It has come to my attention, once again, that numerous small businesses are receiving correspondence from Corporate Compliance in their state. Operating under the guise of a government agency, a private business is distributing very official looking documents to the registered agents of small corporations claiming a need to file annual meeting minutes in order to remain in compliance with corporation statutes.

Attention folks: Such filing of annual meeting minutes is not an official requirement, and Corporate Compliance is not a governmental agency! They are simply hoping that they can trick as many small business owners as possible into believing that they need to do this filing, which of course requires the remittance of a hefty filing fee that is to be made payable to their company. Please be diligent in reading the small print in any mailing that you are not positive is from an official government agency. On the aforementioned mailings there should be a tiny disclaimer somewhere that mentions that they do not represent any government agency.

Now I’ve heard of this scam before but it had slipped my mind until a client recently phoned to inquire about its legitimacy. After doing some quick research on the web I’ve found from many other sources that these notices come under the ruse of a variety of agencies, including:

• (Enter Your state Here) Corporation Compliance
• Corporation Compliance Recorder
• Minutes and Compliance Affairs
• Compliance Annual Minutes Board

So please, I implore you, if you receive any such mailings requesting annual filings be sure to check for an official state seal, that the notice clearly states it is from the Secretary of State or Division of Corporations in your state. While there are annual filings required of corporations, these filings do not typically require submission of minutes and carry a minimal filing fee. If you have any question as to what annual filings are required for your corporation to remain in compliance don’t hesitate to check with an expert.