You’ve picked out and registered the name.
You know what structure you want it to take.
It’s time to register your business.
If you have a corporation, a limited liability company, a limited liability partnership, or a limited partnership, your business must be filed with the Secretary of State. Unlike sole proprietorships or general partnerships, these structures give varying levels of protection from personal liability and have more stringent filing requirements with the state.
Once you submit the necessary forms and fees for the structure you are filing, the Secretary of State’s office will issue a certificate that the filing has been accepted. If the business is not organized correctly it may not be registered as the correct structure and will not be taxed as you wanted. We’ll take a look at the basics of filing a for-profit corporation and a limited partnership.
If you are trying to file for a corporation, it must be determined what kind of corporation you have before registering. The options are: for profit, not for profit, for profit engineering and/or architect corporation, or not for profit church. Most structures have a similar amount of sub-categories. Once that is established, you can register online (https://www.sos.ok.gov/corp/filing.aspx) or download the forms and submit them in paper format.
The forms vary for each kind of corporation. To incorporate a for profit business, the following information is required: name of the business, the name and street address of the registered agent and registered office, email address, duration of the business, purpose, authorized capital, incorporators, directors, and execution of the certificate of incorporation. The certificate of incorporation must be signed and filed with the Secretary of State with the filing fee. The filing fee is 1% of the total authorized capital with a minimum of fifty dollars.
If you are trying to file for a limited partnership, a signed copy of the certificate of limited partnership must be signed and filed electronically or by mail with the Secretary of State. The filing fee is $100. The certificate must include: the name of the business, the designated office, the registered agent and office, the duration of the partnership, an email address, and the name and addresses of the partners.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed at the amount of choices than can be right for your business. Fortunately, there are definitions and instruction pages for all of the forms that should bring some clarity. It’s important to carefully and patiently read through this information before submitting any filing paperwork. The Secretary of State’s office is also available to answer filing questions at (405) 521-3912.