Entrepreneurship / General Business

How Do I Incorporate My Business?

7. Select the Board of Directors

We have a tutorial on selecting your board of directors which may be of interest to you in this step. You can find the link here. The board of directors oversees the company and acts in the best interest of the company’s shareholders.

8. File for an Employee Identification Number (EIN)

The federal goverment (specifically the IRS) requires for you to file for an Employee Identification Number (EIN) before your corporation can become a legal entity. Most banks require the EIN before you can open an account. You can file for the EIN electronically here.

9. File Your Corporate Documents

The last step in the process is to file all of the required paperwork with your registration state. Unfortunately, we cannot give you a complete list of what is required as it varies from state to state. Contact the Secretary of States below for the state you are interested in and they will assist you with the forms. In addition, we have provided links directly to SOS
websites for some of the states.

Secretary of State Contact Information

ALABAMA (D)
Hon. Nancy Worley
Secretary of State
State House
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 242-7205
Fax (334) 242-4993

nworley@sos.al.gov
http://sos.al.gov/

ALASKA (R)
Hon. Loren Leman
Lieutenant Governor
P.O. Box 110015
Juneau, AK 99811-0015
(907) 465-3520
Fax (907) 465-5400
Loren_Leman@gov.state.ak.us

ARIZONA (R)
Hon. Jan Brewer
Secretary of State
7th Floor, State Capitol
1700 W. Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2888
(602) 542-4285
Fax (602) 542-1575
lglenn@azsos.gov

ARKANSAS (D)
Hon. Charlie Daniels
Secretary of State
256 State Capitol Building
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 682-1010
Fax (501) 682-3510
larowland@sosmail.state.ar.us

CALIFORNIA (D)
Hon. Kevin Shelley
Secretary of State
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 653-7244
Fax (916) 653-4620
constituentaffairs@ss.ca.gov

COLORADO (R)
Hon. Donetta Davidson
Secretary of State
Suite 200, 1560 Broadway
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 894-2200
Fax (303) 869-4860
Sos.admin1@sos.state.co.us

CONNECTICUT (D)
Hon. Susan Bysiewicz
Secretary of State
State Capitol, Room 104
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 509-6200
Fax (860) 509-6209
Susan.Bysiewicz@
po.state.ct.us

DELAWARE (D)
Hon. Harriet Smith Windsor
Secretary of State
Townsend Building
P.O. Box 898
Dover, DE 19903
(302) 739-4111
Fax (302) 739-3811
Email: hnsmith@state.de.us
Web: http://www.state.de.us/

FLORIDA (R)
Hon. Glenda Hood (Feb. 2003)
Secretary of State
Capitol, Plaza Level, Rm. 2
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 245-6500
Fax (850) 245-6217
secretaryofstate@mail.dos.state.fl.us
Web: http://www.dos.state.fl.us/

GEORGIA (D)
Hon. Cathy Cox
Secretary of State
State Capitol, Room 214
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-2881
Fax (404) 656-0513
sosweb@sos.state.ga.us

HAWAII (R)
Hon. James “Duke” Aiona
Lieutenant Governor
State Capitol, Fifth Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 586-0255
Fax (808) 586-0231
ltgov@hawaii.gov

IDAHO (R)
Hon. Ben Ysursa
Secretary of State
State Capitol, Room 203
Boise, ID 83720
(208) 334-2300
Fax (208) 334-2282
sosinfo@idsos.state.id.us

ILLINOIS (D)
Hon. Jesse White
Secretary of State
213 State Capitol
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-2201
Fax (217) 785-0358
jessewhite@ilsos.net

INDIANA (R)
Hon. Todd Rokita
Secretary of State
201State House
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-6531
Fax (317) 233-3283
aa@sos.IN.gov

IOWA (D)
Hon. Chet Culver
Secretary of State
State House
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-5204
Fax (515) 242-5952/5953
sos@sos.state.ia.us

KANSAS (R)
Hon. Ron Thornburgh
Secretary of State
120 SW 10th Ave
Memorial Hall
Topeka, KS 66612
(785) 296-4575
Fax (785) 368-8033
Ro
nT@kssos.org

http://www.kssos.org/

KENTUCKY (R)
Hon. Trey Grayson
Secretary of State
State Capitol, Suite 152
Frankfort, KY 40601-3493
(502) 564-3490
Fax (502) 564-5687
tgrayson@mail.sos.state.ky.us

LOUISIANA (R)
Hon. W. Fox McKeithen
Secretary of State
P.O. Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(225) 342-4479
Fax (225) 342-5577
admin@sos.louisiana.gov

MAINE (D)
Hon. Dan A. Gwadosky
Secretary of State
Nash Building, Stn. #148
Augusta, ME 04333-0148
(207) 626-8400
Fax (207) 287-8598
Dan.Gwadosky@state.me.us

MARYLAND (R)
Hon. Karl Aumann
Secretary of State
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 974-5521
Fax (410) 974-5190
raumann@sos.state.md.us

MASSACHUSETTS (D)
Hon. William Galvin
Sec. of the Commonwealth
State House, Room 337
Boston, MA 02133
(617) 727-7030
Fax (617) 742-4722
cis@sec.state.ma.us

MICHIGAN (R)
Hon. Terri Lynn Land
Secretary of State
Treasury Building, 1st Fl.
430 W. Allegan Street
Lansing, MI 48918
(517) 373-2510
Fax (517) 373-0727
secretary@michigan.gov

http://www.michigan.gov/

MINNESOTA (R)
Hon. Mary Kiffmeyer
Secretary of State
180 State Office Building
100 Constitution Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55155-1299
(651) 296-2079
Fax (651) 297-5844
Secretary.state@state.mn.us

MISSISSIPPI (D)
Hon. Eric Clark
Secretary of State
P.O. Box 136
401 Mississippi St.
Jackson, MS 39205-0136
(601) 359-1350
Fax (601) 359-1499
eclark@sos.state.ms.us

MISSOURI (R)
Hon. Matt Blunt
Secretary of State
208 State Capitol
P.O. Box 778
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 751-4936
Fax (573) 751-2490
SOSmain@sos.mo.gov

MONTANA (R)
Hon. Bob Brown
Secretary of State
State Capitol, Rm.260
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-2034
Fax (406) 444-3976
bobbrown@state.mt.us

NEBRASKA (R)
Hon. John Gale
Secretary of State
State Capitol, Su. 2300
P.O. Box 94608
Lincoln, NE 68509-4608
(402) 471-2554
Fax (402) 471-3237
Jgale@nol.org

NEVADA (R)
Hon. Dean Heller
Secretary of State
101 N. Carson St., Suite 3
Carson City, NV 89701
(775) 684-5708
Fax (775) 684-5725
sosexec@sos.nv.gov
http://secretaryofstate.biz/

NEW HAMPSHIRE (D)
Hon. William Gardner
Secretary of State
State House, Rm. 204
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-3242
Fax (603) 271-6316
kladd@sos.state.nh.us

NEW JERSEY (D)
Hon. Regena Thomas
Secretary of State
CN-300
Trenton, NJ 08625
(609) 984-1900
Fax (609) 292-9897
feedback@sos.state.nj.us

NEW MEXICO (D)
Hon. Rebecca Vigil-Giron
Secretary of State
State Capitol North Annex, Suite 300
Santa Fe, NM 87503
(505) 827-3600
Fax (505) 827-3634
Rebecca.vigil-giron@state.nm.us

NEW YORK (D)
Hon. Randy Daniels
Secretary of State
41 State Street
Albany, NY 12231
(518) 474-0050
Fax (518) 474-4765
info@dos.state.ny.us
http://www.dos.state.ny.us

NORTH CAROLINA (D)
Hon. Elaine Marshall
Secretary of State
P.O. Box 29622
Raleigh, NC 27626-0622
(919) 807-2005
Fax (919) 807-2010
emarshal@sosnc.com

NORTH DAKOTA (R)
Hon. Alvin (Al) A. Jaeger
Secretary of State
600 East Blvd. Dept. 108
Bismarck, ND 58505-0500
(701) 328-2900
Fax (701) 328-2992
ajaeger@state.nd.us
http://www.state.nd.us/

OHIO (R)
Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell
Secretary of State
180 E. Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 466-2655
Fax (614) 644-0649
Blackwell@sos.state.oh.us

OKLAHOMA (D)
Hon. Susan Savage
Secretary of State
State Capitol, Rm. 101
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-3911
Fax (405) 521-3771
Susan.savage@sos.state.ok.us

OREGON (D)
Hon. Bill Bradbury
Secretary of State
136 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97310
(503) 986-1523
Fax (503) 986-1616
oregon.sos@state.or.us

PENNSYLVANIA (D)
Hon. Pedro Cortes
Secretary of Commonwealth
302 North Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 787-6458
Fax (717) 787-1734
pcortes@state.pa.us

RHODE ISLAND (D)
Hon. Matt Brown
Secretary of State
217 State House
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2357
Fax (401) 222-1356
kayjohnson@sec.state.ri.us

SOUTH CAROLINA (R)
Hon. Mark Hammond
Secretary of State
Edgar Brown Bldg-5th Fl.
P.O. Box 11350
Columbia, SC 29211
(803) 734-2170
Fax (803) 734-2164
dmayers@scsos.com

SOUTH DAKOTA (R)
Hon. Chris Nelson
Secretary of State
500 E. Capitol Building
Suite 204
Pierre, SD 57501
(605) 773-3537
Fax (605) 773-6580
Chris.Nelson@state.sd.us

TENNESSEE (D)
Hon. Riley Darnell
Secretary of State
312 Eighth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243
(615) 741-2819
Fax (615) 741-5962
Riley.Darnell@state.tn.us

TEXAS (R)
Hon. Geoffrey Connor
Secretary of State
P.O. Box 12887
Austin, TX 78711
(512) 463-5770
Fax (512) 475-2761
gconnor@sos.state.tx.us

UTAH (R)
Hon. Gayle F. McKeachnie
Lieutenant Governor
210 State Capitol Building
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
(801) 538-1520
Fax (801) 538-1557
aesmith@utah.gov

VERMONT (D)
Hon. Deb Markowitz
Secretary of State
26 Terrace Street-Drawer 09
Montpelier, VT 05609-1101
(802) 828-2363
Fax (802) 828-2496
dmarkowitz@sec.state.vt.us

VIRGINIA (D)
Hon. Anita A. Rimler
Secretary of Commonwealth
P.O. Box 2454, Capitol Sq.
Richmond, VA 23201
(804) 786-2441
Fax (804) 371-0017
socmail@governor.virginia.gov

WASHINGTON (R)
Hon. Sam Reed
Secretary of State
520 Union Avenue SE
P.O. Box 40220
Olympia, WA 98504-0220
(360) 902-4151
Fax (360) 586-5629
sreed@secstate.wa.gov
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/

WEST VIRGINIA (D)
Hon. Joe Manchin
Secretary of State
Building 1, Suite-157K
1900 Kanawha Blvd., E.
Charleston, WV 25305
(304) 558-6000
Fax (304) 558-0900
wvsos@wvsos.com
http://www.wvsos.com/

WISCONSIN (D)
Hon. Douglas La Follette
Secretary of State
30 W. Mifflin Street
10th Floor
Madison, WI 53702
(608) 266-8888
Fax (608) 266-3159
doug.lafollette@sos.state.wi.us
http://www.wisconsin.gov/

WYOMING (R)
Hon. Joseph B. Meyer
Secretary of State
State Capitol Building
Cheyenne, WY 82002
(307) 777-7378
Fax (307) 777-6217
secofstate@state.wy.us

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (D)
Hon. Sherryl Hobbs Newman
Secretary of the District
1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Room 419
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 727-6306
Fax (202) 727-3582
shnewman@dc.gov
http://brc.dc.gov/

AMERICAN SAMOA (D)
Hon. Aitofele T.F. Sunia
Lieutenant Governor
Office of the Governor
Pago Pago, AS 96799
(684) 633-4116
(684) 633-2269

GUAM (D)
Kaleo Moylan
Lieutenant Governor
Executive Chambers
P.O. Box 2950
Agana, GU 96910
(671) 474-8931
FAX (671) 477-4826
ltgov@ns.gov.gu

PUERTO RICO
Hon. Jose M. Izquierdo Secretary of State
Department of State
P.O. Box 9023271
San Juan, PR 00902-3271
(787) 722-2121
Fax (787) 725-7303 jizquierdo@estado.gobierno.pr

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (D)
Hon. Vargrave A. Richards
Lieutenant Governor
18 Kongens Gade
St. Thomas,, VI 00801
(340) 774-2991
Fax (340) 774-6953
info@ltg.gov.vi