Articles of Amendment are sometimes referred to as "Certificates of Amendment." Amendments to the Articles of Incorporation may sometimes be required due to changing business circumstances. Articles of Amendment are the documents you filed in the Department of State when you introduced changes to your Articles of Incorporation. From time to time, corporations and LLC may find a need to change some of the information filed in the articles of incorporation or articles of organization. Generally, amendments to Articles of Incorporation require that the corporation file a Certificate of Amendment or some similar form with the state. When the structure of a corporation changes and the original Articles of Incorporation need altering, a Certificate of Amendment must be submitted to legally record the change. Privately-owned businesses and corporations can change their names by a vote of the board of directors. Many states require that a business file an Article of Amendment when making any changes to a corporation or LLC.
Usually, the most common changes include changing the Legal Name of the corporation, changing the number of directors required by the corporation, changing the share capital of the corporation and, for a Federal corporation, changing the province of the registered office. If you want to change or delete any provision set out in these articles, or if you want to add other provisions, you must file articles of amendment. Legal requirements vary from state to state and by entity type, which for an organization doing business in multiple states can involve a lengthy process, and confusion regarding the correct way to amend the original articles of incorporation or organization. In most states, the only way to change authorized share information is to file an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation. Many states require that a corporation file a Certificate of Amendment or Articles of Amendment when making an addition to, deleting from, or otherwise altering the existing provisions of the Articles of Incorporation or Organization.
Upon request the Office of the Secretary of State will issue a certified copy of the document as conclusive evidence that these changes were in fact filed. You'll save time and money by letting online agencies prepare and file these amendments for you. Certified copies bear the Seal of the Department of State, the signature of the state officer and the statement that the document is in fact a true and correct copy of the original document kept on file in the Office of the Secretary of State. You can call any company which deals with issuing Articles of amendment and order an article of amendment service and the legal department will prepare your documents. You can review and sign your amendment and, once approved, the company will file the articles with your state office. All name-change amendments filed on-line will be processed on an "expedited" basis, or reviewed by Department personnel within 24 hours. However, only amendments effecting the name change of a domestic limited liability company can be filed on-line. All domestic Articles of Amendment, whether filed electronically or on paper, must be executed by a manager.
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