(a)        A foreign corporation may apply for a certificate of authority to transact business in this State by delivering an application to the Secretary of State for filing. The application must set forth:

(1)        The name of the foreign corporation or, if its name is unavailable for use in this State, a corporate name that satisfies the requirements of Article 3 of Chapter 55D of the N.C. Gen. Stat.;

(2)        The name of the state or country under whose law it is incorporated;

(3)        Its date of incorporation and period of duration;

(4)        The street address, and the mailing address if different from the street address, of its principal office if any, and the county in which the principal office, if any, is located;

(5)        The street address, and the mailing address if different from the street address, of its registered office in this State, the county in which the registered office is located, and the name of its registered agent at that office; and

(6)        The names and usual business addresses of its current officers.

(b)        The foreign corporation shall deliver with the completed application a certificate of existence (or a document of similar import) duly authenticated by the secretary of state or other official having custody of corporate records in the state or country under whose law it is incorporated.

(c)        If the Secretary of State finds that the application conforms to law he shall, when all fees have been tendered as prescribed in this Chapter:

(1)        Endorse on the application and an exact or conformed copy thereof the word “filed” and the hour, day, month, and year of the filing thereof;

(2)        File in his office the application and the certificate of existence (or document of similar import as described in subsection (b) of this section);

(3)        Issue a certificate of authority to transact business in this State to which he shall affix the exact or conformed copy of the application; and

(4)        Send to the foreign corporation or its representative the certificate of authority, together with the exact or conformed copy of the application affixed thereto. (1901, c. 2, s. 57; 1903, c. 766; Rev., s. 1194; 1915, c. 263; C.S., s. 1181; 1935, c. 44; 1939, c. 57; G.S., s. 55-118; 1953, c. 1152; 1955, c. 1371, s. 1; 1957, c. 979, s. 8; 1969, c. 751, s. 41; 1989, c. 265, s. 1; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1024, ss. 12.1(b), 12.21; 2001-358, s. 17; 2001-387, ss. 27A, 169(a), 173, 175(a); 2001-413, s. 6.)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 55-15-03

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • month: shall be construed to mean a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3