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Articles of Incorporation are the basic charter for your corporation. The original is kept on
file with the Arizona Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will issue you a corporate
identification number which should be used on all state tax payments and returns.
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| The Articles of Incorporation referenced here can only be used for corporations which:
If you do not meet these requirements, contact your attorney or your state's Secretary
of State's office. |
| Form to use | |
Articles of Incorporation |
| | | Time deadlines |
| Usually Articles of Incorporation must be filed within 120 days of reserving
your corporate name or you will lose your rights to your reserved name.
Warning: If you won't be starting business until the beginning of a year, file your Articles of
Incorporation in January, so that you won't have to complete tax returns until you begin business. |
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| Information you will need |
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| Name | Use the name you reserved with the Secretary of State.
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| Agent |
List the name and
address of one person (a resident of the state where you are incorporating) who is willing to accept all official mail on behalf of the
corporation. This person does not have to receive the corporation's general mail -
(s)he is only agreeing to accept legal notices or summons (if they ever occur).
List their street address, no P.O. boxes please! |
| Stock | See Issuing Stock to decide how many shares you
will need to authorize. If you believe you might need more later, many corporations
authorize additional shares now in their Articles of Incorporation but do not issue them
until the corporation needs additional capital. You are not "stuck" with your decision,
because you can always
amend your Articles of Incorporation later to authorize more stock.
If this occurs, you will have to pay a fee and you must call the Secretary of State's office for the current form. |
| Signature | An incorporator must sign your
Articles of Incorporation. Although anyone can be an incorporator, they have certain
responsibilities and therefore should be the primary organizer or responsible agent
of the future corporation. Type the incorporator's name below the signature. | |
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| Cost |
| $60
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| Call the Secretary of State if |
| Call the Secretary of State or visit
their website to obtain the proper forms to file if:
- You change the number of authorized shares
- You change the name or address of the agent for service between annual meetings
- You change your corporation's name or
- You close (dissolve) the corporation.
Be sure to check your Bylaws to determine whether you need shareholder and/or Board of
Director approval and then document this approval in the meeting minutes. |
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| Incorporated out of state? |
| Officially, you are supposed to register your corporation in the state where you are conducting business. If you incorporated out of state, you will register as a "foreign" corporation.
If your name is already being used in your state or is misleading, you may have to register
a fictitious name (dba) with the Secretary of State. Also, you will
be asked to obtain a statement of good standing from the state in which you were incorporated.
For information, call the numbers below.
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| Questions? |
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Contact the Arizona Secretary of State at
(602)542-3026 |
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