Steps to Forming an Iowa Corporation
Information We Need From You to Start Your Corporation
1: Select a Name: Your company name must contain one of the following: Corporation, Incorporated, Company, Limited, Corp., Inc., Co., or Ltd.
2: Authorize Shares: A corporation’s owners are made up of shareholders, who own shares of stock in the company. Iowa requires you to identify the number of shares you are initially authorizing and the par value of the shares. Normally, you would authorize a small number of shares (100, for example) and at the first shareholders meeting you would issue 51% of those shares to give yourself control of the company. The par value of the shares is not the actual value, but is the lowest price at which you will allow the stock to be sold.
3: Choose Management: A corporation is run by its Directors. The Directors appoint the corporate officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary), set salaries, determine major company policy, and issue stock. In most cases, you will act as the sole Director and take on the roles of the corporate officers.
4: Remaining Info Needed to File:
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Registered Agent: legal registered agents have a physical street address within the state where they can sign for service of process. This is called a registered office (cannot be a PO box). Speedy filings come with one free year of Iowa registered agent service by Northwest Registered Agent. This service keeps your private home and office address off the public record and fulfills the registered agent, mailing and principal office requirements.
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Names and addresses of directors: this is optional.
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Corporate purpose: the lawful business your company will perform (optional).
Form Your Corporation Here Online
Steps to Forming an Iowa LLC
Information We Need From You to Start Your LLC
1: Select a Name: Your company name must contain the words Limited Liability Company, Limited Company or one of the following abbreviations: L.L.C., LLC, L.C., or LC. The word “Limited” may be abbreviated as “Ltd.” The word “Company” may be abbreviated as “Co.” To see if your company name is available, perform an Iowa business name search.
2: Membership: An LLC is owned by its members. Members are not issued shares of stock like in a corporation. Instead, members are simply assigned an ownership percentage. This percentage is usually, though not always, directly related to the investment made by each member.
3: Choose Management: Typically, the members will manage the affairs of the LLC and oversee the day to day operations. There are directors and no corporate officers. However, in some cases an LLC will choose to appoint a manager to run the business. A manager can be a member or an outside party.
4: Remaining Info Needed to File:
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Registered Agent: a legal registered agent must have a physical street address in the state of Iowa. This is known as a registered office. It cannot be a PO box. Speedy filings come with one free year of Iowa registered agent service. This service keeps your private home and office addresses off the public record and fulfills the registered agent, mailing and principal office address requirements.
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Management: whether your LLC will be managed by its members or by a manager (optional).
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Members: the names of the LLC members (optional).
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Company purpose: the lawful business your company intends to perform (optional).
Form Your LLC Here Online
Testimonials
“Your service is a lifesaver. It took me less than 20 minutes to fill out the form to form my LLC and you delivered on your name. Thanks.” – Carl Z., Anita, Iowa
“Everything went so smooth with your service. I couldn’t imagine the process being any easier. Thanks for simplifying what could have been a complicated process. I’m happy to recommend you to friends.” – Jacob E., Woolstock, Iowa
“I’ve waited a long time to become a business owner and can’t thank you enough for how easy your service made the whole thing.” – Ernie O., Newell, Iowa
