Steps to Forming a Delaware Corporation
Information We Need From You to Start Your Corporation
1: Select a Name: Your company name must include one of the following words: Association, Company, Corporation, Club, Foundation, Fund, Incorporated, Institute, Society, Union, Syndicate, Limited, or one of the abbreviations (Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd.). It cannot include the words: Bank, Banc, Banque, or Trust.
2: Authorize Shares: A corporation is owned by shareholders who own shares of stock in the company. Delaware requires you to list how many shares of stock you want to authorize, as well as a par value. Usually, you would authorize a simply number of shares (say, 100) and at your first shareholder meeting issue 51% of those shares to yourself. The other 49% can be held for future business partners. The par value of stock is not the actual value, but rather the lowest price the stock can be sold for.
3: Choose Management: Corporations are managed by Directors. The Directors appoint the corporate officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary), set all company policy, issue stock, and set salaries and bonuses. You would normally appoint yourself Director, and the roles of the corporate officers would generally be yours.
4: Remaining Info Needed to File:
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Registered Agent: a legal Delaware registered agent must maintain a physical street address in the state. This is a registered office (can’t be a PO box). Our Speedy filings come with one free year of Delaware registered agent service by Northwest Registered Agent. This service keeps your private and office addresses off the public record and fulfills the registered agent, mailing and principal office requirements.
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Steps to Forming a Delaware LLC
Information We Need From You to Start Your LLC
1: Select a Name: Your company name must include one of the following: Limited Liability Company, LLC, or L.L.C. The name may contain a member’s name or one of the following words: Club, Foundation, Fund, Institute, Society, Union, Syndicate or Trust. To see if your name is available, you can perform a Delaware business name search.
2: Membership: Unlike a corporation, the ownership of an LLC is not determined by shares of stock. Instead, owners are known as members, and every member is assigned an ownership percentage. Each member’s percentage is usually, though not always, determined by how much they have invested in the company.
3: Choose Management: LLCs do not have directors or corporate officers. Instead, they are typically managed by the members who own the company. However, members can also choose to have the LLC managed by a manager, who can be a manager or a third party.
4: Remaining Info Needed to File:
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Dissolution date: if you want your LLC to be dissolved on a specific date in the future, the date must be listed with on your formation paperwork.
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Registered Agent: all legal Delaware registered agents must maintain a physical street address inside the state (called a registered office). This cannot be a PO box. Our Speedy filings come with one free year of Delaware registered agent service. This free service will keep your private home and office addresses off the public record and fulfill your registered agent, mailing and principal address requirements.
Form Your LLC Here Online
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“I did a lot of research before choosing your service and was not disappointed. You lived up to your fast, simple, affordable motto. Thanks so much.” – Kate P., Harrington, Delaware
“I don’t know what I would have done without your service. I had no idea that I could become incorporated so easy for such a small amount. Thanks.” – Rianna A., Dover, Delaware
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