Reporting companies are created (or, if a foreign company, registered to do business) in the United States by filing a document with a secretary of state or “similar office.” What government offices are “similar offices” to a secretary of state for this purpose?

A “similar office” is any office (including a department, agency, or bureau) of a governmental authority under the law of a State or Indian Tribe where or through which a domestic entity files a document to be created or a foreign entity files a document to be registered to do business in the United States. Federal agencies are not “similar offices.” Domestic entities that are created by State or Federal charter are not created by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or similar office.