Instructions for Completing the Articles of In of a Nonprofit Religious Corporation (Form ARTS-RE) A corporation organized to operate a church or to be otherwise structured for primarily or exclusively religious purposes is a nonprofit Religious corporation. To form a Nonprofit Religious Corporation in California, you must file Articles of Incorporation with the California Secretary of State. Form ARTS-RE has been created for ease in filing, however, you can compose your own document, provided itmeets statutory requirements.Before submitting the completed form, you should consult with a private attorney for advice about your specificbusiness needs and whether additional article provisions for the corporation are needed.Important Additional Steps to Obtain Tax Exemption and Avoid Paying the Minimum $800 Annual Tax: California nonprofit corporations are not automatically exempt from paying California franchise tax or income taxeach year. Most corporations must pay a minimum tax of $800 to the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) eachyear. (California Revenue and Taxation Code section 23153.)A separate Exemption Application (Form FTB 3500) is required in order to obtain tax exempt status in California.For more information, go to https://www.ftb.ca.gov/businesses/Exempt-organizations.For information regarding FTB forms and publications visit their website at https://www.ftb.ca.gov or contact theFTB at (800) 852-5711 (from within the U.S.) or (916) 845-6500 (from outside the U.S.).Fees: Filing Fee: The fee for filing Articles of Incorporation of a Nonprofit Religious Corporation is $30.00.Faster Service Fee:- Counter and guaranteed expedite services are available only for documents submitted in person (drop off) toour Sacramento office. - Counter Drop Off: A separate, non-refundable $15.00 counter drop off fee is required if you submit inperson (drop off) your completed document at our Sacramento office. The $15.00 counter drop off fee provides priority service over documents submitted by mail. The special handling fee is not refundable whether the document is filed or rejected. - Guaranteed Expedite Drop Off: For more urgent submissions, documents can be processed within aguaranteed timeframe for a non-refundable fee instead of the counter drop off fee. For detailed information about this faster processing service through our Preclearance and Expedited Filing Services, go to www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/service-options. Copies: Upon filing, we will return one (1) plain copy of your filed document for free, and will certify the copy upon request and payment of a $5 certification fee. To obtain additional copies or certified copies of the filed document, include payment for copy fees and certification fees at the time the document is submitted. Additional copy fees are $1.00 for the first page and $0.50 for each additional page. For certified copies, there is an additional $5.00 certification fee, per document. Payment Type: Check(s) or money orders should be made payable to the Secretary of State. Do not send cash by mail. If submitting the document in person in our Sacramento office, payment also may be made by credit card (Visa or Masterard256). Processing Times: For current processing times, go to www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/processing-times. ARTS-RE Instructions (REV 0/201) 201 California Secretary of State American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com If you are not completing this form online, please type or legibly print in black or blue ink. Complete the Articles of Incorporation of a Nonprofit Religious Corporation (Form ARTS-RE) as follows: Item Instruction Tips 1. Enter the name of the proposed corporation exactly as it is to appear on the records of the California Secretary of State. There are legal limitations on what name can be used for thecorporation. For general corporation name requirementsand restrictions or for information on reserving a corporationname prior to submitting Form ARTS-RE, go towww.sos.ca.gov/business/be/name-availability.A name reservation is not required to submit FormARTS-RE. A preliminary search of corporation names already of recordcan be made online through our Business Search at BusinessSearch.sos.ca.gov. Please note: The Business Search is only a preliminary search and is not intended to serve as a formal name availability search. For information on checking or reserving a name, go to www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/name-availability. 2a. Enter the complete street address, city, state and zip code of the corporation222s initial address. The complete street address is required, including thestreet name and number, city, state and zip code.Address must be a physical address.Do not enter a P.O. Box address, an 223in care of224 address, orabbreviate the name of the city. 2b. If different from the address in Item 2a, enter the corporation222s initial mailing address. This address will be used for mailing purposes and may be aP.O. Box address or 223in care of224 an individual or entity.Do not abbreviate the name of the city. 3. The corporation must have an Agent for Service of Process. There two types of Agents that can be named: an individual (e.g. officer, director, orany other individual) who resides inCalifornia with a physical Californiastreet address; ORa registered corporate agent qualifiedwith the California Secretary of State.An Agent for Service of Process is responsible for acceptinglegal documents (e.g. service of process, lawsuits, othertypes of legal notices, etc.) on behalf of the corporation.You must provide information for either an individual OR aregistered corporate agent, not both.If using a registered corporate agent, the corporation musthave a current agent registration certificate on file with theCalifornia Secretary of State as required by Section 1505. 3a & b. If Individual Agent: Enter the name of the initial agentfor service of process and theagent222s complete California streetaddress, city and zip code.If an individual is designated as theinitial agent, complete Items 3a and3b ONLY. Do not complete Item3c.The complete street address is required, including thestreet name and number, city and zip code.Do not enter a P.O. Box address, an 223in care of224 address, orabbreviate the name of the city.Many times, a small corporation will designate an officer ordirector as the agent for service of process.The individual agent should be aware that the name and thephysical street address of the agent for service of process isa public record, open to all (as are all the addresses of thecorporation provided in filings made with the CaliforniaSecretary of State.) ARTS-RE Instructions (REV 0/201) 201 California Secretary of State American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com 3c. If Registered Corporate Agent: Enter the name of the initialregistered corporate agent exactlyas registered in California.If a registered corporate agent isdesignated as the initial agent,complete Item 3c ONLY. Do notcomplete Items 3a and 3b.Before a corporation is designated as agent for anothercorporation, that corporation must have a current agentregistration certificate on file with the California Secretary ofState as required by Section 1505 stating the address(es) ofthe registered corporate agent and the authorizedemployees that will accept service of process of legaldocuments and notices on behalf of the corporation.Advanced approval must be obtained from a registeredcorporate agent prior to designating that corporation as youragent for service of process.No California or foreign corporation may register as aCalifornia corporate agent unless the corporation currently isauthorized to engage in business in California and is in goodstanding on the records of the California Secretary of State.Provide your Registered Corporate Agent222s exact name asregistered with the California Secretary of State. To confirmthat you are providing the exact name of the RegisteredCorporate Agent, go tohttps://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/frmlist1505s.asp.A corporation cannot name itself as agent. 4. The purpose statement is required. Do not alter. 5. These additional statements must not be altered. You may enter the specific purpose of the co