CA -PC -BL
SAMPLE BY-LAWS
CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL
CORPORATION
NOTE: In the Organizational Minutes, the By-Laws,
and the Annual Minutes, all provisions regarding
shareholders, officers, and directors provide the each
shareholder, each officer, and each director,
notwithstanding statutory provisions which allow
differently (See Introduction), must be licensed to
practice the subject profession in California.
Fill in your profession in the blanks provided, and make any other changes appropriate to your
situation.
Instructions
Name of Corporation
Name of Corporation
Provide address of
principal office and
registered office. These
can be the same address.
Name any date you
desire for annual
meeting.
Year of first meeting
after organization
meeting. By-Laws
BY -LAWS
OF
ARTICLE I. NAME AND LOCATION
SECTION 1. The name of this corporation shall be
SECTION 2. The Principal office of the corporation in the State of
California shall be , CA, and its
initial registered office in the State of California shall be
, California. The corporation may
have such other offices, either within or without the State of California as the
Board of Directors may designate or as the business of the corporation ma y
require from time to time. ARTICLE II. SHAREHOLDERS
SECTION 1. Annual Meeting. The annual meeting of the shareholders
shall be held on the in each year,
beginning with the year at the time designated by the Board of
Directors, for the purpose of electing Directors and for the transaction of s uch
other business as may come before the meeting. If the day fixed for t he annual
meeting shall be a legal holiday in the State of California, suc h meeting shall be
held on the next succeeding business day. If the election of Directors s hall not be
held on the day designated herein for any annual meeting of the shareholders , or at
any adjournment thereof, the Board of Directors shall cause the electi on to be held
at a special meeting of the shareholders as soon thereafter as convenient.
SECTION 2. Special Meeting. Special meetings of the shareholders , for
any purpose or purposes, unless otherwise prescribed by statute, may be called by
resolution of the Board of Directors or by the President at the request of t he
holders of not less than a majority of all the outstanding shares of the corporation
entitled to vote on any issue proposed to be considered at the meeting, prov ided
said shareholders sign, date and deliver to the corporate secretary one or more
written demands for the meeting describing the purpose or purposes for which it is
to be held. Only business within the purpose or purposes described in the m eeting
notice required by Article II, Section 5 of these By-Laws may be conduc ted at a
special shareholders meeting. In addition, such meeting may be held at any time
without call or notice upon unanimous consent of shareholders.
SECTION 3. Place of Meeting. The Board of Directors may designate
any place, either within or without the State of California unless otherwise
prescribed by statute as the place of meeting for any annual meeti ng or for any
special meeting of shareholders. A waiver of notice signed by all shareholders
entitled to vote at a meeting may designate any place, either within or without the
State of California, unless otherwise prescribed by statute, as the pla ce for the
holding of such meeting. If no designation is made, or if a special meeting be
otherwise called, the place of meeting shall be the principal office of the
corporation in the State of California.
SECTION 4. Notice of Meeting. Written or printed notice stating the
place, day and hour of the meeting shall be delivered not less than ten (10) nor
more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting, either personall y or by
mail, by or at the direction of the President, or the Secretary, or the officer or
persons calling the meeting, to each shareholder of record entitled to v ote at such
meeting. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when depos ited in
the United States mail, addressed to the shareholder at his addres s as it appears on
the stock transfer books of the corporation, with postage thereon prepaid. Notice
of a special meeting shall include a description of the purpose or purposes for
which the meeting is called.
SECTION 5. Closing of Transfer Books or Fixing of Record Date. For
the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a ny
meeting of shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or shareholders entitled to
receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination of s hare-
holders for any other proper purpose, the Board of Directors of the corporation
may provide that the stock transfer books shall be closed for a stated pe riod but
not to exceed, in any case, seventy (70) days. If the stock transfer books sha ll be
closed for the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to v ote
at a meeting of shareholders, such books shall be closed for at least ten (10) days
immediately preceding such meeting. In lieu of closing the stoc k transfer books,
the Board of Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any
determination of shareholders, such date in any case to be not more than seve nty
(70) days and, in case of a meeting of shareholders, not less than ten (10) days
prior to the date on which the particular action, requiring such determination of
shareholders, is to be taken. If the stock transfer books are not closed and no
record date is fixed for the determination of shareholders entitled to notic e of or to
vote at a meeting of shareholders, or shareholders entitled to receive pay ment of a
dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is mailed or the date on which
resolution of the Board of Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case
may be, shall be the record date for such determination of shareholders. When a
determination of shareholders entitled to vote at any meeting of shareholde rs has
been made as provided in this section, such determination shall apply to any
adjournment thereof.
SECTION 6. Shareholders' List. After fixing a record date, the officer or
agent having charge of the share ledger of the corporation shall prepare an
alphabetical list of all persons entitled to notice and to represent s hares at such
meeting, or any adjournment thereof, and said list shall be arranged by vot ing
group and shall show the address of and the number of shares held by each
shareholder or representative. The shareholders' list shall be availabl e for
inspection and copying during usual business hours by any shareholder beginning
two (2) business days after notice of the meeting is given for which t he list was
prepared and continuing through the meeting, at the corporation's principal off ice
or at a place identified in the meeting notice. Such list shall be available during
the meeting and any shareholder, his agent or attorney is entitled to ins pect the list
at any time during the meeting or any adjournment thereof. The ori ginal stock
transfer book shall be prime facia evidence as to who are the shareholders entitled
to examine such list or transfer book or to vote at any meeting of shareholders.
SECTION 7. Quorum. A majority of the outstanding shares of the
corporation entitled to vote, represented in person or by proxy, shall constitute a
quorum at a meeting of shareholders. If less than a majority of the shares are
represented at a meeting, a majority of the shares so represented may adjourn the
meet ing from time to time without further notice. At such adjourned meetin g in
which a quorum shall be present or represented, any business may be transact ed
which might have been transacted at the meeting as originally notifi ed. The share -
holders present at a duly organized meeting may continue to transact business until
adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough shareholders to leave less
than a quorum.
SECTION 8. Proxies. Proxies shall not be allowed except when held by
another shareholder of the corporation.
SECTION 9. Voting of Shares. Subject to the provisions of Section 12 of
this Article II, each outstanding share entitled to vote shall be entitled to one vote
upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of shareholders. The
affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares represented at a
shareholders' meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the
shareholders of the corporation.
SECTION 10. Voting of Share by Certain Holders. Shares standing in the
name of another corporation may be voted by such officer, agent or proxy as t he
By -Laws of such corporation may preserve, or, in the absence of such provision,
as the Board of Directors of such corporation may determine.
SECTION 11. Informal Action by Shareholders. Unless otherwise
provided by law, any action required to be taken at a m eeting of the shareholders,
or any other action which may be taken at a meeting of the shareholde rs, may be
taken without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken,
shall be signed by all of the shareholders entitled to vote with respe ct to the
subject matter thereof.
SECTION 12. Cumulative Voting. Unless otherwise provided by law, at
each election for Directors every shareholder entitled to vote, in person o r by
proxy, shall have the right to vote at such election the number of shares owned by
him for as many persons as there are Directors to be elected and for whose
election he has a right to vote, or to cumulate his votes by givi ng one candidate as
many votes as the number of such Directors multiplied by the number of his shares
shall equal, or by distributing such votes on the same principle among any number
of candidates.
ARTICLE III. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SECTION 1. General Powers. The business and affairs of the corporation
shall be managed by its Board of Directors except as otherwise herein provided.
SECTION 2. Number, Tenure and Qualifications. The number of
Directors of the corporation shall be ( ). Each Director shall hold
office until the next annual meeting of shareholders and until his successor shall
have been elected and qualified. Directors may be re-elected. Eac h Director shall
be licensed to practice in the State of Calif ornia and shall be a
shareholder of the corporation.
SECTION 3. Regular Meetings. A regular meeting of the Board of
Directors shall be held without other notice than this By-Law imme diately after,
and at the same place as the annual meeting of shareholders. The Board of
Directors may also provide, by resolution, the time and place for the holdi ng of
additional regular meetings without other notice than such resolution.
SECTION 4. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of
Directors may be called by or at the request of the President or a ny Director. The
person or persons authorized to call special meetings of the Board of Directors
may fix the place for holding any special meeting of the Board of Di rectors called
by them.
SECTION 5. Notice. Notice of any special meeting shall be given at least
five (5) days previously thereto by notice personally given or mailed to e ach
Director at his business address, or by telegram. If mailed, such not ice shall be
deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail so addressed,
with postage thereon prepaid. If notice be given by telegram, suc h notice shall be
deemed to be delivered when the telegram is delivered to the telegra ph company.
Any Director may waive notice of any meeting. The attendance of a Director at a
meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, exce pt where a
Name corporate offices.
Must have a President,
secretary and Treasurer.
If there is one
shareholder, the sole
shareholder shall be the
President and Treasurer.
If there are two
shareholders, then they Director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction
of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or conve ned, and does
not thereafter vote for or assent to action taken at the meeting.
SECTION 6. Quorum. A majority of the number of Directors fixed by
Section 2 of this Article III shall constitute a quorum for the transa ction of
business at any meeting of the Board of Directors, but if less than a m ajority is
present at a meeting, a majority of the Directors present may adj ourn the meeting
from time to time without further notice.
SECTION 7. Manner of Acting. The act of the majority of the Di rectors
present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act or the Board of
Directors.
SECTION 8. Compensation. By resolution of the Board of Directors, the
Directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the
Board of Directors and may be paid a fixed sum for attendance at each m eeting of
the Board of Directors or a stated salary as Director. No such paym ent shall
preclude any Director from serving the corporation in any other capacity and
receiving compensation therefor.
SECTION 9. Presumption of Assent. A Director of the corporation who is
present at a meeting of the Board of Directors at which action on any c orporate
matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the acti on taken unless his
dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless he sha ll file his
written dissent to such action with the person acting as Secreta ry of the meeting
before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by registered m ail to
the Secretary of the corporation immediately after the adjournment of the meeting.
Such right to dissent shall not apply to a Director who voted in favor of such
action.
SECTION 10. Informal Action by Board of Directors. Unless otherwise
provided by law, any action required to be taken at a meeting of the Directors, or
any other action which may be taken at a meeting of the Directors, m ay be taken
without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be
signed by each director, and included in the minutes or filed with the c orp orate
records reflecting the action taken.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
SECTION 1. Number. The officers of the corporation shall be a
[President, Chief Financial officer and a Secret ary-Treasurer],
each of whom shall be elected by the Board of Directors. Such other office rs and
assistant officers as may be deemed necessary may be elected or appointed by the
Board of Directors. Each officer shall be licensed to practice
in the State of California and shall be a shareholder of the corporation.
must collectively fill all
offices
.
SECTION 2. Election and Term of Office. The officers of the corporation
to be elected by the Board of Directors shall be elected annually by the Board of
Directors at the first meeting of the Board of Directors held afte r each annual
meeting of the shareholders. If the election of officers shall not be hel d at such
meeting, such election shall be held as soon thereafter as convenie ntly may be.
Each officer shall hold office until his successor shall have been duly elected and
shall have qualified or until he shall resign or shall have been rem oved in the
manner hereinafter provided. The initial officers may be elected a t the first
meeting of the Board of Directors.
SECTION 3. Removal. Any officer or agent elected or appointed by the
Board of Directors may be removed by the Board of Directors whenever in its
judgment, the best interest of the corporation would be served thereby, but such
removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so
removed.
SECTION 4. Vacancies. A vacancy in any office because of deat h,
resignation, removal, disqualification or otherwise, may be filed by the Board of
Directors for the unexpired portion of the term.
SECTION 5. President. The President shall be the principal executiv e
officer of the corporation and, subject to the control of the Board of Directors,
shall in general supervise and control all of the business and affairs of the
corporation. He shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the sharehol ders
and of the Board of Directors. He may sign certificates for shares of the
corporation, any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts, or other instruments which
the Board of Directors has authorized to be executed except in cases whe re the
signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the Board o f
Directors, or by these By-Laws, to some other officer or agent of the corporat ion,
or shall be required by law to be otherwise signed or executed; and in g eneral shall
perform all duties incident to the office of President and such other dut ies as may
be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.
SECTION 6. Vice-President. The Board of Directors may determine
when there is a need for a Vice-President or Vice-Presidents. In the absence of the
President or in event of his death, unavailability of or refusal to act, a Vice -
President shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acting , shall have
all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the P resident. A Vice-
President shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to
him by the President or the Board of Directors.
SECTION 7. Secretary-Treasurer. The Secretary-Treasurer shall: (a) keep
the minutes of the shareholders and of the Board of Directors meetings in one or
more books provided for the purpose; (b) be custodian of the corporate records
and of the seal of the corporation and see that the seal of the corporation is a ffixed
to all documents, the execution of which on behalf of the corporation under its seal
is duly authorized; (c) see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the
provisions of these By-Laws or as required by law; (d) keep a register of the post
office address of each shareholder which shall be furnished to the Secret ary by
such shareholder; (e) have general charge of the stock transfer books of the
corporation; (f) have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and
securities of the corporation, receive and give receipts for monies due a nd payable
to the corporation from any source whatsoever, and deposit all such monies in the
name of the corporation in such banks, trust companies or other depositories as
shall be selected in acco rdance with the provisions of Article V of these By-Laws;
and (g) in general perform all of the duties incident to the Office of Secretary-
Treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him by
the President or by the Board of Directors. If required by the Board of Direct ors,
the Secretary-Treasurer shall give a bond for the faithful discharge of his duties in
such sum with such surety or sureties as the Board of Directors shall determine.
SECTION 8. Salaries. The salaries, compensation and other benefi ts, if
any, of the officers shall be fixed from time to time by the Board of Directors, and
no officer shall be prevented from receiving such salary by reason of t he fact that
he is also a Director of the corporation. ARTICLE V. CONTRACTS, LOANS, CHECKS AND DEPOSITS
SECTION 1. Contracts. The Board of Directors may authorize any officer
or officers, agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute and deli ver any
instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and such authority
may be general or confined to specific instances.
SECTION 2. Loans. No loans shall be contracted on behalf of the
corporation and no evidence of indebtedness shall be issued in its name unles s
authorized by a resolution of the Board of Directors. Such authority may be
general or confined to specific instances.
SECTION 3. Checks, Drafts, etc. All checks, drafts, or other orders for
the payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued i n the
name of the corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents
of the corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time be dete rmined by
resolution of the Board of Directors.
SECTION 4. Deposits. All funds of the corporation not otherwise
employed shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of th e corporation in
such banks, trust companies or other depositories as the Board of Directors may
select. ARTICLE VI. CERTIFICATES FOR SHARES AND THEIR TRANSFER
SECTION 1. Certificates for Shares. Certificates representing shares of
the corporation shall be in such form as shall be determined by the Board of
Directors. Such certificates shall be signed by the President and by the Secretary
or by such other officers authorized by law and by the Board of Directors so t o do.
All certificates for shares shall be consecutively numbered or othe rwise identified.
The name and address of the person to whom the shares represented thereby are
issued, with the number of shares and date of issuance, shall be entere d on the
stock transfer books of the corporation. All certificates surrendered to the
corporation for transfer shall be canceled and no new certificate shall be issued
until the former certificate for a like number of shares shall have been surrendered
and canceled, except that in case of a lost, destroyed or mutilated cert ifi cate, a new
one may be issued therefor upon such terms and indemnity to the corporation as
the Board of Directors may prescribe.
SECTION 2. Transfer of Shares. Transfer of shares of the corporation
shall be made only on the stock transfer books of the corporation by the holder of
record thereof or by his legal representative, who shall furnish proper evidence of
authority to transfer, or by his attorney thereunto authorized by power of attorne y
duly executed and filed with the Secretary of the corporation, and on surrender for
cancellation of the certificate of such shares, and also, any transfer i s subject to the
limitations set forth in the Articles of Incorporation, reference to whic h is hereby
made. The person in whose name shares stand on the books of the corporation
shall be deemed by the corporation to be the owner thereof for all purposes. ARTICLE VII. FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year of the corporation shall begin on the 1st day of January and
end on the 31st day of December in each year. ARTICLE VIII. DIVIDENDS
The Board of Directors may from time to time declare, and the corporat ion
may pay dividends on its outstanding shares in the manner and upon the term s and
conditions provided by law and its Articles of Incorporation.
ARTICLE IX. SEAL
The Board of Directors shall provide a corporate seal which shall be
circular in form and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the corporati on and
the state of incorporation and the words "Corporate Seal."
ARTICLE X. WAIVER OF NOTICE
Unless otherwise provided by law, whenever any notice is required to be
given to any shareholder or Director of the corporation under the provisions of
these By-Laws or under the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation, a wai ver
thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to such notice, whether
before or after the time stated therein, shall be equivalent to the g iving of such
notice. ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be altered, amended or repealed and new By-Laws
may be adopted by a majority vote of the Board of Directors at any annual Boa rd
of Directors meeting or at any special Board of Directors meeting whe n the
proposed amendment has been set out in the notice of such meeting. These By-
Laws may also be altered, amended or repealed by a majority vote of the share -
holders notwithstanding that these By-Laws may also be amended or repe aled by
the Board of Directors. ARTICLE XII. OTHER PROVISIONS
1. All Directors, officers, and shareholders of the corporation shall be license d to
practice in the State of California.
2. Shares of stock in may be issued only to a person who is licensed to prac tice
.
3. No shareholder may enter into a voting trust, proxy, or any other arrangement
vesting another person (other than another person who is a shareholder of the
corporation) with the authority to exercise the voting power of any or a ll of his
or her shares.
4. Shares may be transferred only to a person who is licensed to practice
, to a shareholder of the corporation, or to the corporation itself.
5. The corporation, a shareholder, or another person licensed to practice
shall acquire all of the shares of a shareholder who is disqualif ied from
practicing within the time
prescribed by statute or by the
Board of California, or, if no time is so prescribed, then within a reasonable time.
6. The corporation, a shareholder, or another person licensed to practice
shall acquire all of the shares of a deceased shareholder within the time
prescribed by statute or by the
Board of California, or, if no time is so prescribed, then within a reasonable time.
7. The corporation shall at all times comply with any liability insura nce
requirements established by the Board of California.
8. The corporation shall at all times be in compliance with the laws of the State
of California, including the California Corporations Code and the California
Business and Professions Code, as well as in compliance with the rules and
regulations of the Board of California.
9. The corporation may not do or fail to do any act the doing of which or the
failure to do which would constitute unprofessional conduct under any statute,
rule or regulation now or hereafter in effect.
END BYLAWS