In Pennsylvania a Good Standing Certificate is called a Certificate of Subsistence.  This sometimes causes confusion when the requesting party, commonly the Secretary of State in another state besides Pennsylvania, requests a "Good Standing Certificate".  In these cases a Pennsylvania Certificate of Subsistence will fulfill the requirements for a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate.

A Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate is issued by the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth and is often required for loans, to renew business licenses, or for tax or other business purposes in the state of Pennsylvania or in any other state. A Pennsylvania Certificate of Good Standing is evidence that your Pennsylvania business franchise - your Pennsylvania Corporation, LLC or LP - is in Existence, is authorized to transact business in the state of Pennsylvania, and complies with all state of Pennsylvania business requirements and therefore is in "Good Standing" in the state of Pennsylvania.

Also known as a Pennsylvania Certificate of Existence, a Pennsylvania Certificate of Status or a Pennsylvania Certificate of Authority, a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate is a one page document which looks like a letter and bears the seal of the state of Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth. A Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate is provided by the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth and is conclusive evidence of the existence of your Pennsylvania business franchise. In most cases a Pennsylvania Certificate of Good Standing can be valid up to a year depending on the requirements of the Good Standing Certificate requester.

To obtain a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate, your company must be registered as a legal entity with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth, i.e., your company is in existence in the state of Pennsylvania, and cannot be in default of Pennsylvania corporate rules, or suspended by the state of Pennsylvania.

Total cost for a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate depends on the type of company - Corporation, LLC, LLP, LP - and how fast you need the Certificate. Choose your options in the Good Standing Certificate Cost Calculator below to determine exactly how much your Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate will cost.

• The Pennsylvania company must be registered as a legal entity with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth as a Corporation, LLC or LP.
• The Pennsylvania company cannot be in default or suspended as defined by the laws of the state of Pennsylvania.
• The Pennsylvania company must have filed all reports required by the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth or any other state of Pennsylvania agency.

Some states verify that all taxes have been paid and all required reports have been filed. Other states include bare minimum language that confirms only that a company is in existence and has not been dissolved.

Along with the issuance date and signature of the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth, a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate includes the following information:

A Corporation, LP or LLC that is registered in the state of Pennsylvania may require a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate to qualify as a "Foreign Corporation" in a state other than Pennsylvania.  A Foreign Corporation is a Corporation that is registered with a state agency, usually the Secretary of State, in one state and has the Authority to do business in another state. 

For example, a Corporation registered in the state of California that plans to do business in the state of Pennsylvania is a "Domestic Corporation" in California and a "Foreign Corporation" in the state of Pennsylvania.

All states require you to register as a Foreign Corporation with a state agency, usually the Secretary of State, in order to do business in their state.  In order to register as a Foreign Corporation in any state you must provide evidence that you are registered and are in Good Standing in another state as a Domestic Corporation or LLC.  This evidence is a Certificate of Good Standing from the state in which your Corporation or LLC was originally formed.

A Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate is legal and official proof of Good Standing from the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.

If your Corporation, LLC or LP falls out of Good Standing with the PA Secretary of the Commonwealth it is technically illegal for your company to do business in the state of Pennsylvania or any other state. This could lead to the piercing of the corporate veil and make the owners of the Pennsylvania business liable for penalties and law suits.

In order to get back into Good Standing you will have to pay a Reinstatement Fee.

The cost to Reinstate a Pennsylvania Company depends on the exactly why the Corporation, LLC or LP is not in Good Standing. In some cases the fees for reinstatement of a Pennsylvania Company may be more expensive that those for walking away from the business and then creating an entirely new company.

A Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate is issued by the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth for business entities that have registered with the state of Pennsylvania.  A Sole Proprietorship or DBA is not normally registered with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth so a Pennsylvania Certificate of Good Standing cannot be issued for them.

If you own a Pennsylvania business and have not registered as a Corporation, LLC, LP or other legal entity with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth, then you are a Sole Proprietor by default.  Nothing needs to be filed with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth to create a Sole Proprietorship.  If you plan to use a name different from your first and last name then you would register in the Pennsylvania county in which you do business with your first and last name "Doing Business As" (DBA) the name of your business (for example: Sue Smith, DBA Sue's Pennsylvania Business).

In Pennsylvania a Good Standing Certificate is called a Certificate of Subsistence.   A Pennsylvania Certificate of Subsistence may be referred to by another name.

Yes. Each Pennsylvania Certificate of Subsistence includes a unique Certification Number which may be used to verify the Certificate with the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.

No.  A Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate does NOT include the Date of Incorporation for a Pennsylvania Corporation or the Date of Organization for a Pennsylvania LLC.

Please note that a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate issued by the Pennsylvania Department of State does not include the initial date on which the Corporation or LLC was formed in PA. 

If you need a PA Good Standing Certificate which does include the date on which a Corporation or LLC was registered in Pennsylvania then you need a "Great Seal Certificate". 

A PA Great Seal Certificate is a one page document bearing the Great Seal of the State of Pennsylvania certifying that the statement(s) contained thereon accurately reflect the information on file at the Pennsylvania Department of State Corporation Bureau. 

If you need a Pennsylvania Great Seal Certificate please call us at 855-771-2477.  There is an additional $85 fee for a PA Great Seal Certificate.

If you place your order for a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate before 1 PM Pennsylvania time we can get your Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate as fast as 2-3 hours. We will send you a scanned copy of your Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate by email and put a paper copy of your Certificate in the mail as soon as we get it from the PA Secretary of the Commonwealth.

The Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth reserves the right to extend expedite periods in time of extreme volume, staff shortage or equipment malfunction.  We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth.  In our experience the time specified is the time it usually takes the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth to process Good Standing Certificate orders.  We get your Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate request to the PA Secretary of the Commonwealth ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have very little or no control over the Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate process.

A valid expiration date is not written on a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate.  The validity of a Pennsylvania Certificate of Good Standing is usually determined by the intended recipient of the Good Standing Certificate.

Some institutions may request that a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate be less than a certain number of days old.  Generally the information included on a Pennsylvania Certificate of Good Standing is implied to be valid for 60-90 days but it really depends on the nature of the business for which the Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate is being used.

If you need to verify that all outstanding tax liabilities for a Pennsylvania Corporation or Pennsylvania LLC have been paid then you need a Pennsylvania Tax Status Compliance Certificate.

In Pennsylvania a Tax Status Compliance Certificate is called a Application for Tax Clearance. A Pennsylvania Application for Tax Clearance is issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and is sometimes called a Tax Clearance Certificate or an Entity Status Letter or a Certificate of Account Status.

If you need a Good Standing Certificate from the highest Court in the state of Pennsylvania for a Pennsylvania Attorney we can help.

If you are ready to order a Pennsylvania Good Standing Certificate now, simply fill in the Good Standing Certificate Order Form below and press the Place Order button. If you have any questions you can call us at 855-771-2477 or email us at CorpServices@AllBizDocs.com.