Doing Business With The Texas Secretary of State

A. Ministerial Duties
1.
The filing duties of the Secretary of State are ministerial and mandatory. This means that the Secretary of State cannot be enjoined from filing a document that on its face conforms to law.15
2.
The Secretary of State does not regulate the manner in which a corporation does business. The Secretary of State does not determine whether a person signing a document has the capacity claimed or whether the signature affixed to the document is, in fact, the signature of the named person.16 Unless otherwise authorized by law, the Secretary of State has no statutory or administrative authority to revoke a filing because the document contained false statements.17
B. Accessing Information
1.
The Secretary of State’s home page can be located at http://www.sos.state.tx.us. Currently, you will find all administrative rules and all of the business organization forms that have been promulgated by the Office on our web site. FAQs relating to filing issues are at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/generalfaqs.shtml, which is accessible from the side navigation bar on the Corporations Section home page.
2.
Secretary of State records are available from the web through SOSDirect. In accordance with section 405.018 of the Government Code, the Secretary of State has set a fee of $1.00 for searches over SOSDirect. SOSDirect provides subscribers with an electronic self-service business center that permits online access to filing functions and certification or copy orders. In general, SOSDirect is available twenty-four hours a day, Sunday through Saturday. Further information can be obtained from http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/sosda/index.shtml.
3.
If you are not comfortable using the SOSDirect electronic resource, requests for information or for preliminary name availability determinations may be made by telephone at (512) 463-5555
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or by e-mail at corpinfo@sos.state.tx.us. Copies or certificate requests may be placed with a person on staff by telephone at (512) 463-5578, by e-mail at corpcert@sos.state.tx.us or by faxing your written request to (512) 463-5709.
4.
The legal staff of the Corporations Section cannot provide you with legal advice. However, if you have questions relating to filing requirements, send an e-mail to corphelp@sos.state.tx.us. Alternatively, the legal staff may be reached by calling (512) 463-5586.