BC's Public Transparency Register Is Coming: What Private Companies Will Have to File

Today, a BC private company's transparency register is an internal record that only directors and certain officials can see. That is set to change. In 2023 the Legislature passed the Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2023, which will require companies to file register information with the Registrar of Companies and make part of it publicly searchable.

As of October 9, 2026, the filing and public search provisions are not yet in force. They take effect by regulation, and no start date has been set in law. This post explains what the amendments will require so you can get your register in order before they apply.

Where things stand

The Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2023 (SBC 2023, c 20) passed third reading in the Legislature in April 2023. Its main provisions, covering the filing requirement, the Registrar's register, public search, enforcement officers and administrative penalties, come into force by regulation of the provincial Cabinet. The BC Laws table of legislative changes for the Business Corporations Act, current to September 22, 2026, still lists them as not in force.

The Province's corporate ownership transparency page describes the plan to launch a public registry of the beneficial owners of private companies, but does not give a date. Until a regulation brings the amendments into force, the current rules apply: companies keep their transparency register at their records office, and it is not public. If you have not reviewed how the current register works, our annual compliance checklist for BC companies is a good place to start.

The summary below is based on the amending Act as passed by the Legislature. The details that are left to regulations, such as the filing form and the annual filing period, have not yet been published.

What companies will have to file

A new section 119.52 will require every private company that must keep a transparency register to file the information in it with the Registrar:

• within 6 months after the company is incorporated or otherwise recognized under the Act, or fully restored
• within 15 days after the company becomes aware of new or different information about a significant individual
• annually, within a period to be set by regulation

The internal update deadline will also shorten. The current rule in section 119.31 requires a company to record new or different information in its register within 30 days. The amendments change that to 15 days, matching the filing deadline.

New information the register will need

The amendments add new items to the information every register must contain under section 119.2:

• Social insurance number, if the individual has one
• Individual tax number assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency, if any
• A statement of incapacity, if the company learns that a court, a health authority designate or a prescribed person has determined that the individual is incapable of managing their own affairs

If a company becomes aware that a significant individual may be incapable of managing their own affairs, it will have to take reasonable steps to find out whether such a determination has been made. Companies will also be restricted in how they use or disclose information collected for the register, generally to inspections, filings with the Registrar, providing information to enforcement officials, the individual's consent, or as the law requires or allows.

What the public will see, and what stays private

The Registrar will hold the full filed information, but only part of it will be publicly searchable. Under the new section 399.44, a member of the public will be able to search, for each significant individual:

• full name and year of birth
• whether the person is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• if not, every country of which the person is a citizen

Addresses, full dates of birth, social insurance numbers and tax numbers are not on that public list. The public information will not be searchable until 90 days after the company files it, and searchers will be prohibited from using results to solicit or harass people.

There are protections for vulnerable individuals:

• Minors and people found incapable. The Registrar must omit or obscure public information about a significant individual who is under 19 or who has been determined incapable of managing their own affairs.
• Health or safety. A significant individual or their representative may apply to have public information hidden if making it public could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or mental or physical health of the individual or a member of their household. The information is hidden promptly after the application is made, and there is a process for review if the Registrar later decides it should be shown.

Tax authorities, police, listed regulators and enforcement officers will have access to the full register for their purposes.

Enforcement and penalties

The amendments create enforcement officers with powers to inspect a company's records, demand information and impose administrative penalties. Penalties will be available for contraventions including failing to keep the register properly, failing to update it, failing to file with the Registrar, and misusing register information. The maximum administrative penalty will be $25,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a company or other non-individual. These sit alongside the existing offences, which already carry fines of up to $100,000 for a company and $50,000 for an individual.

How to prepare now

You do not need to file anything yet, but the work is easier before a deadline is running:

• Review your current register. Confirm that every significant individual is identified, including people with indirect control through holding companies or trusts, and that the information is complete.
• Check your structure. Holding companies, family trusts, nominee arrangements and voting agreements are where errors usually hide. Once filed, mistakes become part of a government record.
• Plan for the new data. Think about how you will collect social insurance and tax numbers securely, who in your business will hold them, and how you will tell shareholders why you need them.
• Tighten your update process. A 15-day deadline leaves little room. Build a register check into every share issuance, transfer and change to your holding structure.
• Flag safety concerns early. If a shareholder has genuine safety concerns about public disclosure, note them now so an application can be made when the system opens.

We will update this post when an in-force date is announced.

Get your transparency register ready before filing begins

Our business lawyers can review your share structure and existing register, identify every significant individual, update the register for the new requirements, and help you plan for filing once the rules come into force.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.