The federal business number is a nine-digit CRA identifier. A corporation number identifies a corporation within its registry. Québec’s NEQ is a separate ten-digit identifier. They are not interchangeable.
Read the label and full document
A CRA program account adds a two-letter code and four-digit reference to the nine-digit base. Use the base when a search requests BN9; keep the full account when a tax form requests it.
Registry formats differ. Length alone does not establish what a number identifies. Check the issuing authority and heading, and keep leading zeros if provided.
Route the identifier to the right source
Use the federal search for a federal corporation number or a BN present in that dataset. Use Québec’s official register for an NEQ. Tax-account confirmation answers a different question from corporate status.
A corporation can hold both a registry number and a CRA number. Store both with clear labels. If it registers in another province, add that registration separately instead of overwriting its incorporating identifier.
Choose between recovering your number and checking another entity
If you are recovering your own BN, start with CRA letters and saved registration confirmations, then your CRA account if My Business Account is already added. CRA also points to corporate registries for supported businesses. If those options do not resolve the problem, use the contact route on CRA’s recovery page rather than starting another registration simply because a search is empty.
For someone else’s business, begin with the identifier shown on its documents and the issuing source. An account you are authorized to access is different from a public lookup. Keep those workflows separate when helping a colleague or reviewing a supplier.
Read the program suffix without changing the base
CRA uses RT for GST/HST, RP for payroll deductions and RC for corporation income tax. These identify program accounts under the BN rather than separate corporations. Copy the complete label into your working record before extracting the part a particular service requests. A form asking for a corporation number is asking for a registry identifier, not an RC suffix.
Illustrative scenario: two account references on one document
Suppose an internal worksheet lists the same nine-digit base followed once by RT and once by RP. Keep the two full account references for their respective tasks. If a supported corporation search asks for the BN, use the base only; if a payroll form asks for the payroll account, use that full account. This example explains structure and does not validate either account.
Continue this task
Check sales-tax registration separately
An identifier or corporation status does not confirm tax registration.
Check GST/HSTCheck QST
Sources and review
Content updated October 30, 2026. Source checked October 30, 2026. Examples illustrate the process; they do not describe a real corporation.
CRA — Program account identifiersCanada.ca — Business number reference standardQuébec — Numéro d’entreprise du QuébecCRA — Business number and program accountsCRA — Program account structure and typesCRA — Ways to find an existing business numberCorporations Canada — CBCA glossary