SOS Entity SearchPublic registry guide
New Jersey/Certificates

Document services desk

Order the proof your next transaction will ask for.

A certificate of status, a certified charter copy, and an apostille each prove something different. Select the document that matches the receiving party’s requirement.

Certificate of status

Good standing / existence

New Jersey corporate and LP standing certificate is $25.00; LLC short-form standing certificate is $50.00 and long-form standing certificate is $100.00. Online ordering can provide electronic delivery; mailed requests take longer. A standing certificate is not a tax-clearance certificate.

Open certificate service

Certified records

Charter and filing copies

New Jersey certified copies and document requests use entity-specific DORES charges; the reviewed fee page did not establish one universal flat-plus-per-page formula. Use the Copies of Entities service for the exact document, certification, page, and delivery amount.

Ask the recipient whether it needs a plain copy, a certified copy, a long-form certificate, or a certificate of authority.

Choose the evidence

The document request should follow the transaction.

A certificate of good standing or existence typically confirms that the entity appears active or current in the state registry at the time the certificate is issued. It may be needed to open a bank account, qualify in another state, satisfy a lender, complete a merger, or support a commercial contract.

A certified copy reproduces a filed public instrument with the agency’s certification. This is the appropriate request when the receiving party needs to review the entity’s formation document, a charter amendment, a conversion, a merger, or a dissolution instrument.

Neither document should be casually described as tax clearance. A state registry certificate may not establish that the entity has paid franchise, income, employment, sales, use, local, or industry-specific taxes.

International use

Apostille path, without the guesswork.

New Jersey apostilles/authentications are handled through the Department of the Treasury/Secretary of State authentication services; start at https://www.nj.gov/treasury/revenue/apostilles.shtml. Submit a certified New Jersey record, destination-country information, and the current fee and delivery request. Verify the live 2026 turnaround.

01 · Confirm destination

Ask the receiving authority whether it requires an apostille, authentication, legalization, translation, or a recently issued certificate.

02 · Certify first

Many state authentication offices require a qualifying certified document before they can authenticate the signature or seal.

03 · Preserve the chain

Keep the original certificate, apostille, receipt, delivery record, and any translation together in the transaction file.

Before you pay for a document

  • Confirm the exact legal name and entity ID in the live public record.
  • Check whether the status is active and whether a delinquent report must be filed first.
  • Identify the required date window; some recipients will reject an older certificate.
  • Choose electronic delivery only if the recipient accepts a digital document.
  • Confirm whether the document must be certified, notarized, apostilled, or translated.

When the transaction is material, order the document directly from the designated agency or through its official system. Commercial document vendors may add a service fee for an item that the state makes available directly.