Obtain California Articles of Incorporation / Certificate of Incorporation

A Certificate of Good Standing issued by the state certifies that your business exists within that jurisdiction, is authorized to do business in that state and is not in default with its required filings, such as its annual report or Statement of Information. See more about the California Certificate of Good Standing.

This is often required as documentation to open a business bank account, to apply for financing, or to enter into any contractual relationship with another business or organization. It may be required to do business in another state - for which you would also need a Certificate of Qualification as a "foreign" entity to that state.

In California, this is obtained through the Secretary of State's office, which issues a document with the seal of the state and the Secretary's authorized signature. We can make this request for you - ands we can expedite this request if desired - or you can find the information online at the state website to apply for this yourself. See more about our nationwide document retrieval service.

The Good Standing certificate can go by other names in other states - such as Certificate of Existence or Certificate of Status, for example. The procedure is essentially the same. Our nationwide network allows us to request this certificate for you in any state. Get started online to order a certificate of good standing in any state.

Certificates of Good Standing do not specifically expire, but their reliability depends on how recent they are. Different business institutions may require you to provide a certificate no older than a specified date. A new certificate is straightforward to obtain.