Ohio Secretary of State

The Ohio Secretary of State is an elected official. The main duties of the Secretary of State (SOS) include controlling the statewide elections and registering businesses. In addition, he/she gives authority to the corps to operate in Ohio’s territory. 

So, as you understood, to build an entity here, you need to deal with the Ohio Secretary of State. In this article, we will present to you the main duties of the SOS regarding company establishment in OH.

How to Start a Business in Ohio?

Starting a new business in OH is a great idea. Any entity planning to operate within the state with a name differing from his/her personal one must register with the SOS office. This excludes only Sole and General Proprietorships.

 

So, there are some steps you should complete to build a good foundation for your company.

Naming

The first point to fulfill is choosing a suitable name for your entity. When naming your company, you must conduct a business name search. This is to make sure a name is free and is not used by another establishment. 

You can search for the name with:  

• Exact business name

• Prior business name

• Agent/ Registrant

• Organizer/ Incorporator

• Number Search

If the selected title is available but you cannot register it at the time, you can reserve it for the future. When registering your entity with a certain title, it is protected through registration. This means that you do not have to present a name registration form to protect your rights on the title.

However, if you find your desired title registered by another entity, you can get permission from the entity or an individual to use it. You have to file Form 590, which is the Consent of Similar Name Use. Otherwise, you will be banned from using the already registered name without making any changes to it.

Trade VS Fictitious Names

The trade name must be unique and differ from other similar registered titles. Meanwhile, the fictitious name does not have to be distinguishable. Yet, this does not prevent the fictitious name from being used by another company. 

Structure

As a next step, you must decide on your company structure. So, there are different options to select from:  

• Non-profit organization

• Corporation

• LLC (Limited Liability Company)

• Sole Proprietorship

However, you should take into account that the SOS office cannot give you advice on the entity type. You should take proper consulting from your attorney.

Business Registration

The third and foremost step is registering your business with the Ohio Secretary of State (SOS). For this, you need to submit the needed documents directly to his office. Besides the original filings, the copies are also acceptable. In addition, there are two types of filings — expedited and regular. 

The main difference between these two is that expedited filing has a certain time frame and requires additional costs to be paid. Meanwhile, regular filing is completed in a day. It does not even require any operation fees.  

The provided information may vary. This depends on the entity type, however, some basic details are almost the same:  

• Location, purpose, and ownership of your company

• Title and some other alternatives (if your chosen one is taken)

• Registered agent’s contact information (it is essential to note that you can work only with an agent who is an OH resident or has a physical address there)  

After that, you need to obtain the licenses and permits. Those include a general business license (this is a vendor license that costs $25) or Tax Certificate. However, each of the state cities and counties has various requirements in this regard. So, in addition to the General License, you may also need additional permits filed with your municipality or town.

You must also consider that the Office does not provide such licenses. Those licenses are issued by the Commerce Department.

Employer Identification Number (EIN)

To get your company identification for tax purposes, you should file for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This is a 9-digit number provided by the Internal Revenue Service.

EIN helps to open a bank account for the company.

Certificate of Good Standing

The Certificate of Good Standing defines the entity’s compatibility with all the filings of the Secretary of State and taxation. You can conduct a Validation check through the OH SOS official website.

Cooperatives

Cooperatives have a good impact on the State’s economy, providing the rural areas with electricity, housing, financial and capital services, healthcare, food supply, telecommunication, etc.

There are about 452 cooperatives in Ohio. Those include the biggest agricultural and rural electric cooperatives in the USA.

Business Identity Protection

To protect your company from Identity theft, you must take the following actions:  

• Subscribe to the Notification System of Business Filing.

• Check your company details from time to time.

• Get your business commercial credit report.

• Receive bank notifications about other service providers and creditors.

• Take control over your accounts and bills to prevent suspicious activities.

• Maintain your personal information and EIN, as well as inventory documents.

• Avoid sharing sensitive information.

• Decide what to do with the stolen credit cards.

Important Facts About the Ohio Secretary of State

1. You should consider the fact that the office does not demand record bylaws or operating agreements. Those are considered the company’s internal documents. 

2. In case you want to dissolve your entity or surrender its licensure, you should contact the Department of Taxation by completing the required forms in addition to the dissolution filing with the Secretary’s office.

3. The office does not accept complaint reports against other businesses. You can file your complaint on the website of the Ohio Attorney General. 

4. The SOS office does not file a “DBA” (Doing business As).  

If you still have questions about the services provided by the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State, you can contact them at +1 (877) 767-6446.