Louisiana Companies Beware Solicitation to Prepare Compliance Documents for a fee of $125

A private out of state company recently mailed official looking documents to Louisiana companies. Media reports reveal that some recipients mailed the form and $125 back to the company erroneously believing they were required to do so.  The Louisiana Secretary of State, however, has specifically disclaimed any affiliation with the mailout.

The form mailed out by the private company appears to only facilitate preparation of company meeting minutes. It does not assist with the filing of the Annual Report with the Louisiana Secretary of State. Sending the form back to the private company is not required; filing the Annual Report with the Louisiana Secretary of State is. The out of state company requires a fee of $125. The Louisiana Secretary of State charges $25 to file the Annual Report.

New procedures for filing the Annual Report with the Secretary of State

Each corporation and limited liability company must file an annual report with the Louisiana Secretary of State; failure to do so for three years can result in revocation of the company charter.

 To assist with timely filing of the annual report, the Louisiana Secretary of State mails each company Annual Report Renewal postcard. The actual report is not mailed as a matter of course, but can be obtained by calling the Secretary of State at 225.925.47094 or printing it online from the Secretary of State website. To fill out the annual report form online, you will need your charter number and renewal id, both of which are printed on the address side of the postcard.  If you do not have your postcard, you can call the Secretary of State at 225.925.4704  to obtain both numbers.

Here is the process to print your annual report, if it is due. Once you have retrieved your charter number and renewal id:  go to www.sos.louisiana.gov/renewal and enter the two numbers. If your report is not due, the website will so indicate. If the annual report is due, a form will display. You can then follow the directions to file it online or print it and mail in a hard copy. Either way the filing must be accompanied by a $25 payment.

Here are some practical pointers on filing out the annual report for companies in good standing:

• The domicile address must be a physical address, but the mailing address can be post office box.  So, if you’d prefer to receive mail from the Secretary of State at a post office box and that information does not appear on the report, then change your mailing address.
• If you want to change your registered agent, his/her signature must be notarized. If you are not changing the registered agent, a notary signature is not necessary on the form.

Best practices: review company info on Secretary of State website

This would also be a good time to review your company profile on the Louisiana Secretary of State website. Here is how you access that information: www.sos.louisiana.gov, then click on Commercial in the left column, then scroll about halfway down the page and click on “Corporations Database” highlighted within the text, then type in the name of your company. At this point, either your company profile will appear or a list of all companies with the words you typed in will appear. If the list appears, find your company and click on “Details”. A copy of your detail report can be printed by clicking on “Print Detailed Record” at the top of the profile.

Here are a few practical pointers for the profile:

• Review the status section to determine if your company is active, which is good, or if the charter has been revoked, which is not good. If the charter has been revoked, there should be a link to click for instructions and forms to reinstate the company.
• Review the Annual Report Status. If it is showing that your company is not in good standing, then click on the link given for instructions to remedy this status.