Montana Registered Agent Incorporation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What do I need to start a corporation in Montana?
All you need to do is file articles of incorporation with the state of Montana.
Do I need an attorney to form a corporation?
No, you can prepare and file your articles of incorporation yourself, or you can hire us to do it for you by filling out our quick form. It costs you a lot less to use our services to form a corporation that using an attorney. If you are not sure if you need to be incorporated, what kind of corporation you should have, or if it is really the best situation for your needs, you should consult an attorney and/or an accountant.
What do I need to do with the shares?
A corporation must authorize shares. There can be as many or as little as you desire. There needs to be at least one share issued. You can buy pre-printed forms to print your company information on a physical share at any office supply store, or, the simpler thing is to have company records showing how many shares the company has, and who owns them, without actually having to print physical shares. The total number of shares you authorize with the initial articles of incorporation are the total number of shares you can give your shareholders. This number can be changed at any time. You can change it by holding a company meeting, and recording the vote, even if there is only one shareholder, or you can file an amendment with the state. Most people create 100-1000 shares to start, and do not physically print them out. You can show in your company paperwork how many are owned by each shareholder. You can change the amount of shares and the value of each share at any time. This is not as important for close held corporations(one or a few shareholders.) These formalities do become more important for bigger sized corporations with multiple investors.
What is par value of a share mean?
This is the value you give to each share. Most people prefer to use 1.00 or .01. This is not a real representation of what your company is worth. If you have a public company, your share price is determined by what price people buy and sell it for in the different stock markets. If you have a privately held company your share price is set by the company's shareholders or accountants. If you have a close held corporation, you can make the value of each stock whatever you want it to be. The actual valuation of your company will be determined by your assets, and unless you become publicly traded, you don't have to disclose that information.
How many people are needed to start a corporation?
You need at least ONE. You can act as the president, director, CEO, secretary, treasurer, and whatever else you want to act as.
Do I need to tell the state of Montana all the directors' names?
A domestic corporation filing, does not require us to list the directors, but we do need to list the directors for a foreign corporation. If you use our registered agent address, we can us the registered agent address for each director, or your business address. If you use Montana Registered Agent to organize your corporation, we are the organizer, and sign the documents that way on your behalf. If you want, we can file additional attachments to show more directors or any other information you would like the state to know on our original filing. Sometimes if a corporation has more than one shareholder, the shareholders prefer to be listed in the state records. If you wish to maintain your privacy, you can list your name with our address, if you use our registered agent service.
How quickly will I get my filing documents?
Montana Secretary of State receives our paperwork the same day you hire us. If you use their rush service for $20.00 extra, they claim they will have your documents filed within 8 hours of receipt. You can also choose their $100.00 1 hour rush service if you are really in a hurry. Without either rush service, it takes about a week for them to file the paperwork, but we have seen it happen in as little as 1 day if they do not have a big workload. Once the documents are filed, they will send the paperwork to the address we designate as the mailing address. If we designate your address as the mailing address, it will go directly to you. If you want to keep your privacy and designate Montana Registered Agent as your mailing address, we will mail it out right away and scan with email. You have the option of regular mail for free, or certified mail with confirmation for $10.00, or overnight for $40.00.
Will I keep receiving bills from you?
If you act as your own registered agent, you will not receive any more bills from us. The filing fees we charge are one-time fees to set up your corporation. If you require help with other transactions you can contact us at any time, and those services we provide have very minimal fees.
If you use our recommended registered agent services to keep your privacy and personal information from being public, you will receive a bill for $49.00 each year. We also then remind you when your annual reports are due to keep your corporation in good standing. You can cancel the registered agent service at any time, and there's no cancellation fee. Our Montana registered agent fees are half of our next cheapest competitor.
Is the annual Montana registered agent fee a year from time of service, or calendar year?
It is one year from the time you hire us. We can work with you to establish whatever due dates you would like to renew that service.
| 
