through the Ontario Business Registry using an Ontario.ca Login. Since May 5, 2021, the CRA no longer accepts these filings on the Ministry's behalf.


## Sources

1. [Ontario.ca – Form 1, Initial Return/Notice of Change guidance page](https://www.ontario.ca/page/form-initial-return-notice-change-making-changes-corporate-information), Corporations Information Act, RSO 1990, c C.39, s 2(1)-(2) (retrieved 2026-07-17)
2. [Corporations Information Act, RSO 1990, c C.39](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-c39/latest/rso-1990-c-c39.html), Corporations Information Act, RSO 1990, c C.39, s 2(2)-(3), s 3(1)-(2) (retrieved 2026-07-17)
3. [Ontario.ca – Ontario Business Registry: All services](https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-business-registry-all-services), Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, Ontario Business Registry service page (retrieved 2026-07-17)