Naming Your Georgia Corporation

If you’re incorporating in Georgia, your corporation’s name is limited to 80 characters (including spaces and punctuation) and must include either the word or an abbreviation of one of the following in its name:

• Corporation
• Company
• Incorporated
• Limited

The corporation’s name must not state or imply a purpose other than that permitted by Georgia law or the Articles of Incorporation. The business name must also be distinguishable from the other corporation names in Georgia.

Prior to use in a Georgia corporation’s name, approval is required by other state departments and/or commissioners for words that imply powers of banking, trust or insurance.

Professionals May Incorporate in Georgia

Georgia permits professionals such as accountants, attorneys and physicians, to form a professional corporation (PC).

Georgia Director Requirements

Georgia requires that a corporation have one or more directors, and directors must be 18 years of age or older. Georgia does not specify where directors must reside or require director names and addresses to be listed in the Articles of Incorporation.

Georgia Articles of Incorporation Requirements

In Georgia, the document required to form a corporation is called the Articles of Incorporation. When incorporating in Georgia, the Articles of Incorporation must include the name and address of your Registered Agent with a physical address in Georgia (a post office box does not meet this requirement). Your Registered Agent in Georgia must be available during normal business hours to accept important legal and tax documents on behalf of the corporation.

When incorporating in Georgia, the names and addresses of directors or officers are not required to be listed in the Articles of Incorporation. In addition, while authorized shares and par value must be listed in the Articles of Incorporation, an increase in the number of shares or par value does not affect initial filing fees.

Other Required Filings When Incorporating in Georgia

If you are incorporating in Georgia, your corporation must file an initial report called the Initial Annual Registration within 90 days of incorporation. Georgia also requires corporations to publish notice of the incorporation. The notice must be published in the county of the corporation’s Registered Agent and forwarded for publication no later than one business day after the date of incorporation with the Secretary of State.

Cost of Incorporating in Georgia

For information on the costs associated with incorporating in Georgia and our incorporation services, contact CT—we’re here to help.