How to Start a Nevada Corporation — Step by Step

Your corporation's name must be distinguishable from every other business entity already on file with the Nevada Secretary of State. "Distinguishable" is a legal standard — small differences in punctuation, spacing, or filler words like "the" or "and" may not be enough to set your name apart. The state checks against all entity types on record, not just corporations.

Run your proposed name and any close variations through the Nevada entity search. Look for anything that reads or sounds too similar. If the state finds a conflict when you file, it will reject the Articles, and you will have to start that portion over.

Name requirements

• Must include a corporate designator: "Incorporated," "Corporation," "Company," "Limited," or an abbreviation such as Inc., Corp., Co., or Ltd.
• Must be distinguishable on the record from all existing Nevada entities
• Cannot imply a purpose the corporation is not authorized for, and words like "bank," "trust," or "engineer" may require approval from the relevant regulator
• Cannot suggest a government affiliation the corporation does not have

Optional: reserve the name

If you are not ready to file but want to hold the name, Nevada lets you reserve a corporate name for a limited period through SilverFlume for a small fee. Reservation does not create the corporation — it just parks the name while you handle the rest.

Before you file, you need a registered agent lined up, because the agent is named in the Articles of Incorporation and must consent to serve. The registered agent receives lawsuits, subpoenas, and official state correspondence on the corporation's behalf.

Nevada requires every corporation to keep a registered agent with a physical Nevada street address, available during business hours, for as long as the corporation exists.

Who can serve

• Yourself: Permitted if you have a physical Nevada street address and are reliably available. Your address goes on the public record.
• Another individual: Any Nevada resident with a street address in the state who agrees to accept documents.
• A commercial registered agent service: A company registered to act as an agent in Nevada. It keeps its own professional address on the public record instead of yours and ensures someone is always available to receive service of process.

Why the choice matters

Whatever address you list becomes searchable in the state's public entity database. Many founders use a commercial agent specifically to keep a home address out of that record and to guarantee availability, since missing a service of process can lead to a default judgment against the corporation.

This is the step that actually creates the corporation, and in Nevada it is really three filings submitted together through SilverFlume.

Articles of Incorporation

The Articles establish the corporation in the state's records. They set out:

• Corporate name with its required designator
• Registered agent name, Nevada street address, and consent
• Authorized shares: the number of shares the corporation may issue, and their classes and par value if you use them
• Board of directors: the names and addresses of the initial directors — Nevada allows a single director
• Incorporator: the person signing and submitting the filing

Initial List of Officers and Directors

Nevada requires an Initial List identifying your officers and directors at the very start, filed alongside the Articles rather than waiting until the first annual cycle. This is a step that catches people off guard if they expect a single articles filing.

State Business License

Almost every Nevada entity must hold a State Business License, and the application is filed with the formation documents. Because all three items go through together, it pays to have your officer and director information ready before you begin.

Processing

Online filings generally clear in about one business day; mailed filings take much longer. Once accepted, the corporation legally exists and appears in the public entity search.

Filing the Articles creates the corporation, but a corporation is not really operational until its internal governance is set up. This happens at the organizational meeting of the incorporator or initial board.

What the organizational meeting accomplishes

• Adopt bylaws: the corporation's internal rulebook covering how directors and officers are elected, how meetings are called and voted, and how the company is governed day to day
• Elect officers: appoint the president, secretary, treasurer, and any other officers
• Authorize stock issuance: approve issuing shares to the initial shareholders in exchange for their contributions
• Approve initial actions: opening a bank account, adopting a fiscal year, and other startup housekeeping

Nevada does not require you to file bylaws with the state, and they stay private. But they are essential — they, along with issued stock and meeting minutes, are the substance courts look at when deciding whether the corporation is a genuine separate entity or just its owners in disguise.

Issuing stock is what turns the people behind the corporation into actual shareholders. At the organizational stage, the board authorizes the initial issuance, and each shareholder receives shares in exchange for cash, property, or services contributed to the company.

What to put in place

• Stock ledger: a running record of who owns how many shares and when they were issued or transferred
• Stock certificates or electronic records documenting each shareholder's holding
• Corporate record book: a home for the Articles, bylaws, meeting minutes, and consents
• Minutes: written records of shareholder and board decisions going forward

These records matter well beyond formality. Investors and buyers will scrutinize them during any financing or sale, and clean records make those conversations far easier.

An Employer Identification Number is the corporation's federal tax ID — the business equivalent of a Social Security number. Every corporation needs one, because a corporation always files its own federal tax return separate from its owners.

Why the corporation needs it

• To file federal corporate or S-corporation returns
• To open a corporate bank account (banks require it)
• To hire and pay employees
• To handle payroll and withholding

How to apply

Apply online through the IRS EIN Assistant at IRS.gov. The application takes about ten minutes and issues the number immediately, so you can use it the same day. Completing it online requires a US Social Security number or ITIN for the responsible party. Non-US founders without one apply by fax or mail on Form SS-4.

Keep corporate finances entirely separate from personal ones. Paying personal bills from the corporate account or vice versa undermines the liability shield and gives a court a reason to hold shareholders personally responsible.

To open a corporate account, banks typically want

• Filed Articles of Incorporation
• The IRS EIN confirmation
• Bylaws and a corporate resolution authorizing the account
• Government-issued ID for authorized signers

Ongoing compliance

Each year, file the updated Annual List of Officers and Directors and renew the State Business License by the last day of your anniversary month. Keep a current registered agent on file. Hold at least annual shareholder and board meetings and record minutes. Federally, C-corporations file Form 1120; corporations that elect S-corporation status file Form 1120-S. If you sell taxable goods in Nevada, register for sales tax with the Department of Taxation.