FILING DOCUMENTS WITH THE OFFICE OF THE MINNESOTA SECRETARY OF STATE
DRAFTING THE DOCUMENT Standard forms are available without charge from the Secretary of State at Business Forms & Fees . Forms are also available by mail from that office. While these forms are designed to meet minimum requirements of the law, they are not intended to address every possible situation. Consultation with an attorney can help the business owner draft a document that reflects the needs and desires of the parties and understand the legal effects of the filing. Documents must be legible. The Secretary of State permanently records all documents; this process demands a legible copy. Thus, documents that are illegible are not accepted for filing. Copies and legible fax transmissions are acceptable. Original signatures are acceptable if legible, but are not required; in most cases a copy will suffice. The proper fee must accompany the document. A current fee schedule appears at the end of this section. Information regarding online payments is available from the Secretary of State at How To Make a Payment . Filing may be made online and the registration is done immediately. The first step is to create an online account with the Secretary of State and login. You can find more information about creating an online account at How to Create an Online Account . TIME REQUIRED FOR FILING AND PROCESSING DOCUMENTS Documents are usually reviewed the day they are received by the Secretary of State. In cases of complex documents or heavy seasonal workloads, review may take place the day following receipt. Non-expedited drop-offs are reviewed the business day following drop off. COMMON REASONS WHY DOCUMENTS ARE NOT ACCEPTED FOR FILING A document may be returned unapproved and not accepted for filing by the Secretary of State for a number of reasons. Some of these include: • An incomplete address is submitted. Documents must state the full street address, city or town and zip code number. • The filing fee submitted is not correct. • The signatures of the required parties are incorrect or incomplete. All incorporators of a corporation or organizers of a Limited Liability Company must sign the original articles. Other filings must be signed by a person who is authorized by the business entity to sign those
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