North Dakota Corporation

For North Dakota Corporation prices and State fees, please visit the costs page for forming a Corporation in North Dakota.

A North Dakota corporation is a separate legal entity and is owned by shareholders and managed by directors. The North Dakota corporation directors appoint officers to run the corporation on a day-to-day basis and determine policies and actions to be taken by the corporation. In order for the corporation to be operated correctly, some formalities must be observed. These include, issuing stock, meeting of the shareholders and maintaining meeting minutes. When these formalities are observed, the corporation will be recognized as a separate "eperson" from those who own it, in the eyes of a court, creditor and the IRS.

North Dakota corporation must observe some operating formalities and maintain its separate legal status. Holding shareholder meetings, at least annually, is one of these formalities. At these meetings the corporation shareholders discuss and decide on critical business matters and approve actions taken by the corporation for the operating period. These meetings should be recorded in the form of meeting minutes, this is a legal record that shows the shareholders are approving actions and the officers are indemnified by the stockholder approval of the business actions.

A corporation is a common form of business organization that is chartered by a state government. It is granted many legal rights as an entity separate from its owners. The corporation is distinguished by limiting the liability of its owners, issuing shares of stock that can be transferred from one individual to another, and its ability to have perpetual existence. Because a corporation is separate from its owners it can protect them from being personally liable when the company is sued (known as limited liability). In addition there are tax benefits available to incorporated businesses that are not available to unincorporated businesses.