Registered Office vs Mailing Address in Quebec: Registered Mail, Bailiffs and Parcels at a Virtual Mailbox
What happens to registered mail, bailiff service and parcels when your Quebec company uses a virtual mailbox, and how to set up so you never miss legal mail.
A virtual mailbox solves a real problem: it gives a small company a stable civic address for the registers and the tax files without putting a founder's home on a public database. But a mailbox is not a person. When a registered letter needs a signature, when a bailiff arrives with an originating application, or when a courier shows up with a parcel, what matters is who is standing at that address and what they are allowed to do. This guide explains, with the statutes and the carriers' own rules, how service on a company works in Quebec, what Canada Post and the couriers do when nobody signs, how CRA, Revenu Québec, the Registraire des entreprises and Corporations Canada reach you, and how to design a setup that does not miss legal mail. It also states plainly what 2727 Coworking's mailbox accepts and refuses, because a guide like this is only useful if it is honest about that. It is general information as of October 2026, not legal advice; for a specific lawsuit or deadline, talk to a Quebec lawyer or notary.
Executive Summary
Head office, registered office, elected domicile and mailing address are four different things. A legal person's domicile "is at the place and address of its head office" [1]; a federal corporation must keep a registered office in its province [2]; an elected domicile is an address chosen in writing to receive documents [3]; a mailing address is just where letters go.
Companies are served at the head office. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, notification to a legal person "is made at its head office," by leaving the document with "a person who appears to be in a position to give it to an officer or director," or by handing it to a director or officer personally, "wherever that person may be." [4]
Refusing does not work. A bailiff records a refusal and the document is "deemed to have been served" [5]; failed attempts lead to a notice of visit in your mailbox [6] or to public notice [7].
Registered mail is proved by the carrier's record. Proof is the delivery or receipt notice, or failing that the sender's declaration referring to the delivery status [8]. A letter that is refused or never collected usually goes back to the sender, who can then turn to a bailiff or another method.
Federal corporations face a stronger presumption. Registered mail to the registered office "is deemed to be received or served at the time it would be delivered in the ordinary course of mail" unless there are reasonable grounds to believe otherwise [9].
Canada Post holds unsigned items for a limited time. Uncollected items held after a notice card go back to the sender after 15 calendar days [10].
Most tax mail is now online. CRA business notices are presumed received on the date they are posted in My Business Account [11], and for a corporation the objection period is 90 days from sending, at both CRA and Revenu Québec [12][13].
Missing registry mail can dissolve a company. After two consecutive years of missed REQ updating declarations, and a notice from the registrar, a Quebec corporation can be struck off, which "entails the dissolution of the legal person" [14].
The fix is an elected domicile or attorney, online accounts and a routine. Notification "may be made to a person designated by the addressee or at the addressee's elected domicile" [15], and companies with no Quebec domicile or establishment must name an attorney residing in Quebec [16].
2727's mailbox refuses parcels and signature mail, and does not forward. It accepts ordinary letters, photographs each envelope, and holds mail 6 months. Plan around those limits rather than hoping they will bend.
2727 Coworking space, 2727 Saint-Patrick, Montreal
Four Addresses, Four Different Jobs
Most of the confusion about virtual mailboxes and legal mail comes from treating "the business address" as one thing. In Quebec law and in practice it is at least four things, and each one answers a different question.
Address role
Legal anchor
What it is for
Who relies on it
Domicile / head office (siège) of a legal person
Civil Code art. 307; Business Corporations Act s. 29; REQ register
The legal "home" of the company. The default place where it is notified of proceedings
Courts, bailiffs, the registrar, creditors, anyone reading the register
Registered office of a federal corporation
CBCA s. 19
Federal equivalent: where the corporation is located for corporate-law purposes and where records may be kept
Corporations Canada, shareholders, litigants, the Quebec register (as the domicile)
Elected domicile (domicile élu)
Civil Code art. 83; P-44.1 s. 33; CCP art. 128
An address chosen in writing to receive documents, usually the office of a person mandated to receive them
The registrar, contracting parties, and a notifier who chooses to use it
Mailing address
Tax and agency files (CRA, Revenu Québec)
Where ordinary correspondence is sent
Agencies, suppliers, banks, customers
The Civil Code is short on the first point: "The domicile of a legal person is at the place and address of its head office." [1] A corporation constituted under Quebec's Business Corporations Act must keep its head office "permanently located in Québec," and any change of the head office address has to be declared to the enterprise registrar [17]. The Registraire des entreprises describes the register's domicile field for a legal person in exactly those terms ("this is the address of the head office") and describes the elected domicile as the "address of the person mandated to receive enterprise documents for the purposes of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises." [18]
That last phrase matters. The REQ elected domicile is designed for documents under the enterprise-publicity statute. It is a useful, public signal of where you want to be reached, and the Code of Civil Procedure separately allows a notifier to use an elected domicile (more on this below), but it does not move your head office. Courts and bailiffs can still go to the head office.
Why this distinction is the whole story: a virtual mailbox can be a perfectly good mailing address and, depending on the facts, an acceptable head office or registered office address on the registers. Whether it is a good place to be served is a separate question that depends on who is there, what they are allowed to accept, and what happens to anything they refuse. The rest of this guide is about that third question.
How a Company Is Served in Quebec: The Code of Civil Procedure
Notification and service are not the same word
Quebec's Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) uses "notification" as the umbrella term. Its purpose "is to bring a document, whether an originating application or any other pleading or document, to the attention of the persons concerned." [19] Notification "may be made by any appropriate method that provides the notifier with proof that the document was delivered, sent or published," and the Code lists the methods: "notification by court bailiff, by mail, by delivery, by technological means and by public notice." When the law requires a bailiff, the notification "is called service" (in French, signification) [19].
Two consequences follow immediately:
The test is proof, not your convenience. Every method is built around the notifier's ability to prove delivery, sending or publication. If one method fails to produce proof, the notifier simply moves to another.
Acknowledging receipt cures almost everything. "Whatever the method of notification used, a person who acknowledges receipt of the document or admits having received it is deemed to have been validly notified." [19]
Which documents must be served by a bailiff
An originating application (the document that starts a lawsuit) "must be served by bailiff," and so must several other documents, including subpoenas to witnesses, judgments granting an injunction, applications for revocation of a judgment, and, in execution matters, notices of execution and oppositions to seizure [20]. Only bailiffs may perform service: the Court Bailiffs Act defines the profession as serving "written proceedings issuing out of any court" and executing judicial decisions, and reserves those acts to bailiffs [21]. The Chambre des huissiers de justice du Québec puts it plainly: "Seuls les huissiers de justice peuvent effectuer des significations." [22] Éducaloi lists delivering legal documents "directly to people, such as documents ordering people to appear in court" as the first of a bailiff's four main duties [23].
So when people ask "will my virtual mailbox accept a bailiff," the question is really: what will a bailiff do when they arrive at the address the register shows as my head office?
Where a legal person is served: article 125
Article 125 CCP is the key provision for companies:
"Notification to a legal person is made at its head office or, if the head office is outside Québec, at one of its establishments in Québec, by leaving the document in the care of a person who appears to be in a position to give it to an officer or director or an agent of the legal person. It may also be made by delivering the document personally to such an officer, director or agent, wherever that person may be." [4]
Read it slowly, because each phrase is a design requirement for your setup:
"at its head office": the address on the register is where a bailiff starts. If your head office is a virtual mailbox address, that is where the bailiff goes.
"a person who appears to be in a position to give it to an officer or director or an agent": service at the head office works by handing the document to someone who can pass it on. Whether front-desk staff at a mail service are such a person, and whether they are permitted by their own employer to accept, is a factual question the law does not answer for you in advance.
"wherever that person may be": a bailiff can also serve a director or officer personally, anywhere. A company is never "unservable" just because its head office is hard to serve; the bailiff may simply find a director at home.
Article 116 adds the general bailiff mechanics: personal delivery or, failing that, leaving the document with a person who appears capable of receiving it, and if that is not possible, leaving it "at an appropriate place in a sealed envelope or in any other form that protects its confidentiality." If the addressee refuses, the bailiff "records the refusal on the document, which is deemed to have been served or notified personally at the time of the refusal." [5] A refusal is not an escape hatch. It is recorded as service.
When nobody is there: the notice of visit
If the bailiff cannot hand the document to the addressee or an intermediary, article 129 requires a notice of visit in a sealed envelope at the addressee's domicile or business establishment, stating the unsuccessful attempt, the nature of the document, the notifier's name and "the place where the addressee can take delivery of the document." The notice may go in the addressee's mailbox or "it may instead be left with the owner, administrator or manager of the building," and those persons are "required to co-operate with the bailiff." It may also be sent by technological means [6].
In plain terms: at a virtual mailbox address, a notice of visit may well end up in your mailbox. If your mailbox service photographs and notifies you of letter mail, a notice of visit is exactly the kind of envelope you must open the same day.
When service keeps failing: court-authorized methods and public notice
The Code does not let a defendant win by being hard to find. The court may authorize "notification of a pleading otherwise than as provided for" when circumstances require [24], and "notification by public notice may also be used without a court order by a bailiff who has tried unsuccessfully to serve a document and has recorded that fact in the certificate of service." [7] Public notice is published online or in a newspaper, and is "deemed to have taken place on the date the time limit specified for taking delivery of the document expires." [7]
This is the real risk of an address where nobody can receive a bailiff: not that you will never be served, but that you will be served in a way you do not notice.
Elected domicile and designated persons: article 128
Article 128 is the provision that makes a robust setup possible:
"Notification may be made to a person designated by the addressee or at the addressee's elected domicile. If the addressee has no domicile, residence or business establishment in Québec, notification may be made at the firm of the lawyer representing the addressee or of the notary acting for the addressee." [15]
Note the word "may." Article 128 gives the notifier an additional valid place, it does not oblige them to use it. But when a law office is your elected domicile and is named on the register, a notifier who wants a clean, uncontestable service has every reason to go there. The Civil Code supplies the general rule that "the parties to a juridical act may, in writing, elect domicile," and adds that "election of domicile is not presumed." [3] Put it in writing.
Registered mail under the Code
Notification by mail is the cheaper alternative to a bailiff for documents that do not have to be served. Under article 130, a document "is considered to be mailed by registered mail if the delivery or receipt of the document is recorded." [8] Article 131 then sets the proof: registered-mail notification "is proved by the delivery notice or the receipt notice presented by the letter carrier at the time of delivery," and is "deemed to have been made on the date the receipt notice was signed by the addressee or an intermediary capable of receiving notification or, as applicable, on the date of the delivery notice." [8]
The Quebec government's Juridiqc service explains the practical side for people sending documents: proof for registered mail is the "preuve de livraison avec signature" from Canada Post [25]. That is why the signature matters so much. Article 131 does let the sender fall back on its own declaration that the document was sent, "with a reference to the delivery or receipt status," [8] but a letter that was refused or sat unclaimed until it went back is a weak record of receipt. In practice, a notifier holding a returned envelope usually escalates to a bailiff rather than argue about it.
Courier delivery and technological means
Article 132 allows notification "by delivery," through "a courier or any other carrier," to the addressee or to "a person who appears to be capable of receiving it and in a position to give it to the addressee," in exchange for a receipt [26]. A mail service that refuses signature deliveries will not produce that receipt either.
Notification by technological means (email, in practice) is made to "the address provided by the addressee for the receipt of the document, or to the address that is publicly known as the address where the addressee receives documents," but "notification by a technological means to a party not represented by a lawyer or a notary is permitted only with the party's consent or if ordered by the court." [27] Once you have a lawyer of record, much of the later traffic in a case moves to email between lawyers.
What it costs you to miss it: answer deadlines and default judgments
The summons attached to an originating application gives the defendant a short window: "The defendant must answer the application within the following 15 days, failing which a default judgment may be rendered and the legal costs awarded against the defendant." [28] If the case is then set down for the defendant's failure to answer, "the plaintiff may obtain judgment without further delay or notice." [29]
Small claims are different in form but similar in speed. The courthouse sends the application to the defendant, who "has 20 days to indicate which option he or she has chosen," and "if the defendant fails to indicate an option to the clerk within 20 days, a judgement may be rendered against the defendant without further notice." [30] A judgment "is considered to be 'by default' when the defendant does not file a defence and takes no part in the trial." [31]
There is a remedy, but it is narrow. A party in default that "was prevented from doing so owing to fraud, surprise or any other cause considered sufficient" may apply to revoke the judgment [32], but the application must be served "within 30 days after the day on which the cause preventing the party from filing a defence ceased to exist, or after the day on which the party became aware of the judgment," and it "cannot be presented if more than six months have elapsed since the judgment." The Code adds: "These are strict time limits." [33] Courts decide "sufficient cause" case by case, but an unopened notice of visit or an unclaimed registered letter at the address you chose to put on the public register is not a comfortable position to argue from.
Summary: how each method behaves at a mailbox that refuses signatures
Method (CCP)
What the notifier needs
What happens at a mailbox that will not sign
What the notifier does next
Bailiff service (arts. 116, 125)
Delivery to a suitable person, or a recorded refusal, or document left in a sealed envelope
Depends on whether a suitable person is present and willing; a refusal is recorded as service
Serve a director personally, leave a notice of visit (art. 129), seek another method (art. 112), or use public notice (art. 135)
Registered mail (arts. 130, 131)
Signed receipt or delivery notice (failing that, the sender's declaration)
No signed receipt; refused or unclaimed item returns to sender
Usually switch to bailiff service
Courier delivery (art. 132)
Receipt from the person who took it
No receipt
Switch to bailiff service
Technological means (art. 133)
An address you provided or publicly use; consent if unrepresented
Not affected by the mailbox at all
Used once you have counsel or consent
Elected domicile (art. 128)
A written election, an address that is staffed
Not applicable if the elected domicile is a law office
Serve at the law office
2727 Coworking space, 2727 Saint-Patrick, Montreal
Canada Post Registered Mail and Signature Services
What Registered Mail is
Canada Post sells Registered Mail as a way to "know when your letter arrived and who signed for it." For domestic items, the proof is the "signature of the person who signed when it was delivered," the "date it was signed" and a "mailing receipt." It is bought at the post office and, as of October 2026, costs $13.15 within Canada on top of postage, with automatic liability coverage of $100 [34]. The name says "mail," but the product is really a signature service: without a signature, the sender does not get what they paid for.
For parcels, Canada Post's Signature option ensures "that a personal hand-off of the item occurs at delivery, and that there's proof of this activity," recording the name and signature of the person signing [35]. It is mandatory when the sender buys additional liability coverage, and it is built into Xpresspost Certified.
What happens when nobody signs
The rules differ slightly by product, but the pattern is consistent:
At the door. If there is no answer, "the delivery agent will leave a Delivery Notice Card in the addressee's mail receptacle that directs the addressee to the designated post office to pick up the item." [35]
If the recipient refuses to sign. For Signature items, the agent records "SIGNATURE REFUSED"; for Xpresspost Certified, "if the receiver refuses to sign for the item, we'll send the Xpresspost Certified item back to the original shipper (Return to Sender)." [35]
If the recipient refuses the item. Canada Post's options for refusing a letter or parcel: tell the agent you do not accept it, and "the item will then be returned to the sender"; or bring it unopened to a post office; or, if a notice card was left, the item "will be returned to the sender if not picked up within 15 calendar days." The sender pays for the return [10]. "The item is refused by the addressee" is one of the listed reasons for return to sender [36].
Delivery preferences do not apply. "You can't select a delivery preference for a package that requires a signature." [37]
Who can collect a signature item at the post office
"Only the addressee, someone living at the same address (co-habitant), or the addressee's authorized representative can pick up an item with Signature at the post office," with government-issued photo ID; someone collecting for another person needs the signed notice card (or delivery email), a legal document such as a power of attorney, or a letter of authorization [35].
That matters for companies: an item addressed to "Your Company Inc." is collected by an individual acting for the company, so keep a signed letter of authorization ready and ask the post office what it accepts for business addressees.
The 15-day clock
Fifteen calendar days is the number to remember. For items with Signature, Canada Post's delivery rules say: "We'll send a Final Notice Card to the addressee if they haven't picked up the item after 5 calendar days. We'll hold the item at the post office for 15 calendar days, after which time we'll return it to the sender." [38] The same 15 days applies to an item held after a notice card that you simply do not collect [10], and to parcels sent through Deliver to Post Office, where "after 15 days, if the item hasn't been picked up, we'll return it to the originating address shown on the shipping label." [39]
The legal backdrop is federal. The Undeliverable and Redirected Mail Regulations define undeliverable mail to include mail "refused by the addressee," and provide that undeliverable mail bearing a Canadian return address shall "be returned to the sender by the Corporation." [40] For a court office or a law firm, that returned envelope is evidence that mail did not work, which is exactly what justifies moving to a bailiff.
Someone else can sign, if authorized
Canada Post's rules show that the issue is authorization, not geography. In condominiums, "the security guard or concierge may sign on behalf of the customer according to the resident's condominium agreement and the official Letter of Authorization form they complete and submit." [38] The same logic applies to businesses: an item gets signed for when there is a person at the address who is allowed to sign. A mailbox service whose policy is not to sign will not make an exception because a particular letter happens to matter, so plan as if every signature item will be refused.
Why Hold Mail is not the fix
Canada Post says Hold Mail "isn't available for people receiving mail through a shared delivery location," including a "location where several businesses share the same address," and that it "also isn't available for mail received through a privately administrated mailbox company" [41]. In other words, the post office's own tools for "I'm not around" are not designed for virtual mailbox addresses. The fix has to come from where you point the mail in the first place.
What happens to each item type at a mailbox that refuses signatures
Not signed for; refused items return to sender, uncollected items return after 15 days [10]
The sender, through tracking; you may never see it
Xpresspost Certified
Yes
Returned to shipper if the receiver refuses to sign [35]
The sender
Parcel with Signature option
Yes
Notice card, then post office, then return
You only if the notice card reaches you
Ordinary parcel
No signature, but parcels are refused by policy at some mailbox services
Refused and returned, or never delivered
The sender
Courier envelope (Purolator, FedEx, UPS) with signature
Usually
Delivery attempts, then hold at a carrier location, then return (see next section)
The sender and, if they share it, you
Bailiff
Not a mail item
See the Code of Civil Procedure section
Recorded in the bailiff's certificate of service
The uncomfortable line is the second one. When a registered letter is not signed for, the person most likely to know is the sender. For a court office, a tax authority or a lawyer, that is the trigger to try another method, not a reason to give up.
Parcels and Couriers
Parcels are where virtual mailboxes most often disappoint, and where the fix is easiest. A parcel is a logistics problem; it does not need to arrive at your legal address.
How the main carriers handle a missed or refused delivery
Carrier
Signature options
If nobody can receive it
Holding period
Then
Canada Post
Signature, Proof of Age, Xpresspost Certified
Delivery Notice Card; item goes to a post office
Final notice after 5 calendar days; held 15 calendar days [38]
Notice left; possible second or third attempt; for residential deliveries, possible delivery to a UPS Access Point [45]
Not stated in the terms
Refused or undeliverable domestic packages "will be returned to the Shipper" [45]
A few carrier rules are worth knowing in detail:
FedEx's signature options decide everything. With direct signature required, "someone at the recipient's address may sign for the delivery. If no one is at the address, FedEx may reattempt the delivery." Indirect signature can be given by "a neighbour, building manager, or other person at a neighbouring address." [43] If the shipper picks no option, standard procedures may include "releasing a shipment without obtaining a signature" [43], which is exactly what a mailbox service that refuses parcels does not want at its counter.
Purolator's ID rule ties pickup to the label. Acceptable identification is "a valid government-issued photo ID that matches the name and address on the package," and a shipment "can be released to another individual provided that acceptable identification and authorization is provided." [42]
UPS reserves discretion. Even when the shipper requests Signature Required, UPS's Canadian terms say UPS "may obtain, at its sole and unlimited discretion, a signature, other electronic acknowledgement of receipt or authorization to release without signature" through its UPS My Choice service, and that "domestic Packages refused by the Consignee, or which cannot be delivered, will be returned to the Shipper at the expense of the payer of the original Shipment." [45]
The better places to send parcels
Option
How it works
Watch out for
Canada Post FlexDelivery
Free registration; packages go to a participating post office "in our network of almost 5,900 post offices"; pick up with government photo ID [46]
Retailer must be able to ship to a PO box style address; 15-day return clock
Deliver to Post Office (shipper option)
The shipper chooses a post office; email when it arrives; reminder after 5 days; returned after 15 days [39]
Only if the shipper offers it
FedEx Hold at Location
Package held at a FedEx location; ID required; "the FedEx location must not be used as the recipient's address"; held "a maximum of 5 business days" [47]
Short clock; not a mailing address
UPS Access Point
For residential deliveries, UPS may deliver to an Access Point after an attempt; after a notice, the receiver can ask to redirect an eligible package to one [45]
Holding time set by UPS; check the notice
Your actual workplace or a staffed coworking membership
Someone is there to receive
Make sure that person is authorized to sign
Why parcels should never drive your legal address
It is tempting to choose one address for everything. Resist it. A head office address is public and must stay stable for years; parcel logistics change every time you change supplier or start working somewhere else. Keep the registered or head office address for legal purposes, put parcels where someone can receive them, and do not list a carrier pickup point anywhere official. FedEx itself says its location "must not be used as the recipient's address." [47]
For a fuller discussion of package handling at virtual offices, see our virtual office guide.
2727 Coworking space, 2727 Saint-Patrick, Montreal
Federal Corporations: The Registered Office Under the CBCA
If your company is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA), the federal rules sit on top of the Quebec ones, and they are stricter about mail than most founders realize.
What the statute requires
"A corporation shall at all times have a registered office in the province in Canada specified in its articles," and it must notify the Director (Corporations Canada) "within fifteen days of any change of address of its registered office." [2] Corporations Canada's Form 3 instructions add the practical rules: the address "must be a street address; a P.O. Box is not acceptable," and "the registered office is where official documents will be served on the corporation and where the corporate records must be kept." [48] Corporations Canada also calls the registered office "the official address for communications with your corporation." [49]
The sentence every federal founder should read twice
The same Form 3 instructions warn: "When choosing a registered office address, make sure it is an address where the corporation will receive any documents that are sent to that address because, legally, they will be assumed to have been received by the corporation." [48]
That is not a figure of speech. Section 254 of the CBCA provides that a notice or document "required to be sent to or served on a corporation may be sent by registered mail to the registered office of the corporation shown in the last notice filed under section 19 and, if so sent, is deemed to be received or served at the time it would be delivered in the ordinary course of mail unless there are reasonable grounds for believing that the corporation did not receive the notice or document at that time or at all." [9]
Put the two together. For documents covered by section 254, registered mail to the registered office creates a presumption of receipt on the ordinary delivery date. The presumption can be rebutted: a returned, unsigned envelope may support an argument that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe you did not receive the document. But that is an argument you would be making after the fact, about an address you chose, and the sender can still reach you by other means. Do not design your setup around winning it.
Annual returns and dissolution
Every CBCA corporation must file an annual return every year, within 60 days of the anniversary date together with the information on individuals with significant control [50]. The Director may dissolve a corporation that "is in default for a period of one year in sending to the Director any fee or any notice, document or other information required by this Act," after giving 120 days' notice and publishing it; the corporation "ceases to exist on the date shown in the certificate of dissolution." [51]
In practice, Corporations Canada's stated policy is gentler than the statute: "the policy is to only dissolve a corporation when it has not filed an annual return for two years," followed by "a final notice" giving "an additional 120 days," and "this final notice will be sent by post to all valid addresses Corporations Canada has on file (including current directors' addresses)." Reminder notices go by email if you subscribe, otherwise "by post at either your corporation's registered office address or at any additional address" you provided [49]. Corporations Canada's own warning about the stakes: "When your corporation is dissolved, you can no longer conduct business," and a bank loan request "may be refused." [52]
The useful detail for mailbox users is the additional address. Form 3 says "an additional address is optional" and that if someone else, "for ex., a lawyer or an accountant," files annual returns on your behalf, "that person will receive our reminder notices." [48] Subscribe to the email reminders as well.
Federal and Quebec at the same time
A federal corporation doing business in Quebec must also register here: Corporations Canada says provincial legislation "requires you to register your federal corporation in each province and territory in which it will conduct business," and lists "having an address, a post office box or a phone number" in the province as typical examples [53]. Once registered, the Quebec rules on domicile, elected domicile, updating declarations and striking off apply in addition to the federal ones. Our federal corporation scenario walks through the whole sequence.
Federal rule
Source
What it means for a mailbox that refuses signatures
Registered office must be a street address, not a PO box
Form 3 instructions
A civic mailbox address can qualify; a PO box cannot
Change of registered office within 15 days
CBCA s. 19(4)
Plan moves in advance
Registered mail to the registered office is deemed received in the ordinary course
CBCA s. 254
A refused letter may help rebut the presumption, but do not count on it
Documents sent to the registered office "will be assumed to have been received"
Form 3 instructions
Choose an address where someone can receive everything, or add a reliable additional address
Dissolution possible after one year of default; policy is two years plus a 120-day final notice by post
CBCA s. 212; Corporations Canada
Keep annual returns current and reminders flowing to an address you read
Government Notices: CRA, Revenu Québec and the Registraire
The good news is that the two tax authorities have largely moved business correspondence online, which makes them much less dependent on your mailbox. The bad news is that their deadlines run whether or not you look.
CRA: online by default, received when posted
"Starting in May 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) transitioned to online mail as the default method of delivering most business correspondence," so businesses "now receive most of [their] business notices and other correspondence through the My Business Account portal ... instead of by paper mail." [54] In practice, that means signing in to My Business Account to read notices of assessment and most letters.
The legal effect is in the Income Tax Act. A notice that "refers to the business number of a person or partnership" and is posted electronically "is presumed to be sent to the person or partnership and received by the person or partnership on the date that it is posted by the Minister in the secure electronic account," unless the business asked at least 30 days earlier for paper mail [11]. The CRA's plain-language version: "Correspondence is considered received on the date it's posted in My Business Account," and "if your email address is missing or incorrect, you won't receive these alerts, even if new mail is posted." [55]
Two details matter for a mailbox setup:
Email notifications are the real delivery channel. The CRA sends an email when there is "new CRA mail to view in My Business Account" and when "mail sent to you by the CRA has been returned, meaning you need to update your mailing address." [56]
Returned mail switches you to online mail. If you opted for paper, the CRA warns: "Keep your mailing address up-to-date. If mail is returned, your account automatically reverts to online mail," and paper requests must be renewed "every two years." [54]
Some items still arrive on paper, and the CRA distinguishes a physical address ("the business or head office address," which "must be where the day-to-day activities take place" and cannot be a PO box) from a mailing address, which "can be different from the physical address," for example your accountant's [57]. A virtual mailbox is a natural mailing address. Whether it is your physical address depends on whether your business actually operates there. Our office closure mail guide covers how to change CRA addresses step by step.
Deadlines. A corporation may object to an assessment "on or before the day that is 90 days after the day of sending of the notice of assessment." [11] CRA's dispute guide confirms "the time limit for corporations to file an objection is 90 days from the date of the notice of assessment or determination," and an extension must be requested "no later than one year after the date you had to file the objection." [12] If you want an accountant or lawyer to see your CRA correspondence, authorize them as a representative [58].
Revenu Québec: the same 90 days, counted from sending
Quebec's Tax Administration Act gives the same structure: a person may object to an assessment "on or before the day that is 90 days after the day of sending of the notice of assessment." [13] The clock runs from sending, not from the day you open the envelope. Revenu Québec offers online services for businesses (My Account for businesses / Mon dossier pour les entreprises) and lets you authorize a representative; confirm with your accountant how your file is set up to receive documents and who is notified.
The Registraire des entreprises: correspondence, striking off, dissolution
The REQ's own form guide calls the elected domicile the "domicile élu (adresse de correspondance)": you complete that section "uniquement si la correspondance doit être acheminée à une adresse différente de l'adresse du siège," and you must give both the name of the mandated person and the address, since neither "ne peuvent être déclarés seuls." [59] In other words, if you declare no elected domicile, REQ correspondence goes to the head office.
Some of what the Registraire mails is essential. Access to its online service My Office (Mon bureau) uses clicSÉQUR, and the clicSÉQUR Express access code "is permanent and automatically mailed to all registered enterprises." [60]
The obligations:
Annual updating declaration, every year, "even if they have no changes," during the period that applies to you (May 15 to November 15 for legal persons whose declaration is not combined with their tax return) [61][62].
Current updating declaration within 30 days of any change [63].
Requests from the registrar must be remedied "within 60 days after being requested to do so by the registrar," and a copy of the request is deposited in the register [64].
The sanction: the registrar may "cancel ex officio the registration of a registrant who has failed to file updating declarations for two consecutive years," and "the cancellation of the registration of a legal person constituted in Québec entails the dissolution of the legal person." [14] The Registraire's page lists the consequences, including the "dissolution de la personne morale constituée au Québec," and says "un avis de radiation est expédié à toute entreprise qui a été radiée d'office." [65] Cancellation can be revoked on application with the missing declarations, fees and penalties, and the registration is then "deemed to never have been cancelled," subject to third parties' acquired rights [66]. Meanwhile, a registrant whose registration was cancelled ex officio "may not dispute information declared by the registrant and contained in the statement of information." [67]
Government notices at a glance
Sender
Main channel for businesses (as of October 2026)
When it counts as received or sent
Key deadline
Risk if missed
CRA
My Business Account online mail, with email alerts
Presumed sent and received on the date posted
90 days to object; extension request within one more year
Assessment becomes final; collections
Revenu Québec
Online services for businesses; paper where applicable
90-day objection period runs from the day of sending
90 days to object
Assessment stands; collections
Registraire des entreprises
Mail to the head office, or to the elected domicile if declared; online through My Office
Requests must be remedied within 60 days
Annual declaration each year; changes within 30 days
Striking off; dissolution of a Quebec legal person
Corporations Canada
Email reminders if subscribed; otherwise post to registered office or additional address
Registered mail to registered office deemed received in the ordinary course (s. 254)
Annual return within 60 days of anniversary; office change within 15 days
Dissolution
Courts and opposing parties
Bailiff, registered mail, courier, email if allowed
Date of service, refusal, signed receipt or public-notice deadline
15 days to answer a summons; 20 days in small claims
Default judgment
2727 Coworking space, 2727 Saint-Patrick, Montreal
What 2727 Coworking Accepts, and What It Refuses
Whether a virtual mailbox will take registered mail, bailiffs and parcels is a fair question, so here is a direct answer for ours.
2727 Coworking's virtual mailbox at 2727 Rue Saint-Patrick, Suite 109, Montréal, QC H3K 0A8 (Griffintown, on the Lachine Canal) is a real civic address with a mailbox number, not a PO box. Its published terms, as of October 2026, are:
Item
What 2727 does
Standard letter mail up to about 500 g, large-envelope size
Accepted. Each envelope is photographed and you are notified
Scanning of contents
From the $85 plan, up to 15 pages per document, then $0.15 per page
Parcels
Refused
Mail requiring a signature (registered mail, the Signature option, courier deliveries that require a signature)
Refused
Forwarding to another address
Not offered
Holding period
Mail is held 6 months
Pickup
By appointment with photo ID, Monday to Friday 8:00 to 12:00 and Saturday 9:00 to 11:00; only authorized names may collect
Use on REQ and incorporation filings
Permitted; which role (head office, business address, elected domicile) depends on your situation
Proof of address
A signed agreement naming the company, the full civic address with unit, and the start date
Read the two bold refusals together with everything above. In practice they mean:
A registered letter addressed to your company at 2727 will not be signed for by 2727. It follows the carrier's process for an item that is refused or not collected, which generally ends with the item going back to the sender. If the sender was a court office, a tax authority or an opposing lawyer, you must assume they now hold a returned envelope, not a receipt, and that they may move to another mode of notification.
A parcel or courier delivery will not be received. Ship parcels to a carrier pickup point, a locker or another address you control.
Nothing is forwarded. The mailbox is a place to receive and read letter mail, not a relay.
Bailiff service is not covered by the published terms. If you plan to rely on the 2727 address for anything a bailiff might serve, ask us before you sign, and in any case follow the elected-domicile design in this guide so that a bailiff has a staffed place to go.
What the mailbox is good for is exactly what most small companies need most days: a stable civic address for the registers and the tax files, ordinary letter mail photographed on arrival with a notification to you, scans (from the $85 plan) so you can read government letters from anywhere, and a document that proves the arrangement. Plans start from $35 per month before taxes (as of October 2026), with scanning from $85 and the Virtual Address and Virtual Office plans at $135 and $165; GST and QST are extra. Current prices are on the virtual mailbox page and at booking.2727coworking.com.
If your situation requires signed-for mail to land at the same address as your head office, a virtual mailbox that refuses signatures is not the right single answer, here or anywhere with the same rule. Pair it with an elected domicile at a law office, or choose an arrangement where someone is authorized to sign on your behalf.
Designing a Setup That Never Misses Legal Mail
The goal is not a single perfect address. It is a set of layers, each covering the failure mode of the one before it. Here is how the pieces fit.
Layer 1: a head office or registered office address that is true and stable
Pick the address you will put on the register (REQ domicile for a Quebec corporation, registered office for a federal corporation) and make sure your agreement with whoever provides it allows that use. Keep it stable: every change triggers an updating declaration within 30 days in Quebec [63] and a notice within 15 days federally [2]. A virtual mailbox can fill this role when the rules allow it, but it is only Layer 1.
Layer 2: an elected domicile at a place that can accept anything
Quebec's register lets you declare "the domicile elected by the registrant and the name of the person mandated by the registrant to receive documents" [68], and that information becomes opposable to third parties once it is recorded [67]. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, notification "may be made to a person designated by the addressee or at the addressee's elected domicile." [15]
The most robust elected domicile is a law firm or notary's office that has agreed in writing to receive documents for you, because:
someone is there during business hours and is used to receiving bailiffs;
they will sign for registered mail and courier envelopes;
they understand deadlines and will call you the same day;
if you are later sued, they are often the firm that will represent you, which is when technological-means notification between lawyers takes over [27].
Some corporate-services firms and accountants offer a similar "registered agent" service. None of the Quebec provisions discussed in this guide defines a "registered agent"; the statutes speak of an elected domicile, a mandated person and an attorney. So judge the service by what it contractually does: who receives, who signs, how fast you are told, and what happens if you stop paying.
Remember the limit: an elected domicile is an additional place where notification "may" be made, not a replacement for the head office. A bailiff can still go to your head office or find a director personally [4]. The elected domicile reduces risk; it does not abolish the head office.
Layer 3: a mandatary with written authority
A mandate (mandat) is the Civil Code's tool for authorizing someone to act for you. In this context it means a written instruction, signed by the company, naming who may receive and sign for documents on its behalf and at which address. The CCP expressly allows notification "to a person designated by the addressee." [15] If your company has no domicile or establishment in Quebec at all, the enterprise-publicity statute goes further and requires an attorney (fondé de pouvoir) residing in Quebec, to whom "any legal proceeding against the registrant may be notified" [16]. The Registraire describes the attorney as "a person who represents the enterprise, who has no domicile or establishment in Québec" [18].
For founders who live abroad, this is often the cleanest answer: a Quebec lawyer or notary as attorney and elected domicile, and a virtual mailbox as the ordinary mailing address.
Layer 4: online government accounts with notifications that reach a real person
Most government correspondence is now online first. Register for CRA My Business Account and keep the notification email current [54]; use Revenu Québec's online services for businesses; and keep your REQ file current through its online services [60]. Use an email address that does not depend on one employee (a shared role address with at least two readers is better than a founder's personal inbox).
Layer 5: a parcel address that is not your legal address
Parcels and courier deliveries are a logistics problem, not a legal-address problem. Send them to a carrier location or locker that holds items for pickup [46], to a courier's hold-at-location service [47], or to wherever your team actually works. Keep this out of your registry filings.
Layer 6: a routine
Every layer fails without a routine. Somebody must read the mailbox notifications every business day, open anything from a court, bailiff, law firm, CRA, Revenu Québec or the Registraire the same day, and log deadlines in a calendar that more than one person can see.
Setup options compared
Setup
Accepts bailiff service in person
Signs for registered mail
Accepts parcels
Typical fit
Virtual mailbox that refuses signatures, used alone
Not by design; ask the provider
No
No
Lowest cost; acceptable only if you accept the risk and run strict routines
Registered-agent or corporate-services firm as head office
Yes, if the contract says so
Usually yes
Rarely
Companies that want one provider for registers and legal mail
Staffed private office or coworking office
Yes, if someone is present and authorized
Yes, if authorized
Usually yes
Teams that are on site daily
The checklist
Before you file
Decide which address is your head office or registered office, and confirm in writing with the provider that this use is allowed.
Choose an elected domicile (law firm, notary or registered agent) and sign a written mandate that says what they receive, whether they sign, and how fast they notify you.
If your company has no domicile or establishment in Quebec, designate an attorney residing in Quebec [16].
Decide where parcels will go, and never list that location as your head office.
Create a shared role email (for example, legal@ or notices@) with at least two readers.
At registration
Enter the head office or registered office exactly as the provider's agreement shows it, including the unit or mailbox number [69].
Declare the elected domicile and the mandated person in the REQ declaration [68].
For a federal corporation, file the registered office with Corporations Canada and then register in Quebec [53].
Right after
Set up CRA My Business Account and confirm the notification email [54].
Set up Revenu Québec's online services for businesses and check how you will be told about new documents.
Set calendar reminders for the REQ annual updating declaration [61][62] and the federal annual return [49].
Give your elected domicile and your accountant a one-page contact sheet: who to call, in what order, for which document.
Every business day
Read mailbox notifications. Open anything from a court, bailiff, lawyer, CRA, Revenu Québec, the Registraire or Corporations Canada the same day.
Treat any notice of visit or carrier notice card as urgent.
Whenever something changes
File an REQ updating declaration within 30 days of a change [63] and a federal change of registered office within 15 days [2].
Update CRA and Revenu Québec separately; one does not update the other [57].
Before you cancel any address service, move every registry entry and agency file first, then cancel.
2727 Coworking space, 2727 Saint-Patrick, Montreal
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a virtual mailbox accept registered mail?
It depends on the provider, and you should get the answer in writing. 2727's mailbox refuses mail requiring a signature, which includes Canada Post Registered Mail. Registered Mail's whole purpose is a signature on delivery [34], so if nobody signs, the sender gets back a refused or unclaimed item instead of a signed receipt.
What happens to a registered letter if nobody signs for it?
If nobody answers, Canada Post leaves a Delivery Notice Card directing the addressee to a post office [35]. If the item is refused, it "will then be returned to the sender"; if it sits at the post office after a notice card, it is returned "if not picked up within 15 calendar days." [10] The sender pays for the return and learns about it through tracking.
Can someone else pick up a registered letter for my company at the post office?
Canada Post lets "the addressee's authorized representative" collect a Signature item with government-issued photo ID plus the signed notice card, a legal document such as a power of attorney, or a letter of authorization [35]. Ask the post office what it accepts for a company addressee before you need it.
Can a federal corporation use a virtual mailbox as its registered office?
A registered office must be a street address in the province named in the articles, and a PO box is not acceptable [48][2]. A civic mailbox address can meet that test. But Corporations Canada warns that documents sent to the registered office "will be assumed to have been received by the corporation," and section 254 deems registered mail received in the ordinary course [9]. If your mailbox refuses registered mail, add a reliable additional address and a law-office elected domicile in Quebec.
Can my registered office or head office be a PO box?
No for federal corporations: "a P.O. Box is not acceptable." [48] The CRA also refuses PO boxes as a physical business address [57]. A civic address with a unit or mailbox number is different from a PO box; Canada Post treats an assigned unit number as "an integral part of the address" [69].
Does CRA still send paper mail to businesses?
Mostly not. Since May 2025, online mail through My Business Account is the default for most business correspondence [54]. You can request paper mail, but the request must be renewed every two years, and "if mail is returned, your account automatically reverts to online mail." [54]
When is a CRA notice considered received?
On the date it is posted in My Business Account: such notices are "presumed to be sent ... and received ... on the date that it is posted by the Minister in the secure electronic account" [11]. If your email address on file is missing or wrong, "you won't receive these alerts, even if new mail is posted." [55]
How long do I have to object to a CRA or Revenu Québec assessment?
For a corporation, 90 days. Under the Income Tax Act, the deadline is "90 days after the day of sending of the notice of assessment" [11], and Quebec's Tax Administration Act uses the same 90 days from sending [13]. CRA extensions must be requested within one year after the deadline [12].
What happens if I miss the REQ annual updating declaration?
After two consecutive years without updating declarations, and after notifying you, the registrar may strike off the registration, which for a Quebec legal person "entails the dissolution of the legal person." [14] Revocation is possible but requires the missing declarations, fees and penalties [66].
Can Corporations Canada dissolve my company for not filing annual returns?
Yes. The Director may dissolve a corporation in default for one year, after 120 days' notice [51]. Corporations Canada's policy is to act after two years without an annual return, with a final notice sent by post to every valid address on file [49].
Should my REQ address and my CRA address be the same?
Not necessarily. The REQ records the domicile (head office) and, optionally, an elected domicile for correspondence [59]. The CRA separates a physical address, which "must be where the day-to-day activities take place," from a mailing address that "can be different." [57] Use each field for what it truly is.
Does 2727 accept parcels?
No. 2727's published mailbox terms state that parcels and mail requiring a signature are refused. Standard letter mail up to about 500 g and large-envelope size is accepted.
Does 2727 forward mail?
No. Each envelope is photographed and you are notified; scanning is available from the $85 plan; pickup is by appointment with photo ID. Mail is held 6 months.
What mail does the 2727 mailbox accept?
Standard letter mail up to about 500 g, large-envelope size, which covers most bank, CRA, Revenu Québec and REQ letters that arrive by ordinary mail. It refuses parcels and anything requiring a signature.
Who can collect my mail at 2727?
Only authorized names, by appointment, with photo ID, Monday to Friday 8:00 to 12:00 and Saturday 9:00 to 11:00.
Can I put the 2727 address on my REQ or incorporation filing?
Yes, the address may be used on REQ and incorporation filings. Which role it plays (head office, business address or elected domicile) depends on your situation. Given that the mailbox refuses signature mail, consider declaring a law or notary's office as your elected domicile.
Can a bailiff serve my company at a virtual mailbox address?
A bailiff serving a legal person goes to its head office and leaves the document "in the care of a person who appears to be in a position to give it to an officer or director or an agent" [4]. Whether anyone at a mailbox service fits that description, and is allowed to accept, is a question of fact. 2727's published terms do not cover bailiff service, so ask us before relying on it. Either way, the bailiff can also serve a director personally anywhere, leave a notice of visit in your mailbox [6], or move to another method.
If nobody at my head office accepts the bailiff, does that stop the lawsuit?
No. A refusal is recorded and "deemed to have been served or notified personally at the time of the refusal" [5]. A bailiff who fails can use public notice without a court order [7], and the court can authorize other methods [24]. Being hard to serve mostly means you are served in a way you may not notice.
What is the difference between notification and service (signification) in Quebec?
Notification is the general term for bringing a document to someone's attention by any method that produces proof. When the law requires a bailiff, notification "is called service" [19]. Originating applications and several other documents must be served [20].
What is an elected domicile, and how do I declare one with the REQ?
An elected domicile is an address chosen in writing to receive documents. The REQ registration and updating declarations can state "the domicile elected by the registrant and the name of the person mandated by the registrant to receive documents" [68]. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, notification "may be made ... at the addressee's elected domicile." [15] A law or notary's office is the most reliable choice.
Can my lawyer's office receive legal documents for my company?
Yes, if you designate it. The CCP allows notification "to a person designated by the addressee or at the addressee's elected domicile," and, if you have no domicile or establishment in Quebec, "at the firm of the lawyer representing the addressee or of the notary acting for the addressee." [15] Put the arrangement in writing and declare it on the register.
My company has no office in Quebec. Do I need a representative here?
If the registrant "is neither domiciled nor has an establishment in Québec," it "must designate an attorney residing in Québec," and "any legal proceeding against the registrant may be notified to the attorney, even after the registrant's registration has been cancelled." [16]
How long do I have to answer a lawsuit served on my company?
In the ordinary civil procedure, "the defendant must answer the application within the following 15 days, failing which a default judgment may be rendered." [28] In small claims, the defendant has 20 days to tell the clerk which option it chooses [30].
Can I cancel a default judgment if I never saw the claim?
Possibly, but the window is short. A defendant prevented from answering "owing to fraud, surprise or any other cause considered sufficient" may apply for revocation [32], within 30 days of learning of the judgment (or of the end of whatever prevented the defence) and never more than six months after the judgment. In the Code's words, "these are strict time limits." [33] Talk to a lawyer the day you find out.
Is a head office the same thing as a mailing address?
No. For a legal person, the domicile "is at the place and address of its head office" [1], and that is where it is notified [4]. A mailing address is simply where correspondence goes. They can be the same address, but they do different jobs.
What happens to a FedEx, UPS or Purolator delivery that needs a signature?
The courier leaves a notice, may try again, and holds the shipment for a short time: Purolator "a maximum of 5 business days" [42], FedEx "up to 5 business days ... before it is returned to the shipper" [44]. UPS may make a second or third attempt (and, for residential deliveries, may leave the package at an Access Point), and refused domestic packages "will be returned to the Shipper." [45]
Where should I ship parcels if my virtual mailbox refuses them?
To a place built for pickup: Canada Post FlexDelivery at a post office of your choice [46], a courier's hold-at-location service [47], or wherever your team actually works. Do not list those pickup points as your legal address.
Can a bailiff leave documents with the building manager?
A bailiff who cannot deliver a document leaves a notice of visit, which "may instead be left with the owner, administrator or manager of the building," and those persons are "required to co-operate with the bailiff." [6] Service on a legal person itself requires a person who appears able to pass the document to an officer, director or agent [4].
Conclusion
A virtual mailbox is a mailing tool. It can also be an acceptable head office or registered office address when the rules and your agreement allow it. What it is not, when it refuses signatures, is a place where registered mail, signed courier deliveries or parcels will be received for you. Pretending otherwise is how companies end up with a default judgment they first hear about from their bank.
The law is not on the side of the hard-to-reach. Quebec's Code of Civil Procedure lets a bailiff serve a director personally anywhere, treats a refusal as service, allows a notice of visit to be left in your mailbox, and lets a notifier fall back to court-authorized methods or public notice. Tax authorities count their deadlines from the date a notice is sent or posted online. Registrars can strike off or dissolve a company that stops filing. None of these depends on you signing for anything.
The good news is that the fix is cheap and well established. Keep the mailbox for what it does well. Add an elected domicile at a law or notary's office that signs and calls you. Add a Quebec attorney if you have no establishment here. Move government correspondence online and point notifications at an address two people read. Ship parcels somewhere built for parcels. And write the routine down, because the setup only works if someone opens the right envelope on the right day.
[59] RE-400.G: Guide concernant la déclaration de mise à jour annuelle ou courante pour une personne morale, Gouvernement du Québec (Registraire des entreprises)
[60] Access My Office at the Registraire des entreprises, Gouvernement du Québec (Registraire des entreprises)
[61] File an annual updating declaration in the enterprise register, Gouvernement du Québec (Registraire des entreprises)
[62] Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 45 (annual updating declaration), LégisQuébec (Publications du Québec)
[63] Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 41 (updating within 30 days), LégisQuébec (Publications du Québec)
[64] Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 73 (60-day request to remedy), LégisQuébec (Publications du Québec)
[65] Radiation d'office par le Registraire des entreprises, Gouvernement du Québec (Registraire des entreprises)
[66] Revoke an ex officio cancellation of an enterprise in the enterprise register, Gouvernement du Québec (Registraire des entreprises)
[67] Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 98 (information that may be set up against third persons), LégisQuébec (Publications du Québec)
[68] Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 33 (registration declaration), LégisQuébec (Publications du Québec)
[69] Civic address (addressing guidelines), Canada Post
