Companies need to draft and submit Articles of Incorporation to the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division. The moment a company successfully files the Articles of Incorporation, the Georgia Corporations Division deems it formed. It then begins its existence as a corporate entity.
Choose A Name For Your Corporation
The initial step of forming a corporation is choosing a business name for your Georgia Corporation. Perform a search of corporate names in Georgia. You must be certain the corporate name you select matches Georgia corporate name rules. It should bear the required corporate indicators such as Inc., Corp., Incorporated, or Corporation. Don't use prohibited text such as Bank or Trust.
Filing Fees
When forming a corporation in Georgia a company must submit its incorporation request with the appropriate Georgia corporation state filing fees. The standard Georgia Corporation Filing fee is $100 paid within 30 business days. The Georgia Publication fee is $150.
In order to form a corporation and register trademarks, a company needs to file with the Corporations Division. Get help from the Corporations Division regarding Incorporation, Limited Liability Company formation, Limited Partnership filings, and Foreign Corporation Registration. The Secretary of State maintains the records of all filed documents. The public also has access to the information. The Corporations Division processes state trademark registrations.
The Secretary of State charges for filings. The minimum state fee for Initial Report filings and Annual Report Filings varies. The Secretary of State charges $10 for Certificates of Good Standing while for the Articles of Incorporation cost $100. Articles of Organization cost $50. Foreign Qualifications cost $225. There are fees of $20 and $40 for Articles of Amendment and Articles of Dissolution. Name Availability Checks are free
Trademarks and Service Marks
To use a Trademark in Georgia, a company needs to file an application for registration of the mark. Once the company has fulfilled and approved statutory requirements, the Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Registration. When searching for a mark in the State's Trademark Database, the absence of a mark on the web database does not rule out the possibility of the mark being in use. However, the information on the trademark database is updated daily to better guide businesses.
Whenever a company applies for registration of a trademark or service mark, it needs to submit a non-refundable filing fee of $15 with each application. There are no refunds. Try to use the service mark as a form of advertising. The state generally requires five to seven business days to complete filings of Articles of Incorporation, but workloads can result in taking up to 12 business days.
There are many software packages available in the market to assist companies in this process. By taking advantage of this software, companies can complete their applications quickly and easily.

David Gass is President of Business Credit Services, Inc. His company publishes a free weekly e-newsletter on Small Business Consulting at their
web site http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com