(a) A foreign corporation may apply for a certificate of authority to conduct affairs in this State by delivering an application to the Secretary of State for filing. The application shall 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.;

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Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 55A-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

(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 mailing address if different from the street address, of its principal office;

(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;

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

(7) Whether it has members.

(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, the Secretary of State shall when all fees have been tended 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 the Secretary of State’s 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 conduct affairs in this State to which the Secretary of State 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. (1955, c. 1230; 1957, c. 979, s. 14; 1969, c. 875, s. 8; 1993, c. 398, s. 1; 2001-358, s. 21; 2001-387, ss. 169(b), 173, 175(a); 2001-413, s. 6.)