What do I need to know in order to set up a company in the U.S.?

    There are a few important questions you may want to ask yourself before you set up a business in the United States. 

1.     What will the company do? 

• There are some activities that require a license (such as medicine, dentistry or architecture) or special permission (banking, insurance, aviation) before it can be formed.

2. Who will own the company? 

• These will be the shareholders of a corporation or members of a Limited Liability Company ( also known as "LLC").

3. Who will manage the company? 

• These will be the directors and officers of a corporation or managers of an LLC. 

4.  What will the company’s name be? 

• It must follow the rules of the state where the company is formed, and have a corporate indicator.

5. What type of entity will it be? 

• Generally, it will be a corporation, an LLC, or a sole proprietorship. 

6. What state will it be incorporated in?

•  This will be either in the state where it is doing business, or in another state like Delaware where there are special legal benefits. 

7. What state will it do business in? 

• If this (or these) state(s) are not where the company is incorporated, it must register to do business there as a foreign corporation. 

8. Who will act as registered agent? 

• Almost every state requires its companies to maintain a legal address and agent within its borders to accept legal process and to which the state government can send annual reports, annual tax forms or other compliance matters.

To learn more about how to set up a company/business in the U.S., please come to our special seminar called "Setting up your U.S. Business" to be held in mid-October, 2013 by Renate Harrison, a US & Canadian Business Lawyer of HazloLaw. For more information about the seminar, please call HazloLaw at 613-747-2459 x 306. 

Ms. Renate Harrison: 
A graduate of the prestigious Harvard Law School, Renate Harrison is a U.S. and Canadian business lawyer at our Ottawa office and she practices in the areas of Business Law and Corporate Finance. Renate advises Canadian companies on the formation and operation of U.S. subsidiaries and on strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and asset sales. In that capacity, she regularly acts for start-ups, private equity and venture capital firms, issuers and underwriters in placing  debt and equity securities in Canada and in the United States. Renate is a member of the Ontario bar and she is also admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Tennessee in the United States. To learn more about Renate Harrison, please visit http://www.hazlolaw.com/people/renate-harrison.