It is a straightforward process to incorporate your New Hampshire Corporation. The following article will explain everything you know need to know. SunDoc can assist you with your New Hampshire incorporation needs. If you would like us to handle the paperwork on your behalf, we can certainly do this.

It is not required to hire an attorney when filing incorporation paperwork. Still, having tax or accounting specialist on your side for related matters may be useful. Keep in mind that this article cannot be construed as tax, accounting, or legal advice. Always talk with a professional in order to obtain specific advice about your corporation’s situation.

Overview

In order to form your corporation, you need to file your Articles of Incorporation with the New Hampshire Secretary of State.

You will also need an available company name, and you’ll need to know which type of corporation you want to create. Additional required information includes your new corporate address, who your registered agent will be, and how many shares you’ll be authorizing the corporation to issue. It’s possible you’ll also have to list the number of shareholders your corporation will have (depending on the corporation type you choose).

You also need to have a federal tax ID number, also known as an employer identification number or EIN. This can be obtained from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for no fee.

Next, ensure that you have an initial Board of Directors meeting where you can adopt bylaws and do things like appoint officers. You will not need to list your officers or include the bylaws in your Articles of Incorporation. 

You will have to file your first annual Statement of Information with the State of New Hampshire. On it, you must list your directors and officers. If you need assistance with taxation laws or advice in New Hampshire, consult a tax attorney or accountant.

Incorporating

The General Stock Corporation is the most common type of corporation available. There is not a maximum number of shareholders here. You may also decide on is a Close Corporation. Here, you cannot exceed 35 shareholders. Lastly, there's a Professional Corporation. This is mandated by the state of New Hampshire and is for specific professionals.

You’ll require forms for your company corporation, which are supplied by the State of New Hampshire and can be downloaded from the Internet. You can also draft your own forms; hire an attorney, and they can create them for you.

For example, default articles of incorporation will automatically limit the corporation to one class of shares. If you wish, you can alter this in a custom, attorney-created document. Likewise, initial directors can be named in the articles if you wish, as long as all directors are included and provided that all directors sign the document. 

Every corporation must have three officers: President, Treasurer and Secretary. One person can fill all these roles if desired. Generally a New Hampshire corporation must have a minimum of three directors, except for certain cases where no shares have been issued or the shareholders are less than three. Typically the bylaws will describe the number and limit of directors, unless the articles stipulate this.

If you’d like to alter your articles of incorporation, this can be done by filing an amendment with the state; that is the only way. You can generally amend bylaws by a shareholders and directors vote in a formal meeting. Minutes need to be kept in all meetings and stored with your corporation’s documents.

A Corporate Records Book is where a corporation stores bylaws, company documents, stock papers and meeting minutes. Corporate Kits are useful compilations of standard documents to run the corporation, customized to your state and including such things as stock certificates, a corporate seal embosser, meeting minutes and such. SunDoc can supply you one if you wish, see our New Hampshire Corporate Kit page.

Registered Agent

New Hampshire corporations need to name someone called a registered agent, which can be an individual or a business. The common trait is that this individual or company must be at a specific address during business hours in the event that New Hampshire state needs to contact them for legal or other inquiries.

SunDoc can assist you in outsourcing your New Hampshire corporation’s routine by offering you this service.

Want more information on registered agents? Not sure what a registered agent does? Use this article: What is a Registered Agent? Why Do I Need One? 

Name Search

The name you submit to the state in your articles of incorporation must be clearly available for you to use in the State of New Hampshire according to the records of the Secretary of State. If not, your filing will be rejected. The name cannot be such as to mislead the public in some way, or resemble another so closely as to lead to deception. There are other statutory requirements also.

Both to comply with the law, and of course for your own best branding, you should spend some effort developing your company name. You can run name searches or SunDoc can run the name searches and reserve your ultimate name choice.

EIN

You can apply for your EIN by submitting Form SS4 to the IRS, at no charge. SunDoc can apply for this on your behalf also. See our EIN page.

Next Steps

Forming a C Corporation or an S Corporation?  We recommend reading our SunDoc article on C Corporation vs. S Corporation. This article provides general information on the differences between the two corporate tax structures.

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