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

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

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

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

Total cost for a South Carolina 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 South Carolina Good Standing Certificate will cost.

• The South Carolina company must be registered as a legal entity with the South Carolina Secretary of State as a Corporation, LLC or LP.
• The South Carolina company cannot be in default or suspended as defined by the laws of the state of South Carolina.
• The South Carolina company must have filed all reports required by the South Carolina Secretary of State or any other state of South Carolina 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 South Carolina Secretary of State, a South Carolina Good Standing Certificate includes the following information:

A Corporation, LP or LLC that is registered in the state of South Carolina may require a South Carolina Good Standing Certificate to qualify as a "Foreign Corporation" in a state other than South Carolina.  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 South Carolina is a "Domestic Corporation" in California and a "Foreign Corporation" in the state of South Carolina.

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 South Carolina Good Standing Certificate is legal and official proof of Good Standing from the South Carolina Secretary of State.

If your Corporation, LLC or LP falls out of Good Standing with the SC Secretary of State it is technically illegal for your company to do business in the state of South Carolina or any other state. This could lead to the piercing of the corporate veil and make the owners of the South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina Company may be more expensive that those for walking away from the business and then creating an entirely new company.

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

If you own a South Carolina business and have not registered as a Corporation, LLC, LP or other legal entity with the South Carolina Secretary of State, then you are a Sole Proprietor by default.  Nothing needs to be filed with the South Carolina Secretary of State 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina Business).

In South Carolina a Good Standing Certificate is called a Certificate of Existence.   A South Carolina Certificate of Existence may be referred to by another name.

No. A South Carolina Good Standing Certificate does not include a unique verification number.

Yes.  A South Carolina Good Standing Certificate includes the Date of Incorporation for a South Carolina Corporation or the Date of Organization for a South Carolina LLC.

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

The South Carolina Secretary of State 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 South Carolina Secretary of State.  In our experience the time specified is the time it usually takes the South Carolina Secretary of State to process Good Standing Certificate orders.  We get your South Carolina Good Standing Certificate request to the SC Secretary of State ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have very little or no control over the South Carolina Good Standing Certificate process.

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

Some institutions may request that a South Carolina Good Standing Certificate be less than a certain number of days old.  Generally the information included on a South Carolina 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 South Carolina Good Standing Certificate is being used.

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

In South Carolina a Tax Status Compliance Certificate is called a . A South Carolina is issued by the South Carolina 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 South Carolina for a South Carolina Attorney we can help.

If you are ready to order a South Carolina 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.