How to Check for a Georgia Certification of Incorporation
- 1). Navigate to the corporations division of the Georgia secretary of state website (see References section for a link). Click on the "Corporations Search" link to access the records database.
- 2). Enter the name of the corporation in the search field. The database allows partial name searches and exact name matches. The database will allow you to limit your search to active corporations if the business name you are researching is too generic.
- 3). Study the search results list. This list will contain every corporation that meets your search requirements. Unless you know the exact name of the corporation and used the exact name match feature, this list can be quite extensive. Use a process of elimination (comparing name iterations and creation dates) to identify the correct entity.
- 4). Click on the name of the corporation to call up the corporate summary page. This page lists the status of the corporation and the registered agent. Click on the "View Filed Documents" link at the top of the summary page to see a PDF version of every document the corporation has filed with the secretary of state. The first document on this list will always be the corporation's registration document: its articles of incorporation attached to the certificate of incorporation issued by the state. Print this document for your records.
- 5). Call the corporations division of the Georgia secretary of state to conduct a phone verification of a corporation's status and the date it was issued a certificate of incorporation if you cannot access the Internet database.
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