Certificate of Good Standing

A certificate of good standing is needed during business or legal transactions that require you to formally demonstrate that your business is in good standing. A few examples:

• Registering your business in another state (also called foreign qualification or obtaining a certificate of authority)
• Obtaining or renewing licenses
• Opening a bank account, obtaining a business loan or line of credit, or as part of other financial transactions
• During a merger, acquisition, or buying/selling a company outright
• Tax matters
• Demonstrating the business was suspended/dissolved

Finally, some business owners prefer to regularly request certificate of good standings for their company records, as it provides historical evidence that the business was in good standing at a point in time.

As soon a business has satisfied all registration requirements in a given state, it received a designation of "good standing" in the public corporate records. The business can lose good standing for a variety of reasons, which vary by state. In general, the issues of noncompliance that can cause loss of good standing are:

• Failure to file an annual report and pay the associated fee
• Failure to renew a state-required business license
• Failure to file or pay taxes, especially franchise tax

Good standing is the designation by the state that your business is authorized to transact business. Maintaining good standing is critical as it shows compliance with state law.

Without good standing, your business may face penalties from the state (fines and even dissolution), lose contracts, not be able to open a bank account or obtain a loan, or apply for or renew licenses to operate. What's worse, loss of good standing can result in loss of limited liability protection.

If your business is trying to restore compliance, please contact us to purchase reinstatement service.

Our service is an up-front flat fee. Please order online to calculate your filing fees, which include state fees and any expedite fees based on the speed with which you need the state to process your order.

Our standard service includes requesting your certificate of good standing right away, and returning it to you right away as soon as the state issues it.

We frequently serve clients who need their certificate(s) fast and we are here to expedite your order as quickly as you need it - please contact us to order.

We cannot guarantee state processing times because they are outside our control (state agencies sometimes suffer from computer outages and unexpected closures). However, we do everything in our power to proactively minimize state delays. We track your order, file with the forms and methods we have refined in our experience, escalate immediately with our contacts at the state's office to resolve issues, and more. Your satisfaction is our top priority, so even when there is an issue outside our control, we do everything we can to make it right.

We will need your basic contact information, the name of your company, and to understand from your if there is any urgency to get your document back from the state quickly. You can order online anytime to see the information we need and place your order.

Yes, we are compliance specialists and have a lot of experience helping businesses who are out of compliance regain good standing. We serve you throughout the process of diagnosing the cause(s) of losing good standing, filing the paperwork to recover good standing, and navigating multiple state agencies on your behalf. Please contact us to order reinstatement service.