Incorporating a Corporation in North Carolina

If you want to incorporate a corporation, Company Express will research the availability of chosen company name, prepare for you and file with the Secretary of State office all required corporate paperwork and obtain certified copy of filed documents, if it will be requested by the client.  We also will appoint registered agent for your corporation, as required by the state law, and will help with many of your follow-up corporate needs such as amendment filings, written consents, and annual report preparation and filing. You can find below some of the State incorporation requirements:

Corporate Name Requirements

Names of North Carolina requires corporations should not be confused with any existing entity, reserved or registered names and forced fictitious names. Company Express will research your company name to make sure it meets North Carolina’s standards.

Permitted designations: North Carolina corporate names must contain one of the following words at the end of the name:

• Co.
• Company
• Corp.
• Corporation
• Inc.
• Incorporated
• Limited
• Ltd.

Restricted designations: The use of the following words in corporation’s name will require approval by the state:

• Air Force
• Architect
• Architectural
• Architecture
• Army
• Bank
• Banker
• Banking
• Coop
• Cooperative
• Engineer
• Engineering
• Insurance
• Mutual
• Navy
• Survey
• Surveying
• Surveyor
• Trust
• Wholesale

Filing Requirements

Please note, that we, at Company Express, will handle all required incorporation filing for you. The following information is presented for your information only.

Required documents: Articles of Incorporation.

Turnaround time: About  12-17 business days. 24 hours expedited filings are available for an additional fee.

Follow-up filings: Not required.

Officers/Directors Information

Minimum number: Minimum one director is required.

Director qualifications: No provisions.

Appearance in articles: Director names and addresses are not required to be listed in the Articles of Incorporation.

Written consent: Permitted. Directors may act in writing in lieu of holding a meeting.

Principal office location / Registered Agent

Corporation’s principal office may be located outside of the state, but local registered agent is required.

Annual Reports

Time to file: Annual reports are required. The due date is 60 days following the last day of the month in which the company was incorporated. The state fee is $20.

Signatures: Only company officers are authorized to sign annual reports. Emailed or faxed signatures are accepted.

Filing extensions: Permitted.