If you would like to start a new corporation in San Diego, you will first need to file Articles of Incorporation with the California Secretary of State. This document tells the state government a little more about your new business and its organizational structure.
When filling out the California Articles of Incorporation, you will be asked to provide your:
Corporate Name
Naming your new organization may seem like a fairly straightforward task at first. However, the state of California has a long list of rules and regulations that govern the terms that you can and cannot use in your corporate name. If you fail to comply with these rules, your filing may be rejected.
You also cannot give your new corporation the same name as an existing business entity in California. To avoid this issue, have your business attorney in San Diego conduct a quick name search before filing.
Corporate Address
The California Articles of Incorporation document requires you to provide a mailing address and a physical address for your new company. Generally speaking, your corporate address should be the place where you keep your financial records, corporate bylaws, and other key legal documents.
Your corporate address does not necessarily have to be located in the state of California.
Registered Agent
When filing your California Articles of Incorporation, you will need to tell the state who you are appointing to be your registered agent. This person or entity is responsible for accepting all legal correspondence and tax documents on behalf of your new organization.
Your business attorney in San Diego may be able to serve as your registered agent. However, you should confirm that they offer this service before entering their information into the document.
Authorized Shares
As part of the filing process, you will also be asked how many shares of stock you are authorizing at the time of incorporation. You must authorize at least 1 share. You can come back and authorize the issuance of more shares at a later date, if necessary.
Once you have entered all of your company’s information into the California Articles of Incorporation document, you will next need to mail it, along with the appropriate filing fee ($100) to the Secretary of State’s office for processing. The address to send it to is:
Secretary of State,
Business Entities Filings Unit,
P.O. Box 944260,
Sacramento, CA 94244-2600
If all of your information is accurate and compliant with California law, your filing should be accepted within a few weeks. Should you need your filing to be approved more quickly than that, you can hand-deliver it to the Secretary of State’s office and pay an additional fee to expedite the process.
The address to deliver the paperwork to is:
Secretary of State,
1500 11th Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814
If you wish to get your filing processed by the next day, you should expect to pay a $350 fee. Should you need to have it processed on the same day, the fee will be $750.
Need Help? Contact the Incorporation Experts at the Semanchik Law Group
At the Semanchik Law Group, we know that filling out and filing the California Articles of Incorporation can be a complex and time-consuming process. If you need some help along the way, all you need to do is give us a call at (619) 535-1811. We would be happy to complete it on your behalf.
