Can I use a numbered company as the buyer to stay anonymous?

A numbered company is a corporation known by its registration number rather than a chosen name, and buyers sometimes use one so that a seller, competitors or staff do not learn who is shopping. It does that job for a limited window. How long your name stays out of view depends on registry rules and on who in the deal has a right to ask.

What the ownership registers show

Since 2024, corporations under the federal Canada Business Corporations Act file information on individuals with significant control with Corporations Canada, and some of it, including the individual’s full legal name and an address, is public. The online search works by corporation name, number or business number, not by the individual’s name. British Columbia keeps its transparency register inside the company, closed to the public, with access for directors, law enforcement and inspecting officials. Quebec requires certain companies to declare their ultimate beneficiaries to the enterprise register.

Who still needs to know

Regulators look through the corporation. Ontario’s liquor regulator requires personal disclosure from all officers and directors of a corporate applicant, and the CRA expects its records of a corporation’s owners and officers to be current. If the company is a federal corporation, a seller who is given its number can search it, so the individuals’ names may be visible once the number is shared.

A narrower way to stay private

If the aim is confidentiality during negotiation, a numbered company is one tool and a confidentiality agreement signed before your identity is shared is another. The letter of intent and the purchase agreement are where the buyer is named, so ask your lawyer how much to disclose before then. See letter of intent vs purchase agreement.