What Are Articles of Incorporation?
Plain-language definition. Grounded in the Corporation Formation Fees and Article Amendment Fees matrices. Not legal advice.
Short answer
Articles of incorporation are the document filed with a state to create a corporation — the corporate counterpart of an LLC's articles of organization. Incorporating means filing this document with the state and paying its filing fee; once accepted, the corporation exists and the filing is part of the permanent public record.
What filing costs — and why the corporate fee has more fine print
Among the states that charge one flat number, the fee runs from $35 (Montana) to $300 (Texas), with a median of $100 — the same broad range as LLC formation. The difference is how often the corporation fee isn't one flat number: several states scale it to the shares you authorize, Nevada bundles two required extras into a $725 minimum, and seven states charge differently depending on how you file. The per-state figures and formulas are in the Corporation Formation Fees by State matrix and its explainer.
Amending the articles
Changes to the document — a name change, a change in authorized shares — are made by filing an amendment with the state. Corporation amendment fees are tracked alongside the LLC line in the Article Amendment Fees by State matrix; unlike the LLC lines, which are flat fees, the corporate line can scale — Delaware's starts at a $214 minimum and increases with stock changes or additional pages.
Proving what was filed
When a bank, lender, or another state needs to verify the corporation's formation document — commonly during due diligence or foreign qualification — they ask for a certified copy of the articles: an official, state-certified reproduction of exactly what is on file.
Not legal advice
Required contents, share-based fee formulas, and amendment triggers are state-specific. Confirm against the state's official source (linked per row in the matrices above) before filing. For a cost-focused comparison of the two entity types' formation paths, see LLC vs. corporation formation.
See also: What are Articles of Organization? · Corporation Formation Fees — Explainer · What is a Certified Copy of Articles?
Frequently asked questions
What are articles of incorporation?
The formation document filed with a state to create a corporation. Once the state accepts it, the corporation legally exists, and the document becomes part of the permanent public record.
How are they different from articles of organization?
Articles of organization create an LLC; articles of incorporation create a corporation. They are parallel documents — one per entity type — each with its own state fee schedule.
What does it cost to file them?
Among states that charge one flat fee, from $35 (Montana) to $300 (Texas), median $100. Several states instead scale the fee to authorized shares, Nevada bundles required extras into a $725 minimum, and seven states charge differently by filing method.
Can articles of incorporation be amended?
Yes — by filing an amendment with the state. Corporation amendment fees can scale: Delaware's, for example, starts at a $214 minimum and increases with stock changes or additional pages.
Go deeper with source-backed research
Explore methodology, datasets, and related matrices cited on this page.