What public searches should a buyer run before closing?

A buyer’s lawyer can run a set of registry searches before closing, because each public register covers one kind of claim against a business or its property. The set is not identical in every province, and a search shows only what is registered under the name or number searched. This answer lists the searches by what they find.

Corporate and ownership records

For a provincial corporation, the provincial corporate registry is the place to search. BC Registries, for example, supplies business summaries, filings and certificates of good standing. For a federal corporation, Corporations Canada’s online search works by corporate name, corporation number or business number, and some information on individuals with significant control is public, but you cannot search by the name of such an individual.

Security interests and liens on goods

Provinces publish personal property registry searches. Ontario’s Access Now service lets you find out whether a lien has been filed in its personal property registration system, and British Columbia says to check for registered liens before buying personal property privately. Alberta’s forms search by individual debtor name, business debtor name, serial number or registration number. Serial numbers matter because Alberta lists motor vehicles, trailers, boats and farm vehicles among them.

Judgments and insolvency filings

Saskatchewan keeps a separate Judgment Registry for judgments and enforcement instructions affecting personal property and lands, and notes that its personal property registry search also returns judgments and sheriff’s notices, so the register that shows a judgment varies. Federally, section 11.1 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act requires the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to keep a public record of proposals, bankruptcies, trustee licences and administrator appointments, and notices from receivers.

Land title, where real property is involved

British Columbia’s land title authority describes a title as listing the registered owners, the legal description, the parcel identifier and the charges, liens and interests registered against it. A title search is generated from the register at a specific point in time, which is why lawyers repeat searches on closing morning. Which liens a search misses covers the gaps.