Glossary of Business Filing & Compliance Terms
States use a lot of words for a few simple things. Here's what they actually mean, in plain language.
- Administrative dissolution
- When a state closes your company for you because it fell out of compliance — usually missed annual reports or fees. Different from a voluntary dissolution: the entity is shut down without your say, and getting it back requires a reinstatement.
- Annual report
- A short filing most states require each year to keep a registered business active. It confirms your address, agent, and the people on record. Some states call it a periodic report, statement of information, or annual registration.
- Anniversary date
- The date your entity was originally formed or registered. Many states set your annual report deadline from it rather than a fixed calendar date, so no two companies share the same due date.
- Articles of organization
- The document that creates an LLC with the state. Corporations file articles of incorporation instead. This is the filing your annual report keeps current.
- Biennial report
- The same idea as an annual report, but due every two years. New York, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Alaska, and DC use this cadence for at least some entity types.
- Certificate of good standing
- A document from the state confirming your company exists and is current on its filings. Banks, lenders, and landlords ask for it. Also called a certificate of existence or status.
- Domestic vs. foreign entity
- Domestic means registered in that state. Foreign means formed elsewhere but registered to do business there. A foreign registration usually carries its own annual report in that second state.
- Entity number
- The identifier your state assigns your company — Florida calls it a document number, Connecticut a business ID. It's how the state finds your record when a report is filed.
- Franchise tax
- A fee some states charge for the privilege of existing there, separate from income tax. Delaware and California are the well-known examples. It can be due even in a year with no revenue.
- Good standing
- The state's confirmation that your company is active and current on its required filings. Losing it can block financing, contracts, and account opening.
- Late penalty
- What the state adds when a report misses its deadline. Florida's is a flat $400 on top of the report fee — the reason we file early rather than close to the date.
- Principal office address
- The main business address on your state record. It's usually public, and it's one of the fields an annual report confirms or updates.
- Registered agent
- The person or company designated to receive legal papers and official state mail on your behalf, at a physical in-state address. Standard Filings does not provide registered agent service.
- Reinstatement
- The filing that brings an administratively dissolved or revoked company back into good standing. It typically requires every missed report, the penalties on them, and a state reinstatement fee.
- State filing fee
- The government's own charge for a filing — set by the state, not by us. We pass it through at cost and show it on its own line, never marked up.
- Statement of information
- California's name for its periodic report. LLCs file it within 90 days of formation and then every two years; it's separate from the state's $800 franchise tax.
- Voluntary dissolution
- Formally closing your company with the state so reports and fees stop accruing. The clean alternative to simply abandoning an entity and letting it be administratively dissolved.
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