How to Form a C Corporation in Oklahoma

Introduction

Congratulations! You’re ready to form a corporation in Oklahoma. This is an exciting step towards creating your business, and it can be overwhelming to think about all the steps that need to be completed in order to get everything started. Thankfully, we have you covered with this handy guide on how to form your own C Corporation in Oklahoma:

Choose a name.

The first step is to choose a name for your corporation. You want to select a name that is unique and will not be confused with other companies, so check the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s web site to see if the name is available in Oklahoma (https://www.sos.ok.gov/corporate/). If you find that it’s not available on their website, try entering the name in Google or another search engine and see what comes up. If there are already businesses operating under this same name, then you’ll need to come up with something else (and maybe even register it as trademarked).

Once you’ve chosen your company’s legal name, make sure that it meets all of the requirements set forth by Oklahoma law:

• It must contain either “limited liability company” or “corporation”, “incorporated”, or “company”, followed by an abbreviation indicating whether it was incorporated under chapter 31A or 31B;
• It cannot incorporate any words indicating private ownership (e.g., private limited partnership);

Determine the registered agent.

• Determine the registered agent.
• Register with the Secretary of State’s office as an Oklahoma corporation, which includes paying a $300 filing fee.
• Determine if you need to apply for an EIN (employer identification number) from the IRS or DBA (doing business as) certificate from your local city clerk’s office.

Prepare and file the Articles of Incorporation.

The first step to forming your corporation is filing the Articles of Incorporation with the state. Be sure to include the following:

• The name of your company, which should be a type of “doing business as” name that includes an active, descriptive word or phrase followed by “Corporation,” “Company” or “Inc.”
• A statement expressing what you plan to do as a corporation. Your purpose can be anything from building houses to selling insurance policies; it just needs to make sense for what kind of business you have in mind.
• The duration of your corporation and information about how many shares will be issued upon incorporation (this varies depending on whether you’re forming a C-corporation or S-corporation). You’ll also need one signature from each shareholder on these articles before submitting them along with all other required documentation to the Oklahoma Secretary Of State office.*

Issue stock to the founders in exchange for their working capital contributions.

Issue stock to the founders in exchange for their working capital contributions. A founder who contributes a certain amount of cash or other property to the corporation and receives shares of common stock is called a “stockholder.” The number of shares and value of each share are determined by contract between you and your co-owners.

If you want to retain all your equity, then you can skip this step. If not, go right ahead!

Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

The first step in forming a C corporation is to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), which is also known as a tax ID number. An EIN is used to identify the taxpayer and distinguish them from other taxpayers, so that they can be held accountable for their actions. It can be obtained by filing Form SS-4 with the IRS.

Once you have your EIN, you are ready to form your corporation!

Set up your company files with the state and federal government.

You’ll also need to:

• Set up your company files with the state of Oklahoma and the federal government.
• Keep records of your business transactions, including sales, purchases, invoices and other financial transactions. You’ll have to provide these records when filing taxes every year.
• Keep records of your company’s assets (e.g., property or equipment) and liabilities (e.g., debt). These are important because they will determine how much money you must pay in taxes each year.
• Keep accurate records of who owns stock in your corporation—the shareholders—and who works for it—the directors, officers and employees.—and how much they own or earn from their work at the corporation every year as well as any changes in those amounts over time; this helps ensure that no one receives more than they’re supposed to under federal law rules governing employee compensation distributions among different classes such as “key executives.”

Forming a corporation takes a lot of legwork, and it can be easy to forget something important. By following this guide, you’ll be sure to complete all the steps required to form a C Corporation in Oklahoma

Oops! Click Regenerate Content below to try generating this section again.

Conclusion

We hope that this guide has made it easier for you to form a C Corporation in Oklahoma. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! We’re here to help.