California · Corporations Code

CORP §2101: (a) Any foreign corporation (other than a foreign association) not transacting intrastate business may register its corporate name with the Secretary of State, provided its corporate name would be ava

What this law says, in plain English

A foreign corporation not doing business within the state may register its corporate name with the Secretary of State if the name is available.

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(a) Any foreign corporation (other than a foreign association) not transacting intrastate business may register its corporate name with the Secretary of State, provided its corporate name would be available pursuant to Section 201 to a new corporation organized under this division at the time of such registration. (b) Such registration may be made by filing (1) an application for registration signed by a corporate officer stating the name of the corporation, the state or place under the laws of which it is incorporated, and that it desires to register its name under this section; and (2) a certificate of an authorized public official of the state or place in which it is organized issued within the past six months from the submission of the application for registration in California stating that such corporation is in good standing under those laws. Such registration shall be effective until the close of the calendar year in which the application for registration is filed. (c) A corporation that has in effect a registration of its corporate name may renew such registration from year to year by annually filing an application for renewal setting forth the facts required to be set forth in an original application for registration and a certificate of good standing as required for the original registration between the first day of October and the 31st day of December in each year. Such renewal application shall extend the registration for the following calendar year. (d) A corporation that has in effect a registration of its corporate name may cancel the registration by delivering to the Secretary of State, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State for filing, a certificate of cancellation of foreign name registration signed by a corporate officer containing the name of the corporation and the Secretary of State’s file number of the corporation.

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