In the article below, we will go over everything you need to know about the straightforward process of incorporating your company in the state of New Mexico. Please keep in mind that you should not use this article as official legal, accounting, or tax advice. SunDoc Filings specializes in New Mexico incorporations and can help you handle the paperwork surrounding this process. We can do some of the paperwork for you or all of it.

Should you require legal, accounting, or tax advice, it is wise to consult a licensed professional who can speak to your specific situation. However, remember that it is not mandatory to have an attorney when filing incorporation paperwork. 

Overview

There is a fee for filing your Articles of Corporation with the New Mexico Secretary of State. At this time, you'll need to know many things about your company, including your corporate address, your company name (which must be available to use), how many shares you're authorizing your new corporation to issue, the number of shareholders you have (depending on your corporation type), who your corporate officers are, who your registered agent will be, what type of corporation you're choosing, and any directors you'll have.

At the first board meeting you have with your Board of Directors, you will appoint officers. Your appointed officers don't need to be listed in your Articles of Incorporation. You also need to adopt bylaws. These do not need to be filed with the state either, but you will want to have them for your own records.

Finally, you will need to have a Federal Tax ID Number, also known as an Employer Identification Number or an EIN. This can be obtained from the IRS, and SunDoc Filings can help with this process. 

Incorporating

The most common corporation type is the General Stock Corporation and is what most people choose. With the General Stock Corporation, you won’t have a maximum number of shareholders. Another option is a Close Corporation. You cannot exceed 35 shareholders with a Close Corporation. Finally, there's a Professional Corporation. This is for specific professionals and is mandated by the state of New Mexico.

Forms will be necessary to obtain when incorporating your business in New Mexico. All forms needed can be obtained online through the State of New Mexico. They are available for download. However, if you decide to do so, you can create your own forms by having an attorney draw them up from scratch. 

To illustrate: the default articles of incorporation limit the corporation to one class of shares. This can be changed in a custom document. Similarly, initial directors can be named in the articles if desired, provided that all directors are included and sign the document.

All corporations need to have three positions: A President, a Treasurer, and a Secretary. Some companies may decide to have the same person fill all three positions. Most New Mexico corporations have a minimum requirement of three directors as well. There is, however, an exception in some cases: If there are less than three shareholders or if no shares have been issued. If the Articles of Incorporation will not stipulate the number of directors, but this will need to be in the bylaws.

If you would like to change your company’s bylaws, you can do this with a formal meeting of your company, which must be attended by your directors and shareholders. At this meeting, you can change your bylaws by taking a vote of the directors and shareholders concerning the proposed change. Altering the articles of incorporation is another story. This can only be done by filing an amendment with the State of New Mexico.

Remember that at all of your corporate meetings, minutes must be taken. Deciding on the powers of your directors, the methods and times of your meetings, and other decisions like these can be done in your corporate bylaws. These decisions simply must be in accordance with New Mexico law relevant provisions.  

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 Mexico Corporate Kit page.

Registered Agent

One step you must undertake as you incorporate your business is choosing a registered agent. This person or company needs to be available at a select address during business hours. When the State of New Mexico has to contact your company for legal issues or other communications, they’ll contact your registered agent. SunDoc can assist you in making life easier and outsourcing your business routine by providing this service. For additional information about our registered agent services, go to our article entitled, 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 Mexico 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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