Cofounder Academy / LLC Business Registration - Georgia / LLC Registration - Getting Started

The Georgia Corporations Division of the Secretary of State has a dashboard filled with buttons. As you continue to operate your new business in Georgia, you will need to come here to do things like update your NAICS codes or update your corporate address if you move.

Every single year, you'll also need to come back to this page and update your registration so that the state of Georgia knows that you still exist.

And if you ever need to close down your business, you'll also do that here.

To get started, click the large red button labeled "Create or Register a Business".

This will load the Georgia Business Registration form to walk you through the entire process.

The first screen you'll see will ask a single simple question, but they ask it in such a convoluted way. It's here where you have to choose between:

• I am creating a new domestic business
• I am registering a foreign (non-Georgia) business that is in good standing in its place of formation

For the purposes of creating a new Georgia LLC, you're going to select "I am creating a new domestic business", which means this is a brand new company starting from scratch. The second option uses the word "foreign" to mean "Not In Georgia". You'd select this if you had a business in South Carolina and needed to set up that existing business for operations in this state.

Select the "new domestic business" option. As soon as you click that option, a new box will appear right below it asking what type of business you want to create. Expand that list of options and select "Domestic Limited Liability Company".

As soon as you have selected "Domestic Limited Liability Company", another massive form will show up below that dropdown.

The first section asks for the name of your new organization. Because you've selected that you're starting an LLC, your business name MUST include a version of the LLC company names as an official part of the name:

• LLC
• LC
• Ltd
• Ltd Co
• Limited Liability Company

Or some mishmash of options like "Eric's Sunglasses Limited, Co." or "Eric's LTD Eyewear Co".

Whatever you pick will be your official name for all time, so it's a good idea to find a name you'll love. You can always do business using a slightly different name, but on official documents you'll always need to use this official entity name. It will also often show up on the credit card statements of your customers when they purchase something from you, so don't pick something cryptic.

Alternate Names

The form asks for one to two alternate names in case your first pick is already registered. Most of the time, I'll have already performed a business name search before getting to this step and know if my chosen name is available or not, but adding a few extra names is always a safe procedure. If the registration fails because your chosen name was not picked, the Secretary of State will send you an email letting you know that you need to go back and pick a new name.

If you provide an alternate name and your primary is unavailable, they'll just use one of those instead and you'll be up and running much faster and not have to wait to submit a new name.

The next section is the "Name Approval" document section of the registration form. Some types of businesses in industries like insurance and banking that have requirements around what types of names you can make.

Creating a business named "Eric's Very Profitable Bank, LLC" without getting approval from a regulator to use the name "Bank" in my name is something that the state forbids to protect consumers.

However, if you're not in one of those regulated industries, you can move right on past this section.

Next, you'll want to select the NAICS codes that describe the type of business you're going to start. NAICS, or the North American Industry Classification System, is just a standardized set of numbers for any type of business that exists in America. If you're about to start a company doing Roofing installation on residential homes, you'd pick NAICS code 23 (Construction) and then the sub-code 238160 (Roofing Contractors).

It might take a little bit of looking to find your NAICS code, and you might only be able to get close enough. But this is a useful number that the government can use to understand your type of business, so if you find an industry that is close to what you're trying to do, pick that instead of the generic "Any Legal Purpose" or "Unknown".

Luckily, the form you're on has all of the codes imported, so when you select an option from the NAICS Code dropdown, the NAICS Sub Code box will update. You can hunt around until you find a good match. If you can't find anything that matches, the NAICS website can point you in the right direction, and if all else fails, you can pick "Any Legal Purpose".

The last section on this page is the Principal Address form. This is the spot for you to list your official business address. If you're a member of theClubhou.se or enrolled in Make Startups, theClubhou.se offers a mailing address and suite number to the startups going through that program.

Alternatively, you can list your home address if that's your primary location for doing work.

Be aware, this needs to be a valid legal address so that the government can send you important communication and paperwork from time to time, so put in an address that you're allowed to use to receive mail.