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Articles of Incorporation for California

If you are ready to incorporate your business in California, you can start the official process by creating and filing the Articles of Incorporation. The Rocket Lawyer Articles of Incorporation for California document makes it easy to get the right foundation for your business's future success in The Golden State.

As a general matter, information and filings submitted to the California Secretary of State are public record. The information kept on file and accessible to the public includes names, phone numbers, email addresses, and mailing and street addresses, with few statutory exceptions. You can request certain information through the Secretary of State's office. Additional information is available on their website.

The document on this page can be used to create your California corporation's Articles of Incorporation. It covers all the major aspects of your corporation: corporate name, purpose of the business, agent for service, and whether the corporation is issuing stock. The Articles don't describe how your corporation will be run, so you'll also need to create Corporate Bylaws after forming your corporation in California.

You can use Rocket Lawyer's Free California Articles of Incorporation document if:

• You wish to incorporate a small business without outside investors that will operate in California.
• You wish to organize the information needed to incorporate a small business that will operate in another state.

The cost of filing Articles of Incorporation depends on the kind of corporation you are establishing. The fee ranges from $30 to $100.

The average processing time for Articles of Incorporation in California is around 15-20 days.

While they are similar, Articles of Organization are generally used in forming limited liability companies (LLCs), whereas Articles of Incorporation are generally used for forming corporations.