CRA business number registration: How to get your BN online

Key takeaways

• CRA business number registration is done through Business Registration Online (BRO), the Canada Revenue Agency's primary channel for new registrations
• You'll need your SIN, date of birth, home postal code, and basic business details before you start. You'll get your 9-digit business number at the end of the session
• You can add program accounts like GST/HST, payroll, import-export, or corporate income tax in the same flow without filing a separate application
• Your business structure changes what you need to register for, so confirm whether you're a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation before opening BRO

What is a CRA business number?

A CRA business number (BN) is the 9-digit ID the Canada Revenue Agency gives your business so you can file taxes, collect GST/HST, run payroll, and handle other federal tax obligations. It's the root number that ties together every CRA account you hold.

Your BN works alongside your provincial registration, incorporation documents, and municipal business license. It's the single identifier the CRA uses to connect all your federal tax accounts. As your operations grow, you can add program accounts to it, and each one shows up as an extension on the same root number. For example, 123456789 RT0001 is the GST/HST extension and 123456789 RP0001 is the payroll extension.

BRO is the CRA's recommended way to register for a new business number. Paper Form RC1 is still available for situations BRO can't handle, like non-resident registrations or businesses without a Canadian SIN holder on file.

Who needs to register for a CRA business number?

You need a CRA business number once your business takes on any of these federal tax obligations:

• GST/HST collection: Your business exceeds $30,000 in taxable revenue in a single calendar quarter or over 4 consecutive calendar quarters. Either threshold triggers the requirement on its own
• Payroll: You're hiring employees and need to remit income tax, CPP contributions, and EI premiums as source deductions
• Importing or exporting: You're moving commercial goods across the Canadian border
• Corporate income tax: You've incorporated federally or provincially
• Other program accounts: You're registering for excise duties, information returns, or other CRA-administered programs

Sole proprietors who stay under the $30,000 small-supplier threshold and don't hire anyone technically don't need a BN. Most register early anyway, because it's required the moment you cross any of those thresholds, and registering late means backdating problems.

What do you need before starting CRA business number registration?

Gather these personal and business details before you log in to BRO:

• Your Social Insurance Number (SIN): The CRA uses it to verify your identity
• Your date of birth and home postal code: These match against your personal CRA records during identity verification
• An amount from your most recent assessed tax return: The CRA may ask for a figure from a return filed within the last two years to confirm your identity
• Legal business name and operating name: These can be the same or different depending on how you structured your business
• Business structure: Sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, trust, or other
• Business activity description: A short summary of what your business does. The CRA maps this to a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code
• Mailing and physical addresses: If they differ, you'll enter both
• Fiscal year-end date: Especially relevant for corporations and partnerships
• For corporations: Your incorporation number, jurisdiction, and date of incorporation

If you plan to register for program accounts at the same time, have those details ready too. For GST/HST, that means your expected annual revenue and the effective date you want collection to begin. For payroll, it's the date of your first payroll and the number of employees.

How does CRA business number registration work through BRO?

You'll move through identity verification, business details, optional program accounts, and a final review, then get your business number at the end.

1. Sign in to your CRA account

Go to the CRA Sign-in Services page. You can log in with your CRA My Account credentials, a sign-in partner like your bank, or a provincial digital ID.

If you don't have a CRA account yet, you'll need to create one. That means verifying your identity by uploading documents or waiting for a mailed security code.

If you're registering for a corporation, you need to be authorized to act on its behalf, typically as an owner or director. Otherwise, make sure you're listed as a delegate with the CRA.

2. Add a business account to your profile

On your account Welcome page, find the option to add an account and select Business account. From there, select Business Registration Online. This is where the registration session officially starts.

3. Confirm your eligibility and identity

BRO walks you through a short eligibility check based on your business structure and whether you already have a BN. If you do, it'll send you down a different path to add program accounts to your existing number rather than create a new one. BRO confirms your identity using the SIN, date of birth, and postal code you entered, and may ask for an amount from your most recent assessed tax return.

4. Enter your business details

You'll enter the legal name, operating name if different, business structure, addresses, fiscal year-end, and a description of your business activity. The system suggests NAICS codes based on the description, and you pick the one that fits best.

5. Add program accounts (optional but recommended)

This is where you'll save the most time. Adding program accounts now means you won't have to register them separately later. If you know you'll need GST/HST collection, payroll, import-export, or corporate income tax, add them in the same session. Each program account gets its own 6-character extension on your business number: a 2-letter program code plus a 4-digit reference.

For GST/HST, you'll enter:

• Effective date of registration: When you want to start collecting GST/HST
• Reporting period: Annual, quarterly, or monthly depending on your revenue tier
• Fiscal year-end for GST/HST purposes: Usually matches your business fiscal year

For payroll, you'll enter:

• Date of first payroll: When you started or plan to start paying employees
• Frequency: Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly
• Number of employees: A rough count is fine

6. Review and submit

Before submission, BRO shows a summary of everything you entered. Double-check the legal name, structure, and program account details, because mistakes here mean you'll be calling the CRA and filing amendment forms later. Once you submit, the system issues your 9-digit business number on screen, and any program accounts you registered for show up immediately with their extensions.

What happens after you get your BN?

Your business number is active the moment BRO issues it. You can start using it right away on invoices, tax forms, business bank account applications, and provincial registrations.

A few things to do in the first week:

• Save the confirmation: BRO provides a printable summary at the end of the session. Save a PDF copy and store it with your other formation documents.
• Set up CRA My Business Account: This is the online portal where you'll file returns, remit payments, and manage program accounts going forward. It's a separate sign-in from your personal CRA My Account.
• Update your accounting system: Add the BN to your invoicing template, especially if you registered for GST/HST. Canadian customers expect to see it on tax-eligible invoices.
• Update your provincial registration: Some provinces sync with the federal BN automatically, while others require manual updates. Check with the province where you're registered.

If you registered for GST/HST, your first reporting period starts on the effective date you entered. Mark the filing deadline in your calendar based on the reporting frequency you chose.

What are the common challenges with CRA business number registration?

BRO itself is straightforward, but a few situations can cause confusion:

• Identity verification failures: If your SIN, date of birth, or postal code don't match CRA records exactly, the system blocks you from continuing. The fix is usually calling the CRA's individual tax inquiries line to update your personal info, then trying BRO again.
• Non-resident registration: If you don't have a Canadian SIN, BRO can't process the application. Non-resident businesses generally need to file paper Form RC1 instead, or work with a Canadian-resident representative who has authority to register on the company's behalf.
• Wrong business structure selected: Choosing "corporation" when you're a sole proprietor, or vice versa, creates downstream problems with how the CRA treats your filings. If you spot the error after registration, you'll need to contact the CRA to correct it.
• Backdating GST/HST registration: If you crossed the $30,000 small-supplier threshold months ago and are only registering now, you'll likely need to set the effective date retroactively. That means you'll owe GST/HST on revenue you've already collected, even if you didn't charge it to customers. Talk to an accountant about how to handle the shortfall.

How should you plan your CRA business number registration?

Follow these steps in order for the smoothest registration:

1. Decide on your business structure: Sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation. Each one affects your taxes, liability, and registration requirements differently. Talk to an accountant or lawyer if you're unsure.
2. Register provincially if required: Corporations need to be incorporated first, either federally or provincially. Sole proprietors and partnerships may need a provincial trade-name registration depending on the province.
3. Gather the BRO inputs: Pull together your SIN, business details, structure, addresses, fiscal year-end, and any program account information before you sit down at the portal.
4. Decide which program accounts to add: If you're going to cross the GST/HST threshold within a few months, register now and pick a future effective date. If you're hiring soon, add payroll in the same session.
5. Run through BRO in one sitting: The session times out if you're idle too long, and partial registrations don't always save cleanly. Block enough time to finish without interruptions.
6. Set up your CRA My Business Account immediately after: That's where you'll manage everything from here on out.

If your business is more complex, with multiple entities, non-resident owners, or several program accounts, consider having an accountant run the BRO session with you. The cost of a 1-hour consultation is usually less than the cost of unwinding a misregistration.

Running clean books after your BN is active

Keeping your books clean after registration is just as important as the registration itself. Once you've added GST/HST and payroll accounts, you need to track every dollar in and out so your filings, remittances, and deductions are accurate when reporting deadlines hit.

Most of that tracking is still manual. Finance teams code HST, GST, and PST line by line into QuickBooks Online or Xero, then reconcile CAD and USD spend across separate cards before each filing. That workflow might hold up when you're processing a handful of transactions a month, but it breaks down fast as volume grows.

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