Cal. CORP § 5120
This is the official text of Cal. CORP § 5120, part of California’s Corporations Code — governs the formation and operation of corporations, LLCs, and partnerships, and regulates securities.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) One or more persons may form a corporation under this part by executing and filing articles of incorporation.
(b) If initial directors are named in the articles, each director named in the articles shall sign and acknowledge the articles; if initial directors are not named in the articles, the articles shall be signed by one or more persons who thereupon are the incorporators of the corporation.
(c) The corporate existence begins upon the filing of the articles and continues perpetually, unless otherwise expressly provided by law or in the articles.
(d) At the time of filing pursuant to this section, the Secretary of State shall make available the filed articles of incorporation to the Attorney General.
(e) If the corporation was created by the elected legislative body in order to exercise authority that may lawfully be delegated by the elected governing body to a private corporation or other entity, the Secretary of State shall forward a copy of the filed articles of incorporation to the Controller.
(b) If initial directors are named in the articles, each director named in the articles shall sign and acknowledge the articles; if initial directors are not named in the articles, the articles shall be signed by one or more persons who thereupon are the incorporators of the corporation.
(c) The corporate existence begins upon the filing of the articles and continues perpetually, unless otherwise expressly provided by law or in the articles.
(d) At the time of filing pursuant to this section, the Secretary of State shall make available the filed articles of incorporation to the Attorney General.
(e) If the corporation was created by the elected legislative body in order to exercise authority that may lawfully be delegated by the elected governing body to a private corporation or other entity, the Secretary of State shall forward a copy of the filed articles of incorporation to the Controller.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a business matter in California?
See all California Business lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.