Getting a Wisconsin certificate of good standing is a regular part of doing business. Certificates are available from D.C. and any state and are also known as a Certificate of Status. Order it in person, online, or by mail. When ordering online, the fee is $10, and it processes immediately.

How To Get A Certificate Of Status

It normally takes up to seven days to process when sent through the mail plus extra time for mailing it back. The fee is also $10. If you'd like expedited service, you can get it for $25 more and can expect it to take less than two days plus mailing time. When sending it in by mail, include the following information on the business form:

  • Name of the business
  • Payment
  • Information for return address
  • Any specific requests
  • Phone number

When making requests in person, it's important to know that same day service isn't available. It costs $10 for regular processing or $20 for regular processing a hard copy in addition to a fax. When doing an expedited order, only one fee needs requires payment no matter how many certificates are ordered. The payment options are money orders, check, or MasterCard and Visa for online orders. Make money orders or checks to the Department of Financial Institutions.

How To Request an Electronic Copy

To obtain an electronic copy, you'll need to head to the Department of Financial Institution's website and find the business search function. After that, put your business name in the field and search the records. A list displays of all the names that match your search. Look through the names until you find the one you want to request a certificate for. On the next page, click the link for requesting a certificate of status, and choose the electronic option to get unlimited copies printed out right away.

Make sure you met all the requirements displayed on the next page and hit "click here" to begin the certificate request. Put in your contact information and continue to the next page. After making sure all the information is correct, go to the cart to pay the filing fee of $10. Hit "submit payment" to finalize the request and have access to the document.

How To Request a Printed Copy

To request a copy that's printed, you'll go to the same page as above and type in your business name to find it in the search records. Once you find the business, click on it and request the certificate. Choose the option to have it faxed or printed and mailed. You can also have it available for pickup. You'll then click the option to begin an order and type in your business name as well as how many copies you need.

Make sure your contact information is correct and pick which delivery option you want. After that, you'll put in your credit card information and hit "submit payment" to have the request be finalized.

“Good Standing” Opinions Issued

Lenders often ask the local council to give their good standing opinion so they can have basic assurances about the lender when it comes to the borrower's status in the state. A normal formulation for the opinion for limited liability companies or corporations might state, "Borrower is a [corporation] [limited liability company] validly existing and in good standing under the laws of ____________." There is normally a local council that's in charge of these requests and will ask for the current standing certificate for the borrower from a government agency such as the Secretary of State.

Once you get a receipt for a certificate that says the entity was organized or incorporated and is in good standing, the council will then give their opinion based on the good standing certificate. In the state of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) doesn't issue good standing certificates but rather certificates of status. It will include the entity's organization, qualification, or incorporation in Wisconsin and other important matters related to the organizational status. This includes information like the company has met its annual reporting requirements. It also says if the company has attempted to file articles of dissolution at some point.

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