Finding Your Articles of Organization

File this one under “Frequently Asked Questions.” Here is the scenario: You remember paying Wisconsin a fee to create your LLC years ago – you know it exists – but other than that, you don’t really know where any of your documentation is. Now, you want to open a bank account for your Company and the bank is asking for the “Articles of Organization” and you’re like….”what?”

What are the Articles of Organization?

The Articles of Organization is the one piece of paper that is filed with the State of Wisconsin to create your LLC. In other words, it’s the “official” document that the State has to prove your LLC legally exists in the State (and therefore it’s the document the Bank wants to see).

It is exceedingly simple and contains cursory information about the Company like: 1) The name of the Registered Agent; 2) the location of the Registered Office; 3) The Name of the Company; 4) If the Company is “Member” or “Manager” managed and; 5) The name of the Organizer.

How Do You Create\Find the Articles of Organization If the Bank Asks?

If you created your LLC online by going to the WDFI website, your Articles of Organization were created automatically when you paid your fee to the State. If you filed the Articles of Organization on paper using the form here, you created the document yourself and filed it manually. The bottom line though: if your LLC exists in the State of Wisconsin, then the Articles of Organization already exist.

Regardless of your method of filing, the WDFI will send you an e-mail with a link to a copy of the “FILED” Articles of Organization, once the information you submitted is reviewed and accepted by the State. Specifically, the Articles of Organization that say “FILED” on them are the only ones that count, and the only ones that the Bank wants to see. Therefore, all you need to do if you lose your original copy of the Articles, is to search your e-mail for “DFICorporations” or “Articles of Organization” then click the link, print out your Articles, and you’re good to go.

But you’re thinking – “I created this company YEARS ago, Collin – that link in that e-mail is long gone!” NOT SO FAST! The big secret is the link to your Articles of Organization in that e-mail…..is live forever. (Or at least until the DFI figures it out).

**Note: This is a tip only. If you’ve made revisions to your Articles of Organization – or re-stated it – this method may not work for you or the document displayed at the link may be inaccurate. You can always order a copy of your Articles from the WDFI to avoid potential issues.**