When the owners of a business decide to incorporate their
company, as part of the incorporation process they are
required to produce a legal document called it's "Articles
Of Incorporation". A company's Articles effectively define
the framework or rules within which the business will
operate from a legal perspective. A business can not
become an incorporated legal entity until it's Articles of
Incorporation have been filed.
Typical articles of incorporation contain information on
the name of the incorporator, whether or not the company is
a stock or non stock organisation, and if it is a stock
organisation, the number and type of authorised shares the
corporation may issue.
Also required is the address of the company's registered
office, the names of the board of directors and the
accounting period the business will use for reporting
purposes.
The company's articles will also outline the general
activities of the organisation. Your articles will also
state the full name of your new corporation.
You can choose whether to use the words "Incorporated",
"Limited" or "Corporation", or you can legally use
abbreviations such as "Inc", "Ltd" or "Corp".
Finally, the Articles of Incorporation for your company
should include any by-laws or state rules that will apply
to the officers of the company, and also to it's employees.
If you're looking to incorporate your business, articles of
association are one of the mandatory documents that must be
filed as part of the incorporation process.
Depending on the complexity of your organisation's
structure and activities, you can either hire a lawyer or
incorporation specialist to produce your articles, or you
can prepare them yourself and file them online using an
online incorporation service.
Obviously the latter option is usually more cost effective.
If you're not familiar with the format and contents of
legal documents, it's probably advisable to hire an expert
as it's imperative that you get your Articles of
Incorporation correct as they will determine how your newly
incorporated company operates.
If you get them wrong, you may delay the incorporation
process or incur additional costs correcting the errors.
If however you feel comfortable in the preparation of your
own documents, you will find lot's or sample articles of
incorporation online, that you can use to create your own.
Your local library should also have example documents for
you to use. Whichever sample articles you choose to use,
you must ensure that the document is complete and complies
with the legal requirements of the state you are to
incorporate in.
Each State has different requirements and by-laws that you
must comply with. Each separate article included in your
document should be clear and concisely worded.
To ensure your document is suitable for filing, you should
ideally pay a flat fee to a local attorney to have it
checked for accuracy and completeness. This will avoid
delays in the incorporation process further down the line.
Once you are sure that your Articles of Incorporation are
ready for filing, you will need to obtain the relevant form
from the secretary of state for the state you are
incorporating in.
These days, the secretary of state's website will usually
have forms which you can download.
Once filed, your articles of incorporation document
effectively creates your new corporation as a separate
legal entity.
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The Author, Richard Taylor is the webmaster at
Incorporate-My-Business.com. His site provides lots of
information on all aspects becoming incorporated, including
all the pros and cons, sources of online services and
downloadable forms. Visit his site at:
http://www.incorporate-my-business.com
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