How to Form a Company in Mississippi

Introduction

Mississippi is a great state to start a business. There are no corporate income taxes and the filing fees are minimal. You can form a Mississippi corporation by filing Articles of Incorporation with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office. Once you’ve completed your state approval, you’ll want to hold an organizational meeting and complete and sign bylaws to officially establish your business. If you plan on doing any interstate commerce or selling items online, then it’s important that you apply for a Federal Tax Identification Number (FTIN) from the Internal Revenue Service as well as obtain any required local licenses or permits like those for sales tax collection purposes).

Step 1: Choose a corporate name.

Choosing your company’s name is the first step in forming a business. The name must be different from any other registered corporate entity and should not be misleading or confusing to anyone who hears it. It should also be memorable, easy to pronounce and spell, and not suggest that the company will engage in illegal activities (for example, you can’t use a word like “bail” if you’re an attorney).

If you’re coming up with your own original name for your company, try using an acronym—it helps people remember what the business does! For example: “S” for “Stealth,” which stands for “Security systems.” Or maybe something more straightforward: “CNC,” which stands for Computer Numerical Control machines used by machinists all over Mississippi.

Step 2: Form a Mississippi corporation by filing Articles of Incorporation with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office.

Once you have completed your research, it’s time to file the Articles of Incorporation with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office. You can do so online by visiting their website here and selecting the “Corporations” tab at the top of the page. Once there, click on “File Basic Corporation Information”, which will give you all of the information you need to complete this step. You will be required to provide:

• The name under which your company is to be registered;
• The physical address of your company;
• The type(s) of business being conducted (for example: manufacturing, construction, etc.) as well as whether or not this business is domestic or foreign (more on this later);
• Whether or not your corporation will have stockholders;
• If applicable, what percentage they hold in shares;

After filing these documents with their office (which takes approximately two weeks), they will send back a Certificate of Dissolution if there aren’t any issues with your application. If there are problems with any part/parts/portions thereof then they will notify both parties involved via certified mail with further instructions necessary before approval can be granted by either party.

Step 3: Pay the $50.00 filing fee (as of March 2013) by check or money order made payable to the “Secretary of State.”

You’ll need to pay the $50.00 filing fee by check or money order, made payable to the “Secretary of State.” You can also pay online via credit card at https://www.sos.ms.gov/business/filing-online/.

Step 4: Hold an organizational meeting once you’ve received your state approval, then complete and sign the bylaws to officially establish your business.

• Hold an organizational meeting once you’ve received your state approval, then complete and sign the bylaws to officially establish your business.
• Meetings should be held in person at a place of business with a quorum of members present.
• The meeting must be documented and signed by a secretary who’s not a member of the board of directors or management team.

Step 5: Apply for a Federal Tax Identification Number (FTIN) from the Internal Revenue Service and obtain any required local licenses or permits.

The next step in forming a company is to apply for an FTIN. One of the benefits of having an FTIN is that it allows you to pay your business taxes online and submit tax forms electronically.

If you are located in Mississippi and plan on conducting any business activities in other states, be sure to request a federal EIN (Employee Identification Number) as well as a state EIN if you have any employees or make sales within those states.

To apply for an FTIN, visit the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES). You’ll need:

• A Social Security number or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This number can’t be used; instead, select “Not Applicable” from the dropdown menu.
• Your date of birth
• A valid email address

Forming a company in Mississippi is not too complicated and is straightforward, but you should make sure you do everything correctly so there are no issues later on down the road.

• Make sure you understand all the steps involved. You will have to fill out different forms, pay fees and obtain the right licenses and permits. The state will help you do some of this, but it is up to you to make sure that everything is done correctly.
• Have all the required documents and information on hand before beginning. Some things may not be obvious or easy for someone who has never done this before, so make sure that you know what needs doing and have everything ready before starting your business in Mississippi.
• Check that your business name doesn’t conflict with an existing company’s name by checking on-line or contacting the Mississippi secretary of state’s office by phone at 601-359-1240 if there is any doubt about how many other companies use similar names in your area (for example: “The Greenhouse”).

Conclusion

If you follow these steps, then you will have the necessary paperwork to form a Mississippi corporation. However, there are other things that need to be done prior to forming your company in order for it to be fully operational. For example, if it is an LLC then you need to file Articles of Organization with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office before they can issue their Certificate Of Formation as well as obtain any required local licenses or permits from city or state agencies (such as a liquor license). In addition, if there are multiple owners involved in your business then each person must sign their names on the Articles Of Incorporation document before sending off copies of everything so everyone knows who owns what percentage share(s); remember: each shareholder must own at least one share!