Incorporate a California Corporation

Choosing to incorporate your business is a great step toward securing your company's future. You may not realize it, but you have a choice regarding where you form your company. Incorporating in California is ideal for many entrepreneurs, even if they aren't physically located in the state.

Why Incorporate in California?

Incorporating your company allows you to protect your personal assets from any actions that might affect your business. It also gives you the professionalism of an incorporated company, making it more likely that others will choose to work with you.

Business owners choose to incorporate outside their home state for many reasons. California is one of the most popular states for incorporation, because it has a thriving business community and offers important business benefits.

One major benefit of corporations in the state of California is management flexibility – the state only requires three officer positions in the filing: president, chief financial officer, and secretary. You can even fill all three of these with the same person. This allows you a lot of flexibility when it comes to filling out your corporation's leadership team in the future.

Another reason forming a California professional corporation is a great choice is due to the anonymity of shareholders and management. The state only requires the director and resident agents to be disclosed, allowing stockholders to avoid having their names in the public record.

Finally, California corporation taxes are only 9%, with other significant advantages available depending on the type of corporation formed.

Interested in California incorporation? incorporate.com is here to help! We'll help you choose a name, fill out paperwork, meet state requirements, and advise you of needed fees. Contact us to start your California professional corporation today!

How to Incorporate in California

The process of registering a company is California is straightforward. Below is a brief overview of the steps to incorporating:

1. Make sure your chosen business name is available under California rules and regulations.
2. File California articles of incorporation.
3. Have your organizational meeting and create your company bylaws.
4. Get your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and open your incorporation's bank account.
5. Get business licenses from the county and/or city where you will do business.
6. Submit your initial report, called a Statement of Information, within 90 days.

The first step to forming any business is choosing a name. incorporate.com is happy to do this research for you, ensuring that no other companies in the state have the name you want to use. Then, we can file the paperwork to reserve the name for your company.

From there, the articles of incorporation will need to be completed. California requires three directors for a corporation unless shares have not been issued, in which case it can be one or two. In addition, if there is only one shareholder, there can be just one director. Two shareholders requires two directors. Three or more shareholders means your company should have three directors. The state does not have specific eligibility requirements for directors.

You will need a statement of information filed within 90 days of incorporation. You will also need a broadly stated corporate purpose, which will satisfy California filing requirements while also leaving your business open to pursue any avenue you choose.

incorporate.com is happy to help you complete all of these documents and help you draft your general purpose statement. In addition, you will need a registered agent listed in your California incorporation documents. This agent is the person that will receive legal documents on the company's behalf. Many companies use a service like incorporate.com as their registered agent, to ensure all paperwork is received on time and forwarded discreetly and quickly to company leadership.

We have helped thousands of companies form California state corporations, and are available to help you, as well! The process can be daunting, but incorporate.com makes it easy. Contact us today for more information about incorporation in California!

Ready to Form Your Corporation in California?