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 Business Entity Formation

This page is for incorporating in California

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Information provided here is forwarded to us immediately and is confidential. It is automatically saved for later retrieval in case you need to continue later.

You get a discount for ordering and paying online, or you can just have us call to discuss your needs.


Client Contact Information

Please advise who we should contact for the purpose of incorporating this business. The party listed here will be our client, and all correspodence will be directed to the person whose name is entered here.










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What is the name of the Corporation?

Let us know what name you wish to use for the Corporation. Give us up to 3 names & we'll run a search for you at the Secretary of State to ensure no conflicts exist. If there is a conflict, we will check your 2nd & 3rd choices in that order.







California Corporation names need to include the words or
abbreviations "Inc., Incorporated, Corporation, Limited or Company".
What is the Corporation's address?

This needs to be a physical street address. Don't enter a post office box or mail box address. It must be located inside California.

The Secretary of State will mail compliance reminders, correspondence and notices to this address.





Will you be your own Registered Agent?

Most business owners prefer to be THEIR OWN AGENT for their Corporation. They don't want to pay annual fees & forwarding costs to someone else to receive free compliance reminders from the State - and because THEY want to be the party receiving legal notices (like employee garnishments or tax notifications) for the company - not a lawyer or some person or company they haven't even met.









Paralegal Plus will provide this service to you for $135.00 annually.
You only need to hire an agent if you don't have a street address in California.
What will be the Corporation's initial business activity or function?

Please advise what nature of business the entity will conduct.
Examples: consultant, retailer, restaurant, asset holding.



We will use this information in determing if the business needs
to qualify as a Professional Corporation.
Who are the Directors?
A California Corporation must have at least 1 Director.
More can be added
after incorporating.


Corporation directors are responsible for overall management of the corporation

  • Directors are the highest level of management of a Corporation.

  • Directors are over Officers in the Corporate Structure (they can appoint and remove Officers at will).

  • Directors are appointed by shareholders

  • Directors can be removed by shareholders without cause

  • A Director can also be an officer and a shareholder (owner).





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Who will be the Officers?
All California Corporations are required to have a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer
(one person can hold all 3 offices).
More about Officers California Corporation Officers:

  • If there are more than 2 shareholders to a California Corp., the Secretary and President must be different people.

  • Officers are responsible for day to day operations of a corporation

  • Officers are appointed by the Director(s).

  • Officers answer to and can be removed without cause by the Board of Directors

  • Officers can also be directors and shareholders (owners).











When is the Corporation's end of Fiscal Year?
A fiscal year is the completion date of a 12-month accounting period.
December 31st is the most commonly used fiscal date by Corporations.
Subchapter S Corporations must use December 31st, unless special circumstances
are demonstrated to the IRS.





How many shares of stock are authorized to be issued?
Articles of Incorporation state the number of shares which are authorized to be issued and the par value (if any) of each share.

Most incorporators will designate "no par value" in states where it is permitted (such as in California). More The value and number of shares can be changed later - even after the entity is incorporated.

Par value is an arbitrary amount assigned to the shares of stock. It does not refer to the actual purchase price required for the shares, but shares cannot be sold at less than the stated par value.


When will shares be sold and stock certificates issued?
Please indicate if the directors will authorize the sale and issuance of stock immediately after
incorporating or if it will be conducted in the future.
More on issuance of corporate shares Sale of shares and issuance of stock certificates at this juncture may not be desirable from an economic or strategic standpoint in some instances.

While Articles of Incorporation must designate the number of authorized shares, it's not required that shares be issued or sold to legally incorporate.

If the directors will sell shares and issue stock certificates immediately upon incorporating, we will need the shareholders names, amounts of capital contributions and characteristics of the contributions (i.e. cash, services or property).

Ordering one of our corporate kits is also recommended if you are going to issue shares as soon as the Articles are filed.








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You can provide up to 3 corporate names in order of preference. This saves time if there are any conflicts with using the first selection.

California corporations need to include a "designator" in their names. Examples are: "Inc., Incorporated, Corporation, Limited or Company".

Most corporations simply use the business name, appended by "Inc." e.g. "BUSINESS, INC."

This should be a street address, not a PMB or post office box.

The agent's street address must be listed. A residential or business address can be used, as long as it is not a PMB or P.O. Box.

A Chief Executive Officer or President is required. This office cannot be vacant. This person can be the same person as the CFO (Treasurer) and/or Secretary.

A street address or P.O. Box can be used for Officers, Directors and Shareholders.

A Secretary must be appointed. This can be the same person as the President, CFO (Treasurer) and/or Vice President.

A Chief Financial Officer (Treasurer) is required and can also be the President, Secretary or Vice President.

Vice Presidents are optional. They can also serve as Secretary or CFO (Treasurer).

This is a "No Par Value" clause typically used in California Articles of Incorporation.

This is a standard clause for assigning a $1.00
Par Value to each share.

If neither of the above options meets your needs, please designate the number of authorized shares and the par value of each share in this area.

Use this if the directors will authorize the sale and issuance of stock immediately upon incorporating.
Additional fees ($85) apply to provide this corporate kit which includes stock certificates, stockholders journal and Directors' Action issuing stock.

This means that shares of stock will be issued in the future (not simultaneously with the incorporation).

This is your least expensive option, since preparing stock certificates won't be necessary at this juncture.

California permits shares to be issued for tangible or intangible property (including money paid or services performed, but not future services).

If you are incorporating a Subchapter S Corporation, or think you might elect Subchapter S tax status in the future, it is almost always better to use December 31st as the fiscal year.