In order to file a new corporate entity, the proper Articles of Incorporation or Certificate of Incorporation must be prepared properly and submitted with the appropriate fee to the Secretary of State of that State. The company must have a name that is distinctive on the records of the Secretary of State, and have a proper corporate indicator.

Often, it is possible to expedite this filing by paying an additional fee. Some states are more reasonable with this charge than others, so it pays to research the additional cost versus the time savings.

Once the certificate of incorporation or articles of formation is accepted and filed, the jurisdiction will then either stamp a copy with the filing date or provide a receipt or other evidence of filing back to the filer.

Depending on the jurisdiction, this process can take from a few hours to severals weeks.

To learn more about the types of companies available in the US, check out our list of types of corporate entities in the US.