Start A Corporation In Kansas
Use our free business tools below to complete your Kansas Articles of Incorporation. This is the document you file directly with the Kansas Secretary of State to form your corporation.
If you want more, hire us to form your corporation in Kansas for just $39 + state fees. We’ll get your business stood up in minutes with a free domain, website, email, business phone, and more.
How to Start a Corporation in Kansas
A Kansas corporation is a business with a legal existence separate from its owners. If properly maintained, a corporation can conduct business in its own name and has many of the rights and obligations of a natural person, including the ability to enter into contracts, sue and be sued, hold assets, and pay taxes in its own name.
To start a corporation in Kansas, you’ll need to do three things: appoint a registered agent, choose a name for your business, and file Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State. The articles cost $90 to file ($89 online). Once filed with the state, this document formally creates your Kansas corporation.
1. Name Your Corporation
Before you start raking in the big bucks, you’ll need to name your corporation. Kan. Stat. § 17-6002 spells out the rules for what you can and can’t name your business. Your corporation’s name must:
- include either Corporation, Corp, Inc., Ltd., or another abbreviation
- not include words or abbreviations that make it sound like it’s another kind of entity, like LLC or Limited
- be unique among business names in Kansas
Already have a business name? Check to see if it’s available.
Your corporation’s name is the name on your Articles of Incorporation. A DBA name, if you choose one, is any other name that your corporation uses to do business, including use on business cards, your website, or the sign in front of your store or office.
Most states require you to register the DBA, but Kansas has no such requirement. If you plan to use a DBA, you’ll want to check its availability with the the Kansas Business Filing Center. Like a corporation’s name, a DBA cannot already be in use in the state.
Thinking about using a DBA? See our guide on How to Get a Kansas DBA.
2. Designate a Registered Agent
Your business needs a Kansas registered agent. A registered agent is a person or business entity designated to accept service of process (legal mail, including lawsuits) on behalf of your business. All Kansas corporations are required to maintain a registered agent.
The requirements for a registered agent in Kansas are detailed in Kan. Stat. § 17-7925. At a minimum, your registered agent must:
- be able to accept legal documents during regular business hours
- have a physical, registered office address located within the state of Kansas. No P.O. Boxes
- be a resident or a company that provides registered agent services
- notify the incorporators of any service of process
Learn why the pros use a registered agent service.
Absolutely. The problem is, if you act as your own registered agent, your name and address will go on the public record, and that can make it difficult to maintain privacy. What’s more, not all business owners can keep regular business hours.
When you hire a professional registered agent, your name and personal info will stay off state filing documents, and you won’t have to worry about missing important documents because you were on vacation. Your registered agent will handle all of that for you.
Yes. You can change your registered agent in Kansas anytime by filing the Change of Registered Office/Agent form. It costs $35 and must be filed by mail.
3. Submit Articles of Incorporation
Your corporation won’t be official until the Kansas Secretary of State approves your Articles of Incorporation. You can submit your Articles online, by mail, or in person.
Here is the information you will need to provide:
- Company name: Should include corporation or an abbreviation
- Business address: Must be a street address in Kansas
- Registered agent: The information of the person/business authorized to accept legal mail on behalf of your corporation
- Registered office: Must be a street address in Kansas
- Stock: This must be at least one share of stock
- Authorized shares: Must include issued shares and consideration received
- Name of directors: Must include names and addresses of anyone on the initial board
- Incorporators: Must include the names and addresses of all your incorporators
- Signatures: The signature must match exactly the name in the incorporator’s section
Note: All of the information on this form will become part of the public record.
It’s true that when you submit your Articles of Incorporation to the state, all the names and addresses listed on it become part of the public record. Marketing firms are experts at finding this information and using it to send you junk mail.
The best way to limit the amount of personal information you share is by hiring a registered agent service that will put their address on this form instead of yours wherever possible.
You can submit your articles online, by mail, or in person. Online filings cost $89 and paper forms cost $90.
Mail and in person:
Secretary of State
Memorial Hall, 1st Floor
120 S.W. 10th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66612-1594
Start Your Kansas Corporation Today!
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4. Get an EIN
Your Federal Employer Identification Number (commonly known as an EIN or FEIN) is similar to a Social Security number for your business. The IRS assigns these numbers and uses them to easily identify individual corporations on tax filings, including federal corporate income tax returns.
The IRS requires corporations to get an EIN for their federal tax filings. You may also be asked for your EIN when opening a bank account, securing a loan, or applying for local business permits and licenses.
You can get an EIN directly from the IRS. The application is free, and most businesses can apply online. However, if you don’t have a Social Security number, you’ll need to submit a paper application form.
Can’t bear to fill out yet another application? Hire Northwest to get your EIN for you. Just add on EIN service during checkout when you sign up for our incorporation service.
5. Write Corporate Bylaws
Bylaws are the internal rules you set for your business. They put into writing how decisions will be made and who gets to make those decisions. All the major organizational processes and procedures for your corporation will go in your bylaws.
For more on Kansas corporate bylaws (including free templates), see our Kansas corporate bylaws resource.
Per KS Stat § 17-6009, bylaws may be adopted, but the state statutes don’t specifically state that they must be adopted.
That said, bylaws are not just annoying paperwork. They’re one of your corporation’s most critical internal documents. Your bylaws lay out the key facts, policies, and processes for your corporation.
Your corporate bylaws should be kept with your other corporate records, such as meeting minutes and resolutions.
Creating bylaws can be overwhelming—where do you start? Northwest can help. We give you free corporate bylaws when you hire us to form your Kansas corporation. We know what kinds of topics and questions corporations need to address, and we’ve spent years refining and improving our forms.
We also offer many other free corporate forms as well, including templates for resolutions and meeting minutes.
Corporate bylaws cover basic policies and procedures for issues such as company finances and management. Bylaws should cover a range of topics, answering key questions like those below:
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Meetings: When and where will meetings for shareholders and directors be held? How many attendees are required to transact business? What are the procedures for voting or proxy voting? How do you call a special meeting? What actions can be taken without a meeting?
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Stock: How are stock certificates issued and transferred? How is voting affected by issues such as corporate stock owners or fractional shares?
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Directors and officers: How many directors must there be? Which officer positions are required? What powers do they have? How do you fill a vacancy or remove a director or officer?
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Finances: What are the procedures for retaining profits, issuing dividends, and paying bills? Who can withdraw money from the corporate bank account or sign checks?
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Records: Where is the corporate book to be kept? What information will be maintained? How are requests for review or access honored? Can records or copies be kept or distributed digitally?
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Amendments and emergencies: Who can amend bylaws and how? Can emergency bylaws be adopted in the case of disaster?
Your bylaws can cover pretty much anything as long as it isn’t contrary to Kansas law. For example, according to Kansas statute § 17-6009, bylaws can’t impose liability for corporate expenses or attorney fees on stockholders.
6. Hold an Organizational Meeting
An organizational meeting is the first official meeting of the corporation after the business is legally formed with the state. At this meeting, bylaws are adopted, officers are appointed, and any other initial business is conducted. The first meeting minutes should also be recorded and added to your corporate record book.
You’re required to give a minimum of two days written notice before holding the meeting. Attendees can, however, waive their required notice in writing. The meeting is not required to be held in Kansas.
7. Open a Corporate Bank Account
Businesses that mix personal and business finances together risk losing their liability protections, so your corporation will need its own bank account. In addition, a corporate bank account is essential for easily accepting payments, paying bills, and holding funds.
To open a corporate bank account in Kansas, you’ll need to bring the following with you to the bank:
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a copy of the Kansas corporation’s Articles of Incorporation
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the corporation’s bylaws
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the corporation’s EIN
If your bylaws don’t specifically assign the power to open a bank account, you may also want to bring a corporate resolution to open a bank account. The resolution would state that the person going to the bank is authorized by the business to open the account in the name of the corporation.
At Northwest, we provide free corporate bank resolutions, along with many other free corporate forms, to help you get started fast.
8. File State Reports & Taxes
In Kansas, corporations file a biennial report each year. In addition, corporations are subject to state taxes, including a corporate net income tax.
The Kansas Biennial Report is a filing that provides the state with current information about your company’s principal address, and the names of officers and directors along with their addresses.
The report also includes information about total shares of capital stock, the nature of the business, whether the corporation owns more than 50% of another Kansas business entity, and whether the corporation owns or leases land in Kansas that can be used for agriculture.
Filing the report requires a Business Entity ID number, which is not the same as an EIN. This number is assigned when the corporation is registered with the Secretary of State’s office, and can be found by searching the Kansas Business Entity database on the Secretary of State’s site.
The Kansas Biennial Report costs $50 for for-profit businesses, or $55 when filing by mail.
Reports are due April 15th every other year. If you formed your business in an even year, you’ll file your biennial report on even years. Businesses that were formed in odd years file reports in each succeeding odd year.
Biennial filings can be easy to forget—which is why we send our clients automatic reminders. Or better yet, let us file for you. With our business renewal service, we can complete and submit your biennial report for you for $100 plus the state fee.
Kansas corporations have one major tax requirement, a corporate net income tax.
The corporate income tax rate is a flat 4%. An additional 3% is added for taxable income over $50,000 for a total of 7%.
The Kansas sales tax is 6.5%. City, county and specialty sales taxes can be tacked on as well, making the average total sales tax 8.052%.
Yes, if you conduct business in Kansas, you’re required to register with the Kansas Department of Revenue. You can register via the Kansas Department of Revenue Customer Service Center or by filing a Kansas Business Tax Application (form CR-16). You’ll need your EIN before you can register.
Ready to Start a Corporation in Kansas?
