How to Register a Private Company
- 1). Decide on the form of your business. Choose from sole proprietor, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation.
* Choose sole proprietorship if you are the only owner, and do not need to protect your personal assets (home, car, personal money) from lawsuits. Before you choose this option, make sure your business does not put your assets at risk.
* Choose partnership if your company is similar to that of a sole proprietorship, except that ownership will be shared among multiple people. Partnerships do not protect assets.
* Choose incorporation if you want to set up a legal entity separate from its owners. Personal assets are protected from liability. In addition, corporations have certain rights and responsibilities similar to those of citizens under the law.
* Choose LLC to combine features of partnerships and corporations. LLCs are very popular choices for business registration because they are fairly simple to set up. LLCs limit personal liability, similar to corporations, but with less formal requirements, such as the taking of minutes. Find out from your state whether or not your company qualifies to be an LLC, because some kinds of businesses, such as insurance companies, are not eligible, and the specific prohibitions vary state by state. - 2). Obtain and file the necessary registration documents.
* To start a sole proprietorship or partnership, simply file a DBA so that you can do business under a name you choose. The procedure varies from state to state. Many states offer DBA registration through the secretary of state or corporation commission website. In other locales, county or city officials (such as town clerks) register DBAs. Download the forms, fill them out and return them with the required fee. States do not register sole proprietorships or partnerships, so a DBA is all you need as far as registration goes.
*To register as an LLC, check with your local state government. Individual states control LLC registration, and normally require a simple "articles of organization" document, along with a fee that averages between $100 and $800, according to legal self-help site Nolo.com.
* To incorporate, go to your state's corporation commission website. Download the incorporation documents and return them with the required fee. - 3). Obtain a federal tax Employer Identification Number (EIN) if you have employees. Use the EIN Assistant, a web-based tool on the IRS website that will complete your EIN as you answer the questions on the site.
Source...