• Why would a religious society incorporate?
  
  
• How can a religious society incorporate?
  
  
• Religious Society Names
  
  
• Religious Society Structure
  
  
• Where do I send the documents to incorporate a religious society? 
   

Why would a religious society incorporate?

A religious society is a group such as the congregation of a church or a religious denomination. A religious society must incorporate to take title of land to be used for a church building or burial ground. Under the Religious Societies' Land Act, incorporation permits the religious society to hold land not in excess of 320 acres.

Incorporation ensures that the land held by the religious society is dealt with in accordance with the wishes of the congregation or religious society.

A society is formed by five or more people who share a common recreational, cultural, scientific, or charitable interest.

How can a religious society incorporate?

To incorporate under the Religious Societies' Land Act, you must provide a religious society name, address, and other information including the rules that the congregation must follow when dealing with matters that concern the religious society. The following information is provided to assist you in this process.

Religious Society Names

The first step when incorporating under the Religious Societies' Land Act is to choose a name. Your organization's name must not be the same as, or similar to, any other religious society, society or corporation's name. You must include a local description, and the distinctive name or designation of the church or religious denomination to which the proposed religious society belongs.

The name must also contain a word that indicates it is a religious society, such as church, fellowship, ministry, ministries, assembly, etc. An example of a name containing all the required elements is 'Wildwood United Church'.

Once you have decided on the name, you must obtain a NUANS Report. This report will be used to decide whether your group can use the name you have chosen. If you choose to have a name that is similar to another name, you will need to obtain written permission from the other group to use the similar name.

Religious Society Structure

The second step in incorporating a religious society is to complete a Declaration of Incorporation of a Religious Society (pdf) form.

Your completed form will provide information on the:

• Denomination and/or governing body the congregation belongs to
  
  
• Names or positions of the persons who are entitled to vote on church business
  
  
• Names or positions of the officers who may deal with the congregation's property
  
  
• Rules that the officers must follow when dealing with the property of the congregation
  
  
• Quorum at any meeting of the congregation
  
  
• Other rules or provisions
  
  
• Street or mailing address
  
  
• Members of the congregation as required by regulations under the Agricultural and Recreational Land Ownership Act and Section 35 of the Citizenship Act (Canada)
  

This information must be accompanied by an affidavit (pdf) signed by a person who has personal knowledge of the information provided and stating that the declaration of incorporation was passed at a properly constituted meeting of the congregation.

Where do I send the documents to incorporate a religious society?

Submit the completed forms, together with the NUANS Report and the incorporation fee, to the Corporate Registry office. Corporate Registry personnel examine all religious society incorporations and, if the requirements are met, will issue a Certificate of Incorporation under the Religious Societies' Land Act.