Good Standing Check
About Good Standing Check
Quick answer. A certificate of good standing, sometimes called a certificate of existence or status, is a dated document the filing office issues for a fee. The word “active” on a free search is not that certificate. Banks and other states usually want the certificate itself.
What this site is for
Good standing means the office is willing to say, as of the certificate’s date, that the entity exists and has filed what that office requires. It is not a credit opinion and not a tax clearance unless the certificate’s own sentence says so. Some states fold franchise-tax standing into the certificate. Some issue a separate tax clearance from the revenue department. Read the letterhead.
The free search can show a status that looks like good standing and still be the wrong document. If a form asks for a certificate of good standing, order the certificate. If it asks you to confirm status, the detail page may be enough. Those are different instructions.
A company that is not in good standing may need reinstatement: catch-up reports, fees, and sometimes a tax clearance, then a new certificate. Reinstatement is a filing. A screenshot of an old certificate does not reinstate anything. Franchise-tax status, in states that impose it, can block the certificate even when the corporations office shows the charter as filed.
What we will not pretend to be
Good Standing Check does not issue certificates of good standing and does not decide that a company is reinstated.
Mail and the form reach hello@goodstandingcheck.com. Ordering a certificate, filing an annual report, or changing an agent happens on the official portal, not here.