Buying a Business

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In most cases, when buying a business in Manitoba, that business’s account history with the WCB will also transfer to you. If you’re planning on buying a business, there are two important questions to consider:

1. Is the Seller’s WCB Account in Good Standing?

The seller should provide you with a Disposition of Business Enterprise Certificate that they obtain from the WCB. This certificate confirms there is no outstanding debt with us. If you do not secure this, you may be responsible for any monies owing on the seller's account.

Note: If a lawyer is requesting the Disposition of Business Enterprise Certificate from the WCB, we can only provide it if we have written authorization from the current owner(s) of the business.

2. What is the Business’s Claims Experience and WCB Premium Rate?

If you will be operating the business in the same form as the seller, their claim experience and rate will likely be assigned to you. This may be of benefit to you if the seller has had good experience and earned rate reductions as a result. However, if their claim experience has been poor, the rate you could adopt might reflect that.

We will determine if you are operating the business in a similar way to the seller by comparing a number of factors including:

product or service offered
customer base
business name
workforce
continuation of business operations between the close under the old ownership and opening under the new ownership.

Remember to Apply for WCB Insurance After the Sale Closes!

Once all the paperwork is complete and you have purchased a business, you must apply for your own WCB account to provide workers compensation insurance for your workers.

If you have questions about buying a business in Manitoba, we encourage you to contact Assessment Services.