(A) Any foreign corporation may register its corporate name, if its corporate name is available for use under division (D) of section 1703.04 of the Revised Code, by filing in the office of the secretary of state an application, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, that contains the following information:

Terms Used In Ohio Code 1703.31

  • 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.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59

(1) The exact corporate name to be registered;

(2) The complete address of the principal office of the corporation;

(3) The jurisdiction of its incorporation;

(4) The date of its incorporation;

(5) A statement that it is carrying on or doing business;

(6) The general nature of the business in which it is engaged;

(7) Any other information required by the secretary of state.

The application shall be signed and verified by an officer of the applicant.

The application shall be accompanied by a certificate stating that the corporation is in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, which certificate shall be executed by the official of the jurisdiction having custody of the records pertaining to corporations and dated not earlier than sixty days prior to the filing of the application.

The filing fee specified in division (S)(1) of section 111.16 of the Revised Code shall accompany the application.

(B) Registration of a corporate name under this section is effective for a term of one year from the date of registration. Upon application, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, filed with the secretary of state prior to the expiration of each one-year term, the registration may be renewed for an additional term. The renewal application shall set forth the facts required to be set forth in the original application for registration, together with a certificate of good standing as required for the initial registration.

The secretary of state shall notify registrants within the three months before the expiration of one year from the date of registration of the necessity of renewal by writing to the principal office address of the registrants as shown upon the current registration in effect.

The renewal fee specified in division (S)(3) of section 111.16 of the Revised Code, payable to the secretary of state, shall accompany the application for renewal of the registration.