Ontario Association of Architects (OAA)

• Corporations
• Partnerships (cannot be an LLP)
• Sole Proprietorships

Corporations

• The majority of directors must be architects licensed with OAA or engineers licensed with the PEO
• 51% of the voting shares of the corporation must directly or indirectly be controlled and owned by:
  • OAA architects or 
  • OAA architects and Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) engineers or
  • PEO engineers
• 51% of the value of all the shares, including non-voting shares, of the corporation applying for the Certificate of Practice must be directly or indirectly owned by:
  • OAA architects or 
  • OAA architects and Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) engineers or
  • PEO engineers

Partnerships

• 51% of voting interest of the partnership must directly or indirectly be controlled and owned by:
  • OAA architects or 
  • OAA architects and Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) engineers or
  • PEO engineers
• 51% of financial interest of the partnership must directly or indirectly be held by:
  • OAA architects or 
  • OAA architects and Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) engineers or
  • PEO engineers

• Certificate of Practice holders with offices in Ontario: Professional Liability Insurance with Pro-Demnity Insurance Company. Pro-Demnity provides Ontario Architectural Practices with liability insurance in accordance with the Architects Act. 
• Certificate of Practice holders where the office is located outside of Ontario or whose primary function is not to engage in the practice of architecture: Exemption form from annual professional liability insurance coverage with Pro-Demnity Insurance Company. 

• A Partnership or Corporation may name a Practice and include the word “Architect,” or any derivative thereof if it is using:
  • A generic name
  • An OAA member’s name or former member’s name if:
    • they are part of the Practice or
    • have given authorization for their name to be used
  • An OAA member’s initials or former member’s initials if:
    • they are part of the Practice or
    • have given authorization for their name to be used
• A Partnership or Corporation that does not use the word “Architect,” or any derivative thereof in its name, may name the Practice:
  • A generic name
  • A person’s name, as long as:
    • one name belongs to an OAA Member
    • they are part of the Practice or
    • have given authorization for their name to be used
  • A person’s initials as long as:
    • an OAA member’s initial or initials are included
    • the OAA member is part of the Practice or
    • has given authorization for their initial(s) to be used
• A Sole Proprietorship or Partnership or Corporation that is an existing architectural practice from another jurisdiction may use its existing name
• Style or Trade Names that are properly registered with the Province and the OAA may be used but only with the actual name of the Certificate of Practice

An architect in this practice must personally supervise and direct the practice of architecture on a full-time basis