Companies are most often asked to prove the legal existence of their company in the context of the following activities: In member organisations or voluntary associations, there may be criteria for membership and maintenance of membership. These criteria may include payment of dues or attendance at meetings. Failure to meet these criteria may result in the loss of “good reputation” within the organization or the loss of membership in the organization as a whole. Unless the corporation defines “good reputation” and results in a member`s loss of reputation, a member has full membership rights, even if he or she is in arrears with the payment of dues. [8] A certificate of legal existence indicates that the corporation has not filed an application to terminate or dissolve its articles. The Corporation retains its legal existence, but this certificate does not contain any guarantee that the Corporation has filed all required annual returns and that it is in good condition. Without further investigation, it is possible that the company legally exists, but is late in filing annual returns. Enterprise certificates can be stressful because they are often requested as part of a larger transaction without much delay. If you have any questions about when and would like to order a business certificate, you can contact your state`s office of the Secretary of State or contact us at Strategic Paralegal Services – we will be happy to assist you. One of the most common questions we get from customers is, “How can I make sure my business exists?” Once upon a time, practitioners regularly ordered both a clearance certificate and a certificate of legal existence. It doesn`t happen as often anymore.
Technically, it is impossible for a company to be in good standing if it does not have a legal existence, so many recognize the futility of requiring both. Even certificates in good standing are needed less often because many records are available online. For example, if a Massachusetts company`s records are available online, it can confirm that all annual returns have been filed. Therefore, it can be independently said that a company is in good condition without incurring the costs or spending time obtaining a certificate from the MA SOC. A clearance certificate proves that your company has paid all applicable taxes to the state (as of the date of the certificate) and is still considered an active entity. If you need a clearance certificate, you can order it quickly on our website. In many situations where you need to provide proof of the existence of your business, you will also need to prove that your business is in good standing with the state. For this, you also need a clearance certificate. This may sound like a simple question, but it`s a confusing question – and for good reason! The document proving the existence of your business can be called a variety of names, depending on where your business was founded. Let`s get to the heart of the matter and clarify how to prove that your business exists.
You will also be asked to prove the existence of your business in order to open a business bank account. To learn more about the documents required to open a business bank account, click here. Depending on where your entity was formed and what type of entity it is, this document can be called several different things. This document could read as follows: We hope this has been helpful in clarifying how you can prove the existence of your business. If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 800-223-3928 or contact us here. If you obtain your own certificate for any of the purposes mentioned in the previous section, you must ensure that you do not receive the certificate too close to the closing date if you are involved in a transaction or transaction. In fact, some states require the certificate to be dated within 30 days, while others allow 90 days or even 6 months. However, you should always make sure that your certificate is not outdated so as not to prevent transactions from being completed. Often a customer orders a so-called “As you can see, you don`t always order a good stand as cut and dry as you might think.