Forming Corporations California

Forming Corporations California

When most people think about business, corporations are the first thing that comes to mind. Not all businesses are corporations, however. A corporation is a special type of business, which counts as its own legal entity. Despite corporate owners facing double taxation on corporate profits, the corporation remains one of the most popular business forms. Contrary to popular belief, corporations do not necessarily have to be multi-million dollar behemoths. Just about any business can be classified as a corporation.Forming corporations California, paperwork must be filed, and a fee paid to the state in which a company is headquartered, or sometimes, the state in which the company does the majority of its business. Each state has slightly different requirements, fees, and laws pertaining to corporations. In this article, we will first explore the required steps necessary to forming a corporation in California

Aritlces of Incorporation

The first step to incorporating any business in California is drafting a document known as the articles of incorporation. These articles outline basic information about the company, its purpose, its stock issuance, and owners.

Article I

The first article contains the name of the corporation. The name provided will become the official name of the corporation.

Article II

The second article is a specific statement of the corporation’s purpose required by the California Corporations Code. The statement should not be changed, except to include the type of business

Article III

The third article defines the corporation’s registered agents. Names and addresses of all parties forming the corporation should be recorded here.

Article IV

The fourth article includes information about the stock issued by the corporation. The number of shares, and the par value (if any) should be specified in this section.

Finally, the articles of incorporation need to be signed by each of the initial directors named in the articles.  The name of each person should appear in type below his or her signature.

Fees

In California, the fee for incorporating most types of businesses is a flat $100.

Filing

The articles of incorporation must be filed with the California Secretary of State. As of April 2, 2010, the San Diego region office of the California Secretary of State is closed, and no longer open to the public. The Los Angeles office will remain open, and documents should be mailed to 1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

In this article, we have explored some of the required steps necessary to forming corporations California.