Department of Accounting and General Services

What you’ll need:

• The date the incorporation papers were filed
• If you do not know the year, visit the Business Registration Division’s website

What you’ll find:

• Articles of Incorporation (Articles of Association)
• Petitions for Incorporation (Matter of Incorporation)
• Petitions and Certificates for Dissolution (Disincorporation)
• Articles of Incorporation announce the initial formation of a corporate entity, explain its purpose, list its officers, and give the amount of capital to be invested.  Petitions and Certificates for Dissolution indicate that the corporation ceases to exist.

Note: If you need the Articles of Incorporation between 1930 and 1993, use the Dissolution Files, as they contain copies of each dissolved company’s Articles of Incorporation. Also, the Archives has Business Charters from 1849-1900 that originated in the Department of the Interior. Articles of Incorporation and Charters are available for viewing in their original form in the Archives Reading Room. See the Reference Archivist for further details.