Corporations are required to have not less than three directors unless (1) shares have not been issued, then the number can be one or two, (2) the corporation has one shareholder, then the number can be one or two, or (3) the corporation has two shareholders, then the number can be two.
Unlike sole proprietorships, a corporation can be owned by multiple people.
To form a corporation in California, Articles of Incorporation must be filed with the California Secretary of State's office. Forms for the most common types of Articles of Incorporation are available on our Forms, Samples and Fees webpage. You may use the form or prepare your own statutorily compliant document.
LLCs are not required to have bylaws. However, they are governed by an operating agreement which is like a corporation's bylaws.
It is important to realize, however, that bylaws are not required as a matter of law with one exception. Bylaws are required when the articles of incorporation do not specify the number of directors in a corporation.
There's also the fact that if you don't list the number of directors in your Articles of Incorporation, you're legally required to list that information in your bylaws (see California Corp Code § 212). The bottom line: corporate bylaws are not legally required, but they're pretty much essential for your corporation.
1. DIRECTORS: Not less than three, unless there are only one or two shareholders of record, in which case the number of directors may be less than three but not less than the number of shareholders. 2. OFFICERS: The three required positions are President, Secretary and Treasurer.
How to Form a Professional Corporation in California Step 1: File the Articles of Incorporation with the California Secretary of State (required) ... Step 2: Register with the Appropriate Government Agency (required) ... Step 3: Prepare Corporate Bylaws. Step 4: Appoint the Professional Corporation's Directors (required)
Furthermore, it must be established by at least five individuals known as incorporators. A corporation's ownership is divided into stock shares.