The OBCA and CBCA both require a designation of registered office when a company is incorporated. A registered office is the address provided to the government for official communication. The registered office is also the place where the minute book of the company is to be kept, and the place for service if the company is involved in court proceedings. Therefore a registered office must be a physical office capable of receiving document delivery, and cannot be a postal box. A company’s registered office is often the company’s primary place of business (such as store location, factory location or office), or the company’s lawyer’s office. Private residence can be used as a registered office for a company, but be aware this address is in public records. A registered office can be changed. For an Ontario company, changing registered office within a municipality (for example, both old and new addresses are in Toronto) only requires a board resolution. However, chanting a registered office across municipalities (for example, changing from Toronto to Markham) will require a special resolution of shareholders. Once the registered office is changed, the company must report to the Ontario government within 15 days by filing a Form 1. For CBCA companies, a change of registered office within a province only requires the filing of Form 4 within 15 days of change. If the change of registered address is across provinces, then a special resolution of shareholders will be required and the company’s articles will need to be amended.