Steps to Forming a North Carolina Corporation
Information We Need From You to Start Your Corporation
1: Select a Name: Your company name must include a corporate ending: Corporation, Company, Limited, Incorporated, Corp., Co., Ltd., or Inc.
2: Authorize Shares: The owners of a corporation are known as shareholders. They own shares of stock in the company. North Carolina requires you to identify an initial number of shares you intend to authorize. Typically, you would authorize a small number of shares, say 100. At your first shareholders meeting, you would issue 51% of those shares to yourself, giving you control of the corporation. The remaining 49% can be held for future business partners.
3: Choose Management: A corporation is run by its Directors. The Directors are in control of appointing the corporate officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary), setting salaries and bonuses, issuing additional stock, and establishing major company policies. In most cases, you would simply appoint yourself the sole Director and take on the roles of the various corporate officers.
4: Remaining Info Needed to File:
-
Registered Agent: legal registered agents must maintain a physical street address within the state. This is known as a registered office (cannot be a PO box). All of our Speedy filings come with one free year of North Carolina registered agent service by Northwest Registered Agent. This service keeps your private home and office address out of the public record and fulfills your registered agent, mailing and principal address requirements.
-
Principal office: the physical street address of the business office where you keep your corporate records and financial books.
-
Effective date: if you want your corporation’s official formation date to be different from your filing date, you may select a later date (no later than 90 days after filing).
-
Business email: (optional) email for the Secretary of State to use to contact you about your filing. This will not be viewable on the SOS website.
Form Your Corporation Here Online
Steps to Forming a North Carolina LLC
Information We Need From You to Start Your LLC
1: Select a Name: Your company name must include the company ending Limited Liability Company, L.L.C., Ltd. Liability Co., Limited Liability Co., or Ltd. Liability Company. If you want to see if your company name is currently available, you can do a North Carolina business name search.
2: Membership: The owners of an LLC are known as members. Unlike a corporation, they are not issued shares of corporate stock. Instead, members are assigned an ownership percentage. The percentage is typically in proportion to the amount each member has invested in the company.
3: Choose Management: An LLC is typically managed by its members, who take part in the everyday operations and are also responsible for setting company policy. However, an LLC can also choose to appoint a manager to run the business. Managers can be members, or they can be outside parties.
4: Remaining Info Needed to File:
-
Registered Agent: a legal registered agent must have a physical street address within the state of North Carolina. This is known as a registered office, and it cannot be a PO box. Our Speedy filings come with one free year of North Carolina registered agent service. This free service keeps your private home and office addresses off the public record and fulfills your registered agent, mailing and principal address requirements.
-
Principal office: the physical street address of the business office where your company records and financial books are kept (and the mailing address, if different).
-
Business email: (optional) the address which the Secretary of State can contact you about your business filings.
Form Your LLC Here Online
Testimonials
“Great site, I tried to order on another site first but I had problems. Your website has a lot of good details which were helpful. ” – Abigail R., Charlotte, North Carolina
“I would recommend this company to anyone! In fact- a friend is also starting a business (unsure when) but I have highly recommended your company service! Your smart customer service was excellent! ” – Wade F., Raleigh, North Carolina
“I liked your website better than any other I have seen, both in the information you provide and the easy way to order, and especially the bargain price of your service. ” – Uta E., Winston-Salem, North Carolina
