Here at The Chapter Group, we specialize in showing clients how to form a corporation through basic corp filing procedures, whether they’re just starting out or they’d like to change their current business model. We enjoy sharing our in-depth knowledge with business owners to help them be as productive and successful as possible. In this article, you’ll learn about several important steps in the corp filing process.

Corp Filing Process

Corp Filing Step #1: Choose a corporate name.
This sounds like a pretty easy step, but you do need to take your state’s rules into consideration. For instance, you can’t steal an existing corporation name and you must follow trademark law to ensure that your name isn’t too similar to one of your competitors. You must also end your name with “Corporation,” “Limited,” “Incorporated” or “LLC” and the name cannot falsely lead consumers to believe you are a bank, cooperative, US, reserve, federal or national corporation. Naturally, you will want your business name to be catchy, appropriate to your work and appealing to your target audience. Once you’ve selected a title, you can register this name when you file your articles of incorporation.

Corp Filing Step #2: Appoint directors.
When you form corporation entities, your directors are the big decision makers. They call the shots when it comes to policy making, financial decisions, authorizing stock, setting salaries and approving loans. The initial owners usually appoint these directors before business begins. The directors can be the initial owners themselves, although they do not have to be. You will need to check with your state’s requirements regarding how many directors you may have. They range from as few as one to more than three.

Corp Filing Step #3: File the Articles of Incorporation.
The “Articles of Incorporation” is basically just your formal paperwork required to create a corporation company. In addition to corp filing, you will also have to pay a fee ranging from $100 to $800, depending on your state’s mandates. These files are easy to prepare and usually take no more than a few moments. You’ll jot down the corporation’s name, head office address, director names and address of your registered agent / contact person. You will then send this paperwork to your Secretary of State.