Automotive

Can you register an Ontario car in a company name?

  • Last Updated:
  • Jun 17th, 2012 7:50 pm
Tags:
None
Newbie
Jun 15, 2012
3 posts
TORONTO

Can you register an Ontario car in a company name?

A family member who lives in China and has his own business will soon begin travelling to Ontario a lot. He doesn't want to waste too much money on allways renting cars while he is here as he used to do when he came here to just visit. He did some calculations and figures its more economical for him to just buy a decent used car here in Ontario and keep it here. He wants to store the car at my familys house when he's not in Ontario which is OK with my dad.

He wants to register the car and insure it under his company's name, which is in China (as an company asset I suppose).

This seems to be common practice in British Columbia with Chinese business nationals, or at least many people do this there, so I've heard.

He asked my dad, who asked me, to find out how to do this but I cannot find any information on the internet, and then I found this neat place of yours and Im asking here because I cannot find the forum boards for the MTO

The questions are these, and please keep in mind that he does not want the car in his name, he wants it in his business name. Does he register the car in China and use Chinese license plates or does he register the car in Ontario and use Ontario license plates? Can he even do either of these if he is not Canadian? I know there are many drivers in Ontario here who drive around with USA license plates or plates from other provinces or even other countries and the cars are all marked up with company logos and names but they are here all the time, one company that everyone knows of is U-Haul which is a USA company. How is this done? What kind of documents does he need if he gets pulled over? He will be using Chinese driving license or international license (he's not sure yet which one) so he cannot get insurance because he will not have Ontario drivers license so his company will insure the car. Last question is can my dad also drive this car sometimes?

Please and Thank You in foreward for your replies.
10 replies
Deal Fanatic
Apr 16, 2007
8134 posts
3485 upvotes
Financial District B…
KevinJ23 wrote: The questions are these, and please keep in mind that he does not want the car in his name, he wants it in his business name. Does he register the car in China and use Chinese license plates or does he register the car in Ontario and use Ontario license plates? Can he even do either of these if he is not Canadian? I know there are many drivers in Ontario here who drive around with USA license plates or plates from other provinces or even other countries and the cars are all marked up with company logos and names but they are here all the time, one company that everyone knows of is U-Haul which is a USA company. How is this done? What kind of documents does he need if he gets pulled over? He will be using Chinese driving license or international license (he's not sure yet which one) so he cannot get insurance because he will not have Ontario drivers license so his company will insure the car. Last question is can my dad also drive this car sometimes?

Please and Thank You in foreward for your replies.
If registering the vehicle and new plates under a business or corporation you will need a CVOR application which is a corporation and/or partnership declaration. You can get this form at any MTO
Once regidtered under the business you will receive a RIN number. A RIN number acts like your drivers license number in identifying the business, its sticker renewal month etc etc.
In order to qualify for a business RIN you will need to supply a copy of Articles or Sole Proprietorship to the MTO.
Also, If you want the plates in one name and the vehicle under another then you'll need both a long green and short supplementary green.
Its been a really long time so I may have missed a step.

As far as insurance goes, if the insurance is naming the business/corporation then anyone under the 'employ' of the business can operate the vehicle including your dad. Check with different insurance carriers for clarification.
----------------------------Licensed Credit Bureau member, S1, FI Automotive, CCP forums most banned = x 13 and counting, guess who that is?... stomped to the curb once again
Jr. Member
Oct 20, 2008
131 posts
4 upvotes
Burnaby
Hi

mikeymike1 wrote: If registering the vehicle and new plates under a business or corporation you will need a CVOR application which is a corporation and/or partnership declaration. You can get this form at any MTO
Once regidtered under the business you will receive a RIN number. A RIN number acts like your drivers license number in identifying the business, its sticker renewal month etc etc.
In order to qualify for a business RIN you will need to supply a copy of Articles or Sole Proprietorship to the MTO.
Also, If you want the plates in one name and the vehicle under another then you'll need both a long green and short supplementary green.
Its been a really long time so I may have missed a step.

As far as insurance goes, if the insurance is naming the business/corporation then anyone under the 'employ' of the business can operate the vehicle including your dad. Check with different insurance carriers for clarification.
But don't you need a Canadian business to set this up? Unless the guy has a Canadian branch office, probably out of luck.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 5, 2011
2313 posts
192 upvotes
YF
Is insurance higher for a company or personal?
Deal Fanatic
Apr 16, 2007
8134 posts
3485 upvotes
Financial District B…
PMM1 wrote: Hi
But don't you need a Canadian business to set this up? Unless the guy has a Canadian branch office, probably out of luck.
I don't think it needs to be solely a Cdn business. All he needs to do is apply for a business registration thats associated with the main corp. The business can be as simple as a numbered company ie: 123456 Ontario.Inc
Its only $60 to register a new business name
----------------------------Licensed Credit Bureau member, S1, FI Automotive, CCP forums most banned = x 13 and counting, guess who that is?... stomped to the curb once again
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 4, 2009
7698 posts
794 upvotes
North York
OP should call an insurance broker and get their opinion on what it will cost to insure the car in such a manner before.

I suspect the costs will be prohibitively high.

You are asking an insurance company to insure a car for someone whom has NO Canadian driving record (ie. they driver can have 5 accidents a year in China and Canadian insurance will never know). A car that can be driven by any person designated by the company (ie. 18 year old male). As it is being used for business it will be used to transport business goods, it can be used a lot (driven everyday in downtown Toronto traffic).

There are no government regulations telling what insurance companies can charge for business use vehicles.
Newbie
Jun 15, 2012
3 posts
TORONTO
Thank you all for your quick replies, good information but I dont think the answers quite give enough information so I will give you more information about what my dad told me after I gave him the information you all supplied.

I saw CVOR on the government website thinking it was for businesses but it only relates to busses and big transport trucks and heavy vehicles over 9,000 pounds and a car is like 3,000 pounds. He wants a car which is classified as a passenger vehicle so no special registration is needed for that and no special driving license, to drive a CVOR type truck you need a CVOR license. So no its not a CVOR for him.

See, my father made the calls earlier in the week but his English is not too good and he did not understand to much of what he was told, so he said for me to do it but I cannot as Im allways in class and cannot call during their regular hours, I mean I tried but they take forever to get to your call, and on lunch time no one could answer me these questions because its now Service Ontario and the workers have no experience.

He is not getting an Ontario insurance company to give him insurance coverage, his own company in China is covering all the costs like Rogers Cable does for it's trucks, see, I e-mailed some insurance companies and they said that if you or your company have certain minimum ammount of money in a bank account that is liquidable, that you are your own coverage (if you want to go that way) meaning you are self insured, so my moms cousin (the Chinese business man) has a good company with enough to qualify not needing to get insurance from an Ontario company (or any company). I looked around and many places do this like UPS / Pepsi / Wal-Mart and stuff. Some rich people who win the lottery self insure. Basically if he has an accident and its his fault, his company will pay for everything, so in a way he does have insurance according to what agent broker e-mailed.

I dont think he is doing business in Ontario, he is comming here for learing, teaching and meetings so I dont think he needs a Ontario business registered here.

My dad also told me more things, like he wants us to find and buy him a car and register it for him so he has one ready when he comes, so I suppose the questions are this, how do we buy him a car, like do we buy him a car and go to the service ontario and just pay the money and get plates and tell them it goes in the name of a company? do we tell them its in China? any more information will be great and welcomed.

Thanks again, you are nice people.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 4, 2009
7698 posts
794 upvotes
North York
Am I the only one thinking OP's dad should just buy the car under his name and insure it under his name too.

The relative would pay for the car and insurance. And both the relative and OP's dad can drive the car.

Everything else sounds problematic.

I understand in China anything is possible with enough "lucky money" packets. But, there are a lot of laws in Ontario.

This is an interesting discussion.
Deal Fanatic
Apr 16, 2007
8134 posts
3485 upvotes
Financial District B…
KevinJ23 wrote: Thank you all for your quick replies, good information but I dont think the answers quite give enough information so I will give you more information about what my dad told me after I gave him the information you all supplied.

I saw CVOR on the government website thinking it was for businesses but it only relates to busses and big transport trucks and heavy vehicles over 9,000 pounds and a car is like 3,000 pounds. He wants a car which is classified as a passenger vehicle so no special registration is needed for that and no special driving license, to drive a CVOR type truck you need a CVOR license. So no its not a CVOR for him.
In your original post you inquired about UHaul trucks. Now you know
KevinJ23 wrote: He is not getting an Ontario insurance company to give him insurance coverage, his own company in China is covering all the costs like Rogers Cable does for it's trucks, see, I e-mailed some insurance companies and they said that if you or your company have certain minimum ammount of money in a bank account that is liquidable, that you are your own coverage (if you want to go that way) meaning you are self insured, so my moms cousin (the Chinese business man) has a good company with enough to qualify not needing to get insurance from an Ontario company (or any company). I looked around and many places do this like UPS / Pepsi / Wal-Mart and stuff. Some rich people who win the lottery self insure. Basically if he has an accident and its his fault, his company will pay for everything, so in a way he does have insurance according to what agent broker e-mailed.
Yes, if his company is a big enough entity he can self-insure. By mere mentioning this I'm sure they have their own internal claims adjuster and administration dept.
Documentation wise, will he need to keep a copy of his companys financial statements in the glove box for instances he gets pulled over? To show his company has 1mill liquidity for liability? Better check with the Ont governments treasury board for guidelines.
KevinJ23 wrote: I dont think he is doing business in Ontario, he is comming here for learing, teaching and meetings so I dont think he needs a Ontario business registered here.
Well, originally you stated he wanted the vehicle to be registered and licensed under the business. In order to do such he needs a business registration in order to obtain Ont plates.
If not, then he should just purchase a vehicle under is own personal name
KevinJ23 wrote: My dad also told me more things, like he wants us to find and buy him a car and register it for him so he has one ready when he comes, so I suppose the questions are this, how do we buy him a car, like do we buy him a car and go to the service ontario and just pay the money and get plates and tell them it goes in the name of a company? do we tell them its in China? any more information will be great and welcomed.

Thanks again, you are nice people.
You're not paying attention to what has been posted. If you want a vehicle registered and plated in a business... you'll need a business registration. In order to get this you'll need to supply to the MTO a copy of the Articles of Incorporation, Sole Proprietorship.

I don't understand whats so difficult here. If the company has soooo much money that it can self-insure itself then why are they worrying about simple costs like car rentals???
----------------------------Licensed Credit Bureau member, S1, FI Automotive, CCP forums most banned = x 13 and counting, guess who that is?... stomped to the curb once again
Sr. Member
Apr 5, 2010
951 posts
227 upvotes
Tell your dad to do all this himself.

"h[QUOTE]ow do we buy him a car, like do we buy him a car and go to the service ontario and just pay the money and get plates and tell them it goes in the name of a company? do we tell them its in China?"[/QUOTE][QUOTE][/QUOTE]

Seriously? ....how do we buy him a car?

Pick out a car. Pay deposit/in full. Get article of incorporation from Gov Ontario. Fax article of incorporation and let the car dealer handle the rest.

Here is the form: http://www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca/mbs/ssb/ ... 07116E.pdf
Newbie
Jun 15, 2012
3 posts
TORONTO
Hello everyone again, happy fathers day to you

[QUOTE]In your original post you inquired about UHaul trucks. Now you know[/QUOTE]

Sorry my friend but you are not right, if that were true, then everyone who rents and uses a U-Haul would need a special CVOR driving license just to use it, and U-Haul has lots of small pickup trucks, small trailers and small cube vans that weight under the CVOR limit, maybe some of the really big U-Haul trucks are CVOR but I dont think so.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks ... cert.shtml

Its about working as a contracted driver for hire

In Ontario only $200,000.00 is needed in reserve fund which can save company taxes are less just so that the money can be quickly taken out if needed. The car would be company tax right off and tax structure favours for self insured over paying premiums. Keeping financial statements in car, really?

[QUOTE]Well, originally you stated he wanted the vehicle to be registered and licensed under the business. In order to do such he needs a business registration in order to obtain Ont plates.
If not, then he should just purchase a vehicle under is own personal name
[/QUOTE]
My dad does not want the liability if something goes wrong, fears loosing the house and his savings. I was told that using for private and then getting company to pay back is not really legal in Chinese company and you have to pay more for accountant, so the saving go away and its no point and then need Ontario business address and stuff, I guess its too expensive.

Yes he does want car in company name it costs less in long run and company makes more money in long run. The car in his name or my dads name means his company will not be able to reimburse for whatever reason because maybe it doesnt look like business anymore. You dont need a Ontario business registration to buy a car, like do you need it to buy a house or anything, no. If you buy a car in USA or a house, you dont need to be American citizen, and you dont need American incorporation either. Think of all the old people who live in Canada in summer and live in USA in winter, they own cars and condos and even companies in Canada with no USA business registration. I think you are confusing some things. Clarifing, his company (he owns it, he is the boss), pays for the hotel stays, food, airplane travel, everything and used to cover car rental in odd time he was here. Now that he is going to be comming more, he knows its cheaper to buy car over renting, but buying house or hotel is too expensive so hes just wanting to buy a car. All this is business right offs for tax and assets for company to borrow against or whatever companies do.

Think how much Canada land is owned by Chinese? No business license to buy a house, thats dumb, you register house under your name or company name in China, no extra business license needed.

Look at research I found today but is USA, Canada has no information I looked around the internet and found much, mostly in USA, this is very common there.
http://personalinsure.about.com/od/heal ... 21205a.htm
http://businessinsure.about.com/od/insu ... atissi.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_insurance

But there is no information on non-Canadian companies buying cars. Thank you for the link to the PDF Form but the company will not be doing business in Ontario so its not needed, the company will only own the car, the car will not be used for business like driving around people for real estate agency.

So Im still looking for answers, maybe I have to take time off from school and go to Head office far away to get real answer. maybe someone here works for MTO, if so, please help. Question again is how do Chinese company register Ontario purchased car? Register in China because Chinese company owns Ontario car or register in Ontario with Ontario plates but Chinese company name. Again, car will be owned by a company but not used for business, I learned there is a difference.

Thanks again everyone.

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)