Glossary
Articles of incorporation
The document filed with a state to create a corporation, including a nonprofit corporation.
Also called: Certificate of incorporation, Corporate charter.
This filing brings a corporation into existence. It states the corporate name, the registered agent, the number and type of shares the corporation may issue and who the incorporator is.
Nonprofit corporations file their own version, which states a purpose and usually leaves out shares. Becoming tax-exempt is a separate step with the IRS and, in many states, the state tax agency.
As with an LLC, the articles are public while the bylaws that govern the corporation day to day are not filed.
Where you'll see it in a business search
In the filing history of a corporation’s record.