Choosing a Corporation Name
Selecting the name of your new Michigan corporation is one of the first official steps toward actually conducting business in the Wolverine State. The business name you choose must be distinguishable from other business entities registered or reserved in Michigan (with some exceptions).
Your new business’ name may not state or imply that it is organized for any other purpose that what’s permitted by state law and laid out in its articles of incorporation. The name also cannot contain a word, phrase, abbreviation, or a derivative of a word or phrase whose use is forbidden or restricted by state law. The name must include one of the following terms or its abbreviation: “Incorporated,” “Corporation,” “Company,” or “Limited.”
Available corporate names may be reserved for up to 180 days for a $25 fee.
A Michigan corporation may also conduct business under an assumed name or DBA (“doing business as” name) that complies with the state’s corporate naming rules. Doing so requires filing a certificate of assumed name with the state secretary of state (along with the $10 fee), and must be periodically renewed.
The filing fee includes a $10 nonrefundable fee plus a $50 organization tax for the first 60,000 shares authorized in the new corporation’s articles of incorporation. If more shares are authorized, the organization portion of the fee increases in a graduated manner. For each additional 20,000 shares (or a portion thereof), the organization tax is $30 more. The maximum organization tax for the first 10 million shares is $5,000. Most incorporators simply authorize 60,000 shares and pay the minimum filing fee.