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To qualify a foreign (existing) corporation in California -
Profit, Non-Profit, or Professional
Sun Document Filings, LLC makes it easy to file a foreign
Corporation in California. First, we can obtain a
Certificate of Status, sometimes called a Certificate of
Existence or Certificate of Good Standing from your home
state. Second, we check name availability with the
California Secretary of State to make sure the foreign
Corporation's name is available. Third, you will fill out
the form Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation.
Finally, we will file the Statement and Designation by
Foreign Corporation in Sacramento at the Secretary of State's
California foreign Corporation counter. We will obtain a
California Corporation file number from the Secretary of
State for your foreign corporation. We will obtain two
certified copies of the Statement and Designation by Foreign
Corporation and a Certificate of Qualification for all
foreign Corporation filings at no extra charge. Simply
follow our Step by Step process to get started.
Step 1: Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing
from home state or country:
If you have already obtained a Certificate of Good Standing from
the company's home state that is less then 6 months old or are in the process of
obtaining one, please skip this step. If you need assistance in obtaining a
Certificate of Good Standing from your home state, we can assist you for an
additional service and state fees. If the corporation is a non profit, the
Certificate of Existence/Certificate of Good Standing must state the
corporation's non profit status or the California Secretary of State will file
it as a profit corporation and require additional filing fees.
Note: If the foreign Corporation is from outside the United States and the
Certificate of Good Standing is in a
different language, you will be required to have it translated before you can
register the foreign Corporation. Please contact the Secretary of State to make
sure they will accept your translated Certificate of Good Standing before
sending your document for filing. Call them at 916-653-3365.
Step 2:
Check name
availability: Skip this step if you have already checked name
availability. A foreign Corporation name must be available in California or the
Corporation will have to conduct business under a DBA. Sometimes, adding the home state in front of the name will make it
available. Please download our name availability order form in PDF
format. For name restrictions for professional corporations,
click here.
Step 3:
Prepare the
form: Prepare the California Statement and Designation by
Foreign Corporation. The form is provided in PDF format. For your convenience,
you may download a copy of the form including detailed instructions prepared by
the California Secretary of State in PDF format below.
The form provided can be viewed and
printed from your computer using the most current version of the Adobe Reader
(available for free from
Adobe's Website).
Download Form
Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation for a profit/Non-profit corporation
Download Form
Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation for a professional
corporation (For professions of law and accountancy ONLY)
Please note that we provide California registered agent services for $159.00 a year.
For more information about California registered agent services, please
click here.
Please
contact us if you are interested and we will assist you in designating the
registered agent correctly on the Statement and Designation by Foreign
Corporation
Please
read helpful tips to avoid document rejection by clicking here.
Step 4:
How fast do you need your document filed? Select the
appropriate order form and fax or e-mail the completed form with the signed
Statement and Designation to 800-498-3611 or e-mail to
order@sundocumentfilings.com
**The order forms are in PDF format. Please type on the form from your computer.
For legibility purposes, please do not handwrite.**
Fees
Option 1:
Same day rush order form -
Documents received by 11:00am
PST
Option 2:
24 hour rush order form
Option 3:
Routine - 7 business days order form*
*NOTE: Documents submitted on a routine
basis (normally 7 business days from March - November) from
December thru February will take between 10-15 business days
to be processed due to the increased filing volume at the
Secretary of State's office. If you need your document
faster, please use the rush option. The yearly slowdown
happens in all 50 states every December and recovers in
March.
If you fax the
order, we will fax a received stamped copy back or if you e-mail the document,
we will reply to confirm receipt of the order.
Step 5:
Document is
Filed: Once the document is submitted to the
Secretary of State, the State will take 5-7 business days* to process your
document. 5-7 business days maybe longer then desired, but keep in mind that if
you mail the document to the state for processing, you will have to wait 5-7
weeks if you mail the document in. From mid November to mid February,
turnaround times will increase. RUSH OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE.
Step 6:
Document is
complete: Our runners' will pick up your document and
bring it back to our office. We will immediately fax or e-mail a copy of the
filed document to you. We will return the two certified copies via regular mail.
FedEx is available for an additional fee of $25.00 or if you have your own FedEx
account number, there is no additional charge. That is it. So fast and easy!
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Service and State Fees
Name availability check:
$30.00 for one first choice plus 2 back up name choices for no extra charge plus
a state fee of $4.00 per each name checked.
California
Registered Agent services for one year: $159.00. Annual fee due at
time of filing.
Obtain Certificate of Good Standing from
the home state or District of Columbia: Please contact us for exact quotes. Fees
are often determined upon whether or not you need the document on a rush. Please
provide your time constraints prior to placing the order.
RUSH OPTIONS: If you need to form a
corporation on a rush basis, there are rush options available.
SAME DAY FILING (We must receive the document and
payment by 11:00am). We file the document and fax you a copy
the same day, the certified copies will arrive the
following business day via FedEx. If the document is
received after that time, we will do our best to have it
filed the same day. Otherwise, the document will be filed
the next business morning. Our service fee: $635.00 plus the
Secretary of State's fee of $115.00.
Total $750.00 Price
includes a fax copy return and FedEx priority overnight to a
continental US address. Credit card required.
Fax/e-mail form:
24 Rush: $350.00 Secretary of State rush fee + $100.00 state filing fee + $100.00 rush
service fee. Total: $550.00 Credit card required.
Routine fax/e-mail:
7 business days: Our service fee is $70.00 plus the California Secretary of State fee
of $115.00 ($100.00 filing fee + $15.00 counter fee) for a
total of $185.00. Fax
or e-mail the document to our office. Credit card required.
This option shaves a day of the filing time and saves a
FedEx fee to our office.
Budget Mail in: 7 business days plus shipping time: Our service fee is
$50.00 plus the California Secretary of State fee of $100.00 filing fee + $15.00 counter fee.
To qualify for the reduced service fee, you must
send the following: 1 originally signed document and 2
photocopies along with either 3 copies of the good standing
certificate. Two separate checks both made payable to the
Secretary of State; one for $100.00 and one for $15.00. A
third check for our fee made payable to Sun Document Filings
for $50.00. Add $3.00 if you would like a fax return copy.
Add $5.00 for a scan and e-mail.
Add $25.00 if you would like FedEx overnight. See
Contacts for mailing address.
Routine filings: Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing at the time of filing:
Our service fee is $35.00 plus $5.00 state fee per certificate. On a 24 hour
rush with filing add $70.00 plus $5.00 state fee. Same day -
add $180.00 plus $5.00 state fee per certificate.
Why choose Sun
Document Filings?
We have filed thousands of foreign Statement and Designations by Foreign
Corporations with the
California Secretary of State over the years. We personally visit the California Secretary of State's
California Corporation counter 3 times a day to drop off and pick up documents.
We are very experienced in handling foreign Corporation registration in
California. Please read what
your peers have to say about our services by
viewing our testimonials.
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In addition to checking name
availability, professional corporations typically have name restrictions
depending upon the licensing agency (medical board, dental board, etc.). Many
medical and dental corporations have specific name restrictions/ requirements
that must be met. Please contact the responsible agency for further information
or consult the
California Corporations Code. In addition, some states allow certain
professional corporation endings that California does not. Please verify that
the proposed name will not conflict with the
California Corporations Code or call the California Secretary of State at
916-653-3365 for further information. Unfortunately, Sun Document Filings cannot
answer legal questions regarding professional names.
Back to Step 2
Please follow these tips while preparing the form
a. Read all instructions provided by the Secretary of State.
b. On line 1, type the name of the foreign Corporation
EXACTLY as it appears on the Certificate of Good Standing
including spaces and punctuation.
Note: A foreign Corporation must use
its own name or less its legal name is unavailable for use in California.
c. If the legal name is not available for use in California
because it conflicts with an entity that is registered with the California Secretary of State, the foreign
corporation must use a DBA. If the legal name is ABC, Inc. and the
corporation is going to the name Nevada ABC, Inc.,
please type on the form: ABC, Inc. which will do business in California as
Nevada ABC, Inc.
DO NOT type ABC, Inc. DBA Nevada ABC,
Inc. or ABC, Inc. doing business as Nevada ABC, Inc. or the Secretary of State will reject your document.
d. An agent for service or process is required. An agent for
service of process is the person or entity that will accept service of process on behalf of the company if
the Corporation is ever sued. The agent for service of process must be have a
California address. If you do not have a
California address or a person that can act as the agent for service of process,
you can appoint a registered agent for you
for a fee of $159.00 per year. Please
click here for further information
regarding
California registered agent services.
e. Don't forget the authorized person's title such as
President, Secretary, Vice-President, or Assistant Secretary. Shareholder or
Director is not an acceptable title to sign on a
Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation.
f. Type the form. If you must hand write it, please write
clearly. If the Secretary of State cannot read it, the document will be rejected and you will have to prepare
a new form.
Back
to Step 4
NOTE: We hope you find our
foreign corporation qualification steps useful and easy to follow. Nothing contained in our steps
should be construed as giving legal or financial advice. Our intended audience
is attorneys and accountants. Therefore, if you are not an attorney or
accountant, you should contact an attorney or accountant for specific legal or
tax questions regarding your corporation. Please be aware that the Franchise Tax
Board and Secretary of State are government agencies and can change their
fees/procedures/forms/turnaround times without notification. Although we do our
best to update our steps and stay current, we shall not be held liable for any
omissions or errors contained. We do not profess to be giving legal or financial
advice to the general public as we are a typing and filing agency.
File a
foreign corporation or a California foreign corporation. We
file a foreign qualification in California. Qualify a
foreign corporation in California. Sometimes called a
Certificate of Authority, a Statement and Designation is
required. We registered all foreign corporations in
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