Applying for a Georgia certificate of authority on your own

Decide the entity type and with it the application: CD 236 for a profit or nonprofit corporation, CD 238 for a professional corporation and CD 239 for a benefit corporation for corporations, Form CD 241 for LLCs, Form CD 251 for limited partnerships and Form CD 2000 for LLPs. Settle the registered agent first, since every application needs one with a Georgia street address and the agent should have agreed. Decide who signs. And for a corporation, line up the three officers' names and addresses.

Download the form for your entity type from the Division's site, complete it and sign it. Send it to the Corporations Division (Office of Secretary of State, Corporations Division, 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SE, Suite 313 West Tower, Atlanta, Georgia 30334) with payment by check or money order for the fee. Cash is not accepted, a check needs a pre-printed address, and each filing needs its own payment. The Division estimates about 15 business days from the day it receives a paper filing. A corporation encloses its original home-state certificate; the Division says not to send a copy of the articles.

The Division says it uses Experian identity verification on certain online filings. The filer gives identifying details (name, birth date, home address and four Social Security digits) and is then asked five questions. A miss brings five more, and two failed attempts block the transaction and lock the eCorp account. According to the Secretary of State, nothing entered there is kept by its office, and the check does not appear as a credit inquiry. Applicants who would rather skip it can file on paper.

Reserving the name costs $25 plus the service charge, and the reservation runs 30 days from approval, ending sooner if the formation filing goes in first. Its number is entered on the application. A paid expedite needs a contact person for questions.

Store the certificate and the filed application, record the issue date, and enter the first annual registration window, January 1 to April 1 of next year, in your calendar. Ask the agent to pass on anything from the Division. A status search on the Division's site shows whether the entity is active.

• The LLC name copied from the home-state record, and a reservation number if you have one.
• Where it was formed, the formation date and the stated duration.
• The principal place of business, with a state.
• A Georgia agent and a street address, with the county.
• The name and address of the person who manages the business.
• The address where records are kept.
• A start date that is true, and an effective date of upon filing.
• A primary email address that someone reads.

Check five things before sealing: the signed form, the right payee on the check, a pre-printed address on the check, the home-state certificate original for a corporation, and a courier tracking number if you want proof of delivery. Mail time counts against any deadline. The Division's clock starts on receipt, so a letter in transit does not stop a penalty note from applying.