How to File a Certificate of Incorporation in New York

If you’re forming a corporation in New York, filing a Certificate of Incorporation is a crucial step. This step establishes your business as an official corporation and provides all the necessary information about your business to the state.

For more information about forming a corporation in New York, check out our How to Form a New York Corporation page.

The Certificate of Incorporation in New York falls under Section 1503 of the Business Corporation Law. It must be filed with the New York State Department. All the information you include in this document becomes public information. It’s important to keep that in mind when you complete your forms.

Below, we discuss everything you need to know.

How to Complete the Certificate of Incorporation Form

The New York State Department offers several options for filing your Certificate of Incorporation, including in-person delivery, mail, fax, and online. Submitting it online is generally the quickest option.

The form requires you to provide the following information:

• The name of your corporation — remember to include the designator. These are Incorporated, Corporation, Limited, or their abbreviations.
• A copy of your name reservation certificate if applicable
• The county where your corporation’s office is located
• Your corporation’s physical and mailing addresses
• A statement of your company’s purpose
• Information about any authorized stock your company has
• The duration of your corporation if it isn’t perpetual
• Names and addresses of all in the corporation

When you select your corporation’s name, it’s important to select one that’s unique. You can search for your desired name online via the Corporation & Business Entity Database. This will help you determine if the name you’d like to use is available.

Once you’ve selected a unique name, ZenBusiness’s Name Reservation Service can help secure it so no one else grabs it while you’re sorting out your paperwork.

Foreign Business Corporations

A foreign business corporation is a corporation that’s registered outside of New York. If you own one, you must apply to conduct business within the state. This can be done by instead filing an Application for Authority form. This form requires similar information to the Certificate of Incorporation, in addition to:

• Alternative business names you might use to conduct business in New York
• The jurisdiction your corporation was formed in
• Certificate of Good Standing, also known as as Certificate of Existence, or a Certificate of Fact depending on the state of origin

Using a Registered Agent

A registered agent is the person or business responsible for receiving legal documents for your corporation. In New York, this automatically becomes the Secretary of State unless you designate another business or individual. When it comes to forming your corporation in New York, there are several state requirements that are unique. Using a registered agent service, such as ZenBusiness, can help. We can make sure that your business remains compliant with reporting requirements.

For more information about the benefits of using a registered agent, such as ZenBusiness, visit our New York Registered Agent page.

Supplemental Forms to Include

Depending on the industry your business operates in, you may also need to obtain consent or approval forms from a governing agency. Industries that require this consent are:

• Institutions for the care of delinquent, abandoned, or neglected children must obtain consent or approval from the Office of Children and Family Services.
• Any institute promoting or providing education must obtain consent or approval from the Department of Education.
• Healthcare facilities and hospitals must obtain consent or approval from the Public Health and Health Planning Council.
• Any substance abuse or dependence program must obtain consent or approval from the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Service.

How to Submit the Form

As mentioned earlier, there are several methods for submitting your Certificate of Incorporation and accompanying documents. Each submission method comes with varying turnaround times. In most cases, you can expect the processing time to range from four to six weeks. This doesn’t include shipping time if you’ve chosen to mail your forms. Of course, this is an estimate and time frames are never guaranteed.

If you’re in a hurry to incorporate, you can let ZenBusiness help with our faster filing service. New York does offer expedited handling services. Fees and timelines for this are:

• Within 24 hours — $25
• Same business day (if forms received before 12:00 p.m.) — $75
• Within two hours (if forms are received before 2:30 p.m.) — $125

It’s important to note that expedited handling is only available on business days, and time frames don’t include weekends or holidays.

If your business is ready to incorporate in New York, ZenBusiness can complete your Certificate of Incorporation for you and relieve you of the hassle. Learn more about our affordable business formation plans.