Articles of Incorporation - State Variations
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
OF [CORPORATION NAME]
The undersigned incorporator forms a California general stock corporation under the General Corporation Law of California and adopts the following Articles of Incorporation.
ARTICLE I — NAME
The name of the corporation is [CORPORATION NAME] (the "Corporation").
ARTICLE II — PURPOSE
The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which a corporation may be organized under the General Corporation Law of California other than the banking business, the trust company business, or the practice of a profession permitted to be incorporated by the California Corporations Code.
ARTICLE III — AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS
The name and California street address of the Corporation's initial agent for service of process are:
Agent name: [AGENT NAME]
California street address: [STREET ADDRESS, CITY, CALIFORNIA ZIP CODE]
ARTICLE IV — INITIAL OFFICE ADDRESSES
Initial principal-office street address: [STREET ADDRESS, CITY, STATE ZIP CODE]
Initial mailing address, if different: [MAILING ADDRESS, CITY, STATE ZIP CODE]
ARTICLE V — AUTHORIZED SHARES
The Corporation is authorized to issue [NUMBER] shares of one class of common stock.
OPTIONAL ARTICLE VI — DIRECTOR LIABILITY
The liability of the directors of the Corporation for monetary damages shall be eliminated to the fullest extent permissible under California law.
EXECUTION
The undersigned executes these Articles of Incorporation on [DATE].
____________________________________
[INCORPORATOR NAME], Incorporator
FILING NOTES
- The California Secretary of State's current domestic-corporation forms page lists general-stock Articles of Incorporation as an online-only filing with a $100 filing fee.
- A domestic stock corporation's initial Statement of Information is due within 90 days after registration and annually thereafter; the current listed fee is $25.
- Ordinary general-stock Articles of Incorporation do not have a newspaper-publication step in Cal. Corp. Code § 202 or the Secretary of State's formation workflow.
SOURCES AND REFERENCES
About this template
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
- Citations checked
- July 23, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- California
- Category
- Corporate & Business
Legal authority
- Cal. Corp. Code §§ 200-202 (formation, corporate existence, name, and required article contents)
- Cal. Corp. Code §§ 204-204.5 (optional charter provisions and director-liability limitation)
Corporate documents govern how a company makes decisions, records them, and handles disputes between owners, directors, and officers. Proper corporate paperwork is what lets a business take advantage of limited liability, pass clean audits, and survive an acquisition or investor review. Skipping formalities like written resolutions and signed consents is one of the fastest ways for a business owner to lose personal asset protection.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on July 23, 2026.
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