Business 101

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Lepplady

Chillin' since 2006
Nov 30, 2006
12,498
65,639
Red Stick
I've got some business questions, and there are some pretty smart cookies around here. So let's see if anybody more familiar with business than I am knows the answers.

Can an LLC company advertise itself as an LLC before the paperwork goes through and it appears on the Secretary of State's searchable tax entity database? Or is that false advertising because it doesn't exist as an LLC yet?

How long does it take in general for LLC paperwork to be approved and finalized after it's filed? Weeks? Months?

Will the IRS give a tax ID to a corporation before the paperwork is finalized?

Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks!
 

DiO'Bolic

Not completely obtuse
Nov 14, 2013
22,864
129,998
Poconos, PA
The best bit of advice I can give you is it’s best to talk to a CPA and a Attorney specializing in businesses, as states have different rules.

As to using the name before the paperwork goes through might be problematic as an existing company may already have rights to the name you wish to advertise unless it is something like your name (see below).

A good read: Frequently Asked Questions About Forming an LLC
 

Lepplady

Chillin' since 2006
Nov 30, 2006
12,498
65,639
Red Stick
I'm not asking on my own behalf. There's a dodgy publisher out there that's claiming to be an LLC even though there's no record on her state's Secretary of State searchable taxable business database, and she's saying that the fact that she's got a tax ID proves she's an LLC even though there's no legal trace of her company. If I'm not mistaken, anybody can get a tax ID, so that doesn't prove anything.
I'm not sure, though. That's why I'm asking.
 

blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
80,755
195,461
Atlanta GA
I've got some business questions, and there are some pretty smart cookies around here. So let's see if anybody more familiar with business than I am knows the answers.

Can an LLC company advertise itself as an LLC before the paperwork goes through and it appears on the Secretary of State's searchable tax entity database? Or is that false advertising because it doesn't exist as an LLC yet?

How long does it take in general for LLC paperwork to be approved and finalized after it's filed? Weeks? Months?

Will the IRS give a tax ID to a corporation before the paperwork is finalized?

Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks!
Maybe. I hope I've been of some help.

I think things like this vary from state to state, with the possible exception of your first and last questions. I assume it is against the law to advertise as an LLC prior to paperwork being finalized, and I assume one would not hope to receive a tax ID until then, as well.
 
Last edited:

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2014
9,724
53,642
Colorado
This is personal advice, not legal advice, because I'm not qualified to give legal advice.

From my personal (not legal) understanding, an S corp, a C corp, a 501(c)(3) corp, a 501(c)(6) corp, an LLC, an LLC, an LLP, and other various corporate entities are legal persons that come about through state statute. Generally, those entities come into being when a particular state's Secretary of State's office recognizes their existence. So until that happens, it would be my personal (i.e., not legal) understanding that they do not yet exist and it would be inaccurate or improper to say they do.

An LLC, or limited liability corporation, is a specific type of entity that specific state statutes allow. If one claims the LLC mantle, then one needs to show that they have followed state law in establishing an LLC. Generally, that would mean some type of operating agreement filed with the state at the very least. If you haven't followed the rules, and the state doesn't recognize that legal person, then that legal person doesn't exist. It's a phantom with a tax ID number. Again, that would be my personal (not legal) understanding.

I can't remember the protocol when I've filed for an EIN (tax ID), but I don't know that I had to file articles of incorporation or an operating agreement or any such thing. I said, "Gimme a number!" and the IRS said, "Ah, another taxpayer! Okay!" So just because the IRS issues a number doesn't mean that the entity legal exists. Again, my personal understanding.

I'd be wary of anyone who plays so loose and fast and glibly with the rules.
 

blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
80,755
195,461
Atlanta GA
I'm not asking on my own behalf. There's a dodgy publisher out there that's claiming to be an LLC even though there's no record on her state's Secretary of State searchable taxable business database, and she's saying that the fact that she's got a tax ID proves she's an LLC even though there's no legal trace of her company. If I'm not mistaken, anybody can get a tax ID, so that doesn't prove anything.
I'm not sure, though. That's why I'm asking.
It sounds a bit of a gamble to me to do any business with her since your research so far doesn't show her legal existence. I'd ask the Secretary of State's office, or whichever office the SOS says is the appropriate one to ask, what to do, and in so doing you might expose a fraud and protect someone more gullible.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
I'm not asking on my own behalf. There's a dodgy publisher out there that's claiming to be an LLC even though there's no record on her state's Secretary of State searchable taxable business database, and she's saying that the fact that she's got a tax ID proves she's an LLC even though there's no legal trace of her company. If I'm not mistaken, anybody can get a tax ID, so that doesn't prove anything.
I'm not sure, though. That's why I'm asking.

I've got a tax ID number and I'm a sole proprietor...also called an Employer Identification Number. I imagine anyone, any business who employs has one, and assume that the number is one way to track both federal and state unemployment taxes and although I've changed my business name several times over the course of the last twenty-five years, my FEIN has remained the same. Once a duck, always a duck. Seems like a silly claim to make...that because one has a tax ID one is a LLC. What is it? What is the ID? Mine is a number that begins with 38 followed by a dash...38- followed by seven more digits. Ask for the number. I've had help...from people who know stuff...whenever I've filed papers and whatnots. No clue otherwise. I wonder if, in my case...the "38" indicates state...as our social security numbers reflect residency when the application for that number was made...or general area of the country.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
business101.jpg
...a logo for your Thread...
 

DiO'Bolic

Not completely obtuse
Nov 14, 2013
22,864
129,998
Poconos, PA
I'm not asking on my own behalf. There's a dodgy publisher out there that's claiming to be an LLC even though there's no record on her state's Secretary of State searchable taxable business database, and she's saying that the fact that she's got a tax ID proves she's an LLC even though there's no legal trace of her company. If I'm not mistaken, anybody can get a tax ID, so that doesn't prove anything.
I'm not sure, though. That's why I'm asking.
Not sure about it, but the person using “LLC” in their business name with no record legitimate record of it, would only get in trouble if someone reported them. And they take the chance of having someone else register that name, and then receiving a cease and desist order. I guess an individual can report them claiming their use of “LLC” is a form of misrepresentation to a consumer, because utilizing “LLC” provides the consumer with a level of confidence that the business is legitimate (but I don’t know for sure). A competitor can also report them in hopes of doing harm to their operation and perhaps eliminating the competition, I guess. A call to your state government to obtain information on the subject matter would probably be the first step I'd take if I felt strongly that they were doing something detrimental.