Learn how to start your corporation the right way! Want to form your corporation yourself? Or hire us to incorporate for you? No matter which path you choose, you’ll find the easiest way forward with our pro tips, tools and resources below.
The fastest, easiest way to incorporate? Hire us. We form your corporation and give you registered agent service, Privacy by Default®, free mail forwarding, and the guidance of local experts.
Prefer to incorporate on your own? Our state pages and free corporation forms give you all the info you need. Or, sign up for a free account and we’ll walk you through it.
You have choices when it comes to how you incorporate. So why do professionals choose to hire registered agent services like FlutuxBusiness Registered Agent to form their corporations?
Time is money—and professionals know where to look for speed and competence without extra fees. At FlutuxBusiness, we have registered offices in every state. We know the people in each state’s Corporate Division. We know the fastest filing methods. And when you hire us to incorporate, we use our knowledge to provide you fast, professional service.
As your registered agent, we’re able to list our registered office throughout your formation documents—as your principal office, directors’ business address, etc. We don’t list your personal info on filings if we don’t have to. Why? At Northwest, we practice Privacy by Default®, providing you a level of privacy you can’t get filing yourself or with a standard filing service.
We already accept your legal mail—so why not take it a step further? In every state, we include limited digital mail forwarding for your regular mail too. And, you can list our address as your business address. With both mail forwarding and a business address included, you get a level of security unmatched in the incorporation industry.
We know the ins and outs of each state—and we use this knowledge to help you when you need it most. Our team of Corporate Guides® has over 200 local business experts dedicated to helping you. You can call or email us for all your toughest business questions.
There are do-it-yourselfers, and there are people who need (or just want) a helping hand. We have helpful options for starting your corporation no matter who you are:
Choose Hire Us below, answer a few basic questions about your corporation, and submit your payment.
We prepare and file your Articles of Incorporation and send them to the appropriate state agency for approval. In the meantime, you’ll have immediate access to your online account, where you can find useful state forms, pre-populated with your business information.
As soon as the state approves the filing, we notify you that your corporation has been legally formed. Now you can take next steps, like holding your first meeting and opening a bank account.
A corporation is a business with a legal existence separate from its owners or members. If properly maintained, a corporation can conduct business in its own name and has many of the rights and obligations of a natural person, including the ability to enter into contracts, sue and be sued, hold assets, and pay taxes in its own name.
Corporations can be formed for for-profit purposes or nonprofit purposes (or a combination of the two, as with a benefit corporation), but the majority of corporations exist mainly to benefit and enrich their shareholders. The corporation’s independent legal status ensures that shareholders’ personal assets, apart from their investments in company stock, aren’t usually on the line if the corporation gets sued or can’t pay its debts.
Not sure if a corporation is the best option for your business? See our LLC vs Corporation page.
No, you don’t! We work with entrepreneurs from around the world to get their businesses incorporated. Don’t take our word for it, though; check out our Wall of Love to hear what people globally have to say about FlutuxBusiness
There are many different types of corporations. In addition to your standard, for-profit stock corporation, below are a few of the most common corporation types:
Professional corporation: State-licensed professions, like doctors and lawyers typically must form a professional corporation.
Nonprofit corporation: Businesses that have a purpose other than profit (such as public, mutual or religious benefit) can form a nonprofit and may be able to qualify for tax-exempt status.
Benefit corporation: Kind of a “light” nonprofit. Benefit corporations don’t qualify for tax-exempt status and can make a profit, but they have an educational, environmental or other socially beneficial purpose in addition to profit.
There are also private vs public corporations. Most corporations are private. Taking a corporation public (so that it can be listed on national stock exchanges) is a difficult and expensive journey, but it has the potential to pay off in a big way.
If you’ve heard the terms “S corp” or “C corp,” note that these aren’t actually kinds of business entities. These are different designations the IRS uses to classify how a business is taxed.
Corporations are owned by their shareholders and usually managed by a board of directors. The shareholders or the initial incorporators elect the directors. The directors then elect officers like a President, Vice President, CEO, CFO, Secretary, or Treasurer, all of whom have fiduciary duties to their shareholders, although a single person can also serve all of the roles in a corporation.
Shareholders have the right to vote in the corporate meetings because of the shares they own for investing their money in the corporation, but the votes of most individual shareholders usually have very little power and influence in publicly-traded corporations because of the vast number of corporate shares issued and owned. Private corporations, however, typically have only a few shareholders, and the corporation’s founder usually holds 51% of the shares to maintain control of the company.
Around $100 on average. States set their own incorporation fees. Most states have a flat base fee ranging from $45 (Arkansas online filings) to $300 (Texas). However, some jurisdictions (DC, DE, MA, MI, MO, NE, OH, OK, RI, and VA) have a fee scale that depends on factors such as number of shares or authorized capital. In DC, for instance, filing fees range between $220 and $1650, depending on the value of authorized capital.
You may also have to file an initial report and business license application upon incorporation which can significantly increase costs. In Connecticut, the filing fee is $250, but the initial report requirement brings that up to $400. In Nevada, articles are only $75—but the mandatory business license and annual report bring the total up nearly tenfold to $725.
At FlutuxBusiness, we can form your corporation for just $375 plus state fees, a total that includes one year of registered agent service.
We don’t need any documents to get started. We just need a few pieces of info from you: your company name, your personal address, phone number and email. Later in the process, you’ll need a passport to set up your bank account.
An Employer Identification Number is the tax identification number for your organization and a requirement of many banks or institutions (such as the IRS) to carry out business in the US. Once your EIN is acquired, you can apply for business bank accounts and payment gateways. Learn more about the full process.
You want a free business address you can use throughout your public filings, instead of always listing your personal address.
You need a registered agent, corporate bylaws, business address and mail forwarding—all of which is included with our incorporation service.
You want fast, expert service without extra fees.
You have a lot of business questions our Corporate Guides® can answer for you.
You’re tired of companies selling your data.
You want to focus on your business, not filing paperwork.
Whatever your reasons are, FlutuxBusiness is here to help you start your corporation the right way.