1. Overview
2. Eligibility
3. Before you register
4. Register now
5. After you register

3. Before you register

Information you need to get a business number

Step 1 – Provide your personal information

If you are a business owner or third party requester, you must provide all of the following:

• last name
• social insurance number (SIN)
• date of birth
• personal postal code (where you live)^{Footnote 1}

If you are a representative, you need to provide one of the following:

• RepID
• GroupID

For more information on representatives, go to Represent a Client.

Step 2 – Provide your basic business information

You must provide all of the following:

• business name
• business number (if this business already has one)
• type of business or organization (for example: sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, registered charity)
• name and SIN of all owners
• physical address
• mailing address (if different from the physical address)
• description of major business activity

Step 3 – Provide your CRA program account information

Corporation income tax program account

You must have all of the following on hand:

• corporation name
• certificate number
• date of incorporation
• jurisdiction

For more information, go to Corporation income tax program account.

GST/HST program account

You must have all of the following on hand:

• amount of your annual worldwide and domestic GST/HST taxable supplies
• fiscal year-end
• effective date of registration
• reporting period

You will also need all of the following if it differs from the business information in Step 2:

• mailing address
• physical address

For more information, go to Register for a GST/HST account.

Payroll deductions program account

You must have all of the following on hand:

• date employees receive their first wages
• months covered for payroll of employees' wages
• type of pay period (for example, weekly, quarterly)
• number of employees
• payroll service name (if any)
• country of parent or affiliate, if you have a foreign owned corporation
• name of franchisor (if any)
  • country of franchise's head office

You will also need all of the following if it differs from the business information in Step 2:

• mailing address
• physical address

For more information, go to Opening a payroll program account.

Import-export program account

You must have all of the following on hand:

• type of program
  • importer and exporter
  • importer
  • exporter
    • type of goods exported
    • estimated dollar value of goods to be exported

You will also need all of the following if it differs from the business information in Step 2:

• mailing address
• physical address

For more information, go to Import-export program account.

Managing your information

BRO summary

To document the process, we recommend you print all of the following:

• BN summary page
• program account summary page
• final summary when you are done

Data safety tips

BRO is limited to Internet users who provide "unique identifiers" by which the CRA can perform a security check and confirm who is using this system. These identifiers include your:

• name
• social insurance number
• date of birth
• personal postal code (where you live)^{Footnote 1}
• RepID or GroupID for representatives

For more information on representatives, go to Represent a Client.

For more information on security when using CRA online services, go to The CRA and Internet security.

How to keep your registration confidential

We recommend you confirm the BRO site's security certificate, which is issued by Entrust. To do this, click on the key or lock symbol that is at the bottom corner of the browser window, just before you begin to enter your registration information.

Guides and help

• Business Number
  
• Guide RC4022, General information for GST/HST registrants
• Business enquiries
• Hours of service

Related services and information

• The CRA and Internet security

• 2. Eligibility
• 4. Register now