- The name of the company.
LLC formation documents require you to list the chosen
name of your company. You can choose the name of your
business yourself, but it is necessary to check for
the availability of the name first, as trying to form
a company with the same name as an already established
business could be prohibited (and the company itself
could take legal action against you). The name you
eventually choose will usually end with the suffix
“LLC” or “Limited Liability Company”.
The state is responsible for finalizing your chosen
name after thoroughly checking for any deceptive similarity
with some existing LLC.
- The purpose of your business.
It’s necessary with most of the U.S. states
to mention the exact purpose of your business. Basically
there are two types of businesses that the state wants
you to include in the document of formation - general
and specific. The general-purpose business is one
where the owner does not mention what the exact business
is, but confirms that the business is not operating
outside the law. However, some states require more
detail about the activities of the company and its
purpose – and this is called specific business
purpose. Here, an elaborate description of the types
of products or service provided need mentioning.
- The details of a Registered
Agent. During the formation of a business, having
a Registered Agent is mandatory for all corporations
and LLCs. He or she is the one who deals with all
the legal and tax documents – and he or she
must have a physical address in the state in which
you’re hoping to form your company – and
it’s also expected that he or she should be
available during normal working hours. He or she receives
the documents ranging from notice of litigation, mail
from the state, and tax related documents, from the
state’s tax department. The physical address
of the registered agent is a matter of public record.
Even for smaller businesses, their important documents
require professional handling. This also saves them
from disclosing their own address to marketing companies.
- The Organizer. He or she
is the link between the state and your business (LLC).
He or she handles matters concerning the preparation
and filing of the articles of organization with the
state. His or her name, address and signature are
very important inclusions on the documents.
- The structure of management.
Members or managers manage the LLCs. It is compulsory
to mention in the articles of organization which group
will handle the management of the company. When the
owners themselves are responsible for the management
of the LLC, it sounds more like a general partnership.
However, when managers handle it, the LLC resembles
a corporation. Here the managers are not involved
in day-to-day activities of the company but are responsible
for the final and major decisions – and their
names and addresses must be included in the final
document of formation.
- The members or managers.
If the members manage the LLC, it’s necessary
that their names and addresses are included in the
document of formation. Similarly managers’ names
and addresses also need to be included.
- The principal address of
the company. In some of the states it’s mandatory
to include the legal or principal address of the business.
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