The Secretary of State is responsible for issuing certificates of incorporation. The legal procedure for approving documents for use abroad is known as an apostille. A
Certificate of Incorporation must be apostilled if your business needs to do business overseas. A set of legal documents called the Articles of Incorporation is submitted to the Secretary of State to create a corporation as a separate legal entity. Articles of Association, Corporate Charter, and Certificates of Incorporation are the names given to these legal records.
Most Certificates of Incorporation will include:
- Firm’s name
- Street address
- Name and address of the registered agent
- Amount and type of stock to be issued
- Purpose of the corporation
The process of obtaining an Apostille is a generally recognized way to demonstrate the validity of a document. All countries who are members of the 1961 Hague Convention recognize this process. An Apostille is obtained by the Secretary of State in the jurisdiction where the business is registered.