Certificate of Good Standing
What is a certificate of good standing?
A document issued by the state confirming your LLC exists and is up to date on its filings and fees. You will not think about it until a bank, a client or a platform asks for one — and at that point you either have a compliant entity or you have a problem.
Plus the state's certificate fee, invoiced at cost · issued by your state of formation
When a bank or a client asks for proof
- 01You request it
- 02Filings confirmed current
- 03Ordered from the state
- 04Issued and stamped
- 05PDF in your dashboard
What it is
The state's own word that your company exists and is current.
Four situations cover most of it. Opening a business bank account, especially with a traditional bank. Enterprise vendor onboarding, where procurement wants evidence the counterparty is real. Registering your LLC as a foreign entity in another state, which usually requires a certificate from the home state. And financing or acquisition diligence, where it is a routine item on a checklist.
The certificate speaks as of its issue date, which is why requesters usually want a recent one — commonly within 30, 60 or 90 days. There is no point obtaining one to keep in a drawer. What is worth maintaining is the underlying condition: an entity whose filings are current can produce a certificate whenever it is asked for.
- Issued by
- The state of formation
- Called a certificate of existence or certificate of status in some of the 51 states we file in — 3 names for one document.
- What it proves
- The entity exists and is current
- It confirms filings and fees are up to date on the date of issue — nothing more.
- Requires
- No lapsed annual reports
- A delinquent entity generally cannot obtain one until the delinquency is cured.
- Commonly asked for by
- Banks, enterprise clients, platforms
- Requesters typically want one issued within the last 30, 60 or 90 days. Also required to register as a foreign entity in another state — New York charges $250 for that application.
Why it matters
You find out you need one on the day you cannot get one.
This is how most founders learn what a certificate of good standing is. A client's procurement team asks for one on a Friday, and the state will not issue it because an annual report was missed eighteen months ago. Curing that takes a filing, a fee, sometimes a late penalty, and the state's own processing time — North Carolina publishes a 15 to 20 business day turnaround, and Illinois's routine queue is about ten. The certificate itself is quick and cheap; being eligible for one is the part that takes planning. This is the least visible reason to keep annual reports current, and the one that costs a deal.
How it works
From a request to an official certificate.
A certificate confirms your standing with the state and nothing else. It is not evidence of solvency, of a licence, or of good conduct, and no counterparty should read it that way. If a use outside the United States requires an apostille, that is a further process through the state and sometimes the federal government, with its own timeline.
Who asks for one
- BanksBefore opening an account in the company's name.
- Enterprise clientsProcurement wants evidence the counterparty is real and current.
- Other statesRegistering as a foreign entity usually requires one from the home state.
01Usually a Friday
Someone asks for proof
A bank, an enterprise client's procurement team, a platform, or another state you are registering in. They want a certificate issued recently — typically within the last 30 to 90 days.
02Same day
We check the company is eligible
A state will not issue a certificate to a delinquent company. We confirm the annual reports are current. If one has lapsed, we tell you what it takes to cure it first.
03Business day one
Ordered from your state of formation
The certificate is requested from the Secretary of State under the name the state uses — certificate of good standing, existence or status.
04Days, sometimes same day
Issued by the state
The state issues and dates the certificate. Turnaround follows the state's own queue, which we do not control and do not pretend to.
05As soon as it is issued
Delivered as a PDF
The certificate lands in your dashboard with an email alert, ready to send to whoever asked.
Certificate of Good Standing
$79
$79 + State Fee
For a company you already have, or added to a formation order. Any state or government fee is invoiced at cost, exactly as the state charges it. Full refund before we begin the work.
Order a CertificateWhat’s included
- Obtaining the certificate from your state of formation on request
- Bringing lapsed filings current first where that is what is blocking issuance
Not included
- Apostille or consular legalisation, which some non-US uses require and which is a separate process
- Any guarantee of a turnaround time, since issuance is the state's process and not ours
- Certificates from states where your entity is not registered
By state
Three names for one document.
Names vary — certificate of existence, certificate of status, certificate of good standing — and so do fees and turnarounds. States that file quickly generally issue quickly: Colorado and Virginia accept online filings in the same session, while North Carolina publishes 15 to 20 business days for entity work. If you know a certificate will be needed, ask early rather than assuming it is instant.
- Wyoming
- Certificate of good standing · usually issued within days
- Delaware
- Certificate of good standing · short and long forms
- Florida
- Certificate of status
- Colorado, Virginia
- Certificate of good standing · often issued in the same session
Direct answers
Frequently asked questions.
Checked 2026-07-28. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it the same day.
Usually days, sometimes the same day, provided your entity is current on its filings. If an annual report has lapsed the answer changes completely, because you must first cure the delinquency and wait on the state's processing queue — which in North Carolina is published at 15 to 20 business days.
To confirm the entity exists and has not been dissolved or suspended before they open an account in its name. It is a routine verification step, and being unable to produce one is a meaningful obstacle rather than a formality.
No. The formation certificate records that the LLC was created on a date in the past. A certificate of good standing states that it still exists and is current as of today. Requesters usually want the second and will not accept the first.
No — you obtain one when someone asks. What you do need every year is the annual report that keeps you eligible for one. Our Growth and Complete plans track those dates for exactly this reason.
Be ready when asked
A current company can prove it in days. A lapsed one cannot.
We confirm your filings are current, order the certificate from your state, and deliver the PDF to your dashboard.
Certificate of Good Standing — $79 + state fee
Order a Certificate