INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING
Example: _____________________________[1] will become JOHN DOE.
ARTICLE ONE
The full name of the corporation must be provided at the top of the page and in Article I,
Section 1 of the bylaws.
Field [1] - Name of Corporation
The address of the principal office and registered office must be provided in Article I,
Section 2 of the bylaws. This can be the same address.
Field [2] - Provide address of principal office and registered office.
These can be the same address.
Field [3] - City that the Principal Office is located
Field [4] - City that the Registered Office is located
ARTICLE TWO
An annual meeting date must be scheduled and set out under Article II, Section 1 with a
year for the first meeting after the organization meeting.
Field [5] - Year of first meeting after organization meeting.
ARTICLE THREE
At least one director should be provided for in Article III, Section 2.
Field [6] - Spelled out number of directors. Ex. Three
Field [7] - Number form of the number of directors. Ex. 3
ARTICLE FOUR
In Article IV, Section 1, you must name the officers, such as Chief Executive Officer (or
President), Vice-President(s) and Chief Financial Officer (or Treasurer), and/or a
Secretary ( whose duties have been combined with that of the CFO/Treasurer in the
Article 4, Section 7, below – typical Secretary duties being items a, b, c and d. ). The same
individual may hold two or more offices, except that the same person cannot be both the
Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer unless there is only one
stockholder.
Field [8] - Name officers of the corporation. You should have a Chief
Executive Officer and a Chief Financial Officer. The same
individual may hold two or more offices.
Once you have completed the Bylaws, double check all entries and then print.
You should keep these Bylaws in a safe place.
BY-LAWS
OF
__________________________
ARTICLE I. NAME AND LOCATION
SECTION 1. The name of this corporation shall be
__________________________[1] .
SECTION 2. The Principal ofce of the corporation in the State of
Washington shall be
____________________________________[2] , _____________________[3] , WA and its
initial
registered ofce in the State of Washington shall be ___________________[4] ,
Washington. The corporation may have such other ofces, either within or
without the State of Washington as the Board of Directors may designate or
as the business of the corporation may require from time to time.
ARTICLE II. SHAREHOLDERS
SECTION 1. Annual Meeting . The annual meeting of the shareholders
shall be held on
the second Tuesday of the month of December in each year, beginning with
the year _____[5] at the time designated by the Board of Directors, for the
purpose of electing Directors and for the transaction of such other business
as may come before the meeting. If the day fied for the annual meeting
shall be a legal holiday in the State of Washington, such meeting shall be
held on the neit succeeding business day. If the election of Directors shall
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 election 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 Chief Eiecutive
Ofcer at the request of the 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, provided said shareholders sign, date and
deliver to the corporate Chief Financial Ofcer one or more written demands
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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 meeting
notice required by Article II, Section 5 of these By-Laws may be conducted 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 Washington unless otherwise
prescribed by statute as the place of meeting for any annual meeting 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 Washington, unless otherwise prescribed by
statute, as the place 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 ofce of the corporation in the State of Washington.
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 siity (60) days before the date of the meeting, either
personally or by mail, by or at the direction of the Chief Eiecutive Ofcer, or
the Chief Financial Ofcer, or the ofcer or persons calling the meeting, to
each shareholder of record entitled to vote at such meeting. If mailed, such
notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States
mail, addressed to the shareholder at his address 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 Fiiing of Record Date . For
the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote at
any meeting of shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or shareholders
entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a
determination of shareholders 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 period but not to eiceed, in any case, seventy (70)
days. If the stock transfer books shall be closed for the purpose of
determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote 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 stock transfer
books, the Board of Directors may fi in advance a date as the record date
for any determination of shareholders, such date in any case to be not more
than seventy (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
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books are not closed and no record date is fied for the determination of
shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of shareholders, or
shareholders entitled to receive payment 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
shareholders has been made as provided in this section, such determination
shall apply to any adjournment thereof.
SECTION 6. Shareholders' List . After fiing a record date, the ofcer 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 shares at
such meeting, or any adjournment thereof, and said list shall be arranged by
voting group and shall show the address of and the number of shares held by
each shareholder or representative. The shareholders' list shall be available
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 the list was prepared and continuing through the meeting, at the
corporation's principal ofce or at a place identifed in the meeting notice.
Such list shall be available during the meeting and any shareholder, his
agent or attorney is entitled to inspect the list at any time during the
meeting or any adjournment thereof. The original stock transfer book shall
be prime facia evidence as to who are the shareholders entitled to eiamine
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 proiy, 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 meeting from time to time without further
notice. At such adjourned meeting in which a quorum shall be present or
represented, any business may be transacted which might have been
transacted at the meeting as originally notifed. The shareholders 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. Proiies . At all meetings of shareholders, a shareholder
may vote by proiy eiecuted in writing by the share holder or by his duly
authorized attorney-in-fact. Such proiy shall be fled with the Chief Financial
Ofcer of the corporation before or at the time of the meeting.
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.
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The afrmative 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 ofcer, agent or
proiy as the By-Laws of such corporation may preserve, or, in the absence of
such provision, as the Board of Directors of such corporation may determine.
Shares held by an administrator, eiecutor, guardian or conservatory
may be voted by him either in person or by proiy, without a transfer of such
shares into his name. Shares standing in the name of a trustee may be
voted by him, either in person or by proiy, but no trustee shall be entitled to
vote shares held by him without a transfer of such shares into his name.
Shares standing in the name of a receiver may be voted by such
receiver, and shares held by or under the control of a receiver may be voted
by such receiver without the transfer thereof into his name if authority so to
do be contained in appro priate order of the court by which such receiver was
appointed.
A shareholder whose shares are pledged shall be entitled to vote such
shares until the shares have been transferred into the name of the pledgee,
and thereafter the pledgee shall be entitled to vote the shares so
transferred.
Shares of its own stock belonging to the corporation or held by it in a
fduciary capacity shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting,
and shall not be counted in determining the total number of outstanding
shares at any given time.
SECTION 11. Informal Action by Shareholders . Unless otherwise
provided by law, any action required to be taken at a meeting of the
shareholders, or any other action which may be taken at a meeting of the
shareholders, 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 respect 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 or by
proiy, 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 giving
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.
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ARTICLE III. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SECTION 1. General Powers . The business and afairs of the
corporation shall be managed by its Board of Directors eicept as otherwise
herein provided.
SECTION 2. Number, Tenure and Qualifcations . The number of
Directors of the
corporation shall be ___________[6] ( ____[7] ). Each Director shall hold ofce
until the neit annual meeting of shareholders and until his successor shall
have been elected and qualifed. Directors may be re-elected. The Directors
need not be a resident of this state or a shareholder.
SECTION 3. Regular Meetings . A regular meeting of the Board of
Directors shall be held without other notice than this By-Law immediately
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
holding 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 Chief Eiecutive Ofcer or
any Director. The person or persons authorized to call special meetings of
the Board of Directors may fi the place for holding any special meeting of
the Board of Directors called by them.
SECTION 5. Notice . Notice of any special meeting shall be given at
least fve (5) days previously thereto by notice personally given or mailed to
each Director at his business address, or by telegram. If mailed, such notice
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,
such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when the telegram is delivered
to the telegraph 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, eicept where a Director attends a meeting for the eipress
purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting
is not lawfully called or convened, and does not thereafter vote for or assent
to action taken at the meeting.
SECTION 6. Quorum . A majority of the number of Directors fied by
Section 2 of this Article III shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business at any meeting of the Board of Directors, but if less than a majority
is present at a meeting, a majority of the Directors present may adjourn the
meeting from time to time without further notice.
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SECTION 7. Manner of Acting . The act of the majority of the Directors
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 eipenses, if any, of attendance at each
meeting of the Board of Directors and may be paid a fied sum for
attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors or a stated salary as
Director. No such payment shall preclude any Director from serving the
corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefore.
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
corporate matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the action
taken unless his dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or
unless he shall fle his written dissent to such action with the person acting
as Secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward
such dissent by registered mail to the Chief Financial Ofcer 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, may 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 fled with the corporate records refecting the action taken.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
SECTION 1. Number . The ofcers of the corporation shall be a
_________________[8] [ for example: President or CEO, one or more Vice
Presidents, a Secretary and/or a Treasurer or Chief Financial Ofcer – the
number, duties and designations of these ofcers are left to the discretion of
the Board of Directors ], each of whom shall be elected by the Board of
Directors. Such other ofcers and assistant ofcers as may be deemed
necessary may be elected or appointed by the Board of Directors.
SECTION 2. Election and Term of Ofce . The ofcers of the
corporation to be elected by the Board of Directors shall be elected annually
by the Board of Directors at the frst meeting of the Board of Directors held
after each annual meeting of the shareholders. If the election of ofcers
shall not be held at such meeting, such election shall be held as soon
thereafter as conveniently may be. Each ofcer shall hold ofce until his
successor shall have been duly elected and shall have qualifed or until he
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shall resign or shall have been removed in the manner hereinafter provided.
The initial ofcers may be elected at the frst meeting of the Board of
Directors.
SECTION 3. Removal . Any ofcer 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 ofce because of death,
resignation, removal, disqualifcation or otherwise, may be fled by the Board
of Directors for the uneipired portion of the term.
SECTION 5. Chief Eiecutive Ofcer . The Chief Eiecutive Ofcer shall
be the principal eiecutive ofcer of the corporation and, subject to the
control of the Board of Directors, shall in general supervise and control all of
the business and afairs of the corporation. He shall, when present, preside
at all meetings of the shareholders and of the Board of Directors. He may
sign certifcates for shares of the corporation, any deeds, mortgages, bonds,
contracts, or other instruments which the Board of Directors has authorized
to be eiecuted eicept in cases where the signing and eiecution thereof shall
be eipressly delegated by the Board of Directors, or by these By-Laws, to
some other ofcer or agent of the corporation, or shall be required by law to
be otherwise signed or eiecuted; and in general shall perform all duties
incident to the ofce of Chief Eiecutive Ofcer and such other duties 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 Chief Eiecutive Ofcer or in event of his death, unavailability of or
refusal to act, a Vice-President shall perform the duties of the Chief
Eiecutive Ofcer, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be
subject to all the restrictions upon the Chief Eiecutive Ofcer. A Vice-
President shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be
assigned to him by the Chief Eiecutive Ofcer or the Board of Directors.
SECTION 7. Chief Financial Ofcer . The Chief Financial Ofcer 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 afied to all documents, the eiecution 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 ofce address of each
shareholder which shall be furnished to the Chief Financial Ofcer by such
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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
and 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 accordance with the provisions
of Article V of these By-Laws; and (g) in general perform all of the duties
incident to the Ofce of Chief Financial Ofcer and such other duties as from
time to time may be assigned to him by the Chief Eiecutive Ofcer or by the
Board of Directors. If required by the Board of Directors, the Chief Financial
Ofcer 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 benefts, if
any, of the ofcers shall be fied from time to time by the Board of Directors,
and no ofcer shall be prevented from receiving such salary by reason of the
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
ofcer or ofcers, agent or agents, to enter into any contract or eiecute and
deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and
such authority may be general or confned to specifc 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
unless authorized by a resolution of the Board of Directors. Such authority
may be general or confned to specifc instances.
SECTION 3. Checks, Drafts, etc . All checks, drafts, or other orders for
the payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in
the name of the corporation shall be signed by such ofcer or ofcers, agent
or agents of the corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time
be determined 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 the
corporation in such banks, trust companies or other depositories as the
Board of Directors may select.
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ARTICLE VI. CERTIFICATES FOR SHARES AND THEIR TRANSFER
SECTION 1. Certifcates for Shares . Certifcates representing shares of
the corporation shall be in such form as shall be determined by the Board of
Directors. Such certifcates shall be signed by the Chief Eiecutive Ofcer
and by the Chief Financial Ofcer or by such other ofcers authorized by law
and by the Board of Directors so to do. All certifcates for shares shall be
consecutively numbered or otherwise identifed. 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 entered on the stock
transfer books of the corporation. All certifcates surrendered to the
corporation for transfer shall be canceled and no new certifcate shall be
issued until the former certifcate for a like number of shares shall have been
surrendered and canceled, eicept that in case of a lost, destroyed or
mutilated certifcate, a new one may be issued therefore 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 attorney duly eiecuted and fled with the Chief
Financial Ofcer of the corporation, and on surrender for cancellation of the
certifcate of such shares, and also, any transfer is subject to the limitations
set forth in the Articles of Incorporation of Incorporation, reference to which
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 fscal 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
corporation may pay dividends on its outstanding shares in the manner and
upon the terms and conditions provided by law and its Articles of
Incorporation 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 corporation
and the state of incorporation and the words "Corporate Seal."
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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 of Incorporation, a waiver 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 giving 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 Direc tors at any annual
Board of Directors meeting or at any special Board of Directors meeting
when 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 shareholders notwithstanding that these By-Laws may
also be amended or repealed by the Board of Directors.
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