Required Officers – California Corporations are Unique
Officers conduct a corporation’s day-to-day business. Among the states, California law is unique in its set of required officers.
California Corporations Code Section 312(a) states that each California corporation must have:
- A chairman of the board or a president or both;
- A secretary; and
- A chief financial officer.
Additional officers are optional.
That Code section also provides that the president is the chief executive officer of the corporation, unless the articles of incorporation or the bylaws state otherwise.
Other states typically take an approach similar to that specified in Delaware General Corporation Law Section 142 (emphasis added):
FreeRegisteredAgent.com Inaugurates Hall of Shame
I’ve run across another online incorporation / LLC formation service – FreeRegisteredAgent.com – with deficiencies that I must bring to readers’ attention. There now are enough of these companies that I have listed them on my new Hall of Shame page.
FreeRegisteredAgent.com’s claim to fame is that it provides registered-agent services at no charge for one year, and for $99 per year thereafter.
Their Free California Registered Agent Service page touts their service for California corporations, LLCs and other entities. The problem I have is that California does not require any entity to have a registered agent, so after the first year, companies are paying for a service that they don’t need!
