Skip to main content
articles of incorporation

articles of incorporation

1 8.3
A legal document filed with the state that creates a company
  • noun
  • /ˈɑrtɪkəlz əv ˌɪnkɔːrpəˈreɪʃən/
  • Formal
translation icon : estatutos de constitución
  • The company's articles of incorporation specify the roles and responsibilities of its board members.
  • file articles of incorporation

Examples

  • Articles of incorporation for a new Act 196 transit authority, called The Washtenaw Ride, were filed with the state last week, on Oct. 3, 2012.

    Blog text (8)
  • We just need to see the partnership agreements and the original articles of incorporation.

    Blog text (12)
  • The articles of incorporation lay out the initial board composition and how board members are to be selected.

    Blog text (8)
  • We also found the articles of incorporation which is public and it has Thunder Labs LLC.

  • AATA staff endured many sessions before the Ann Arbor City Council and the Board of Commissioners, and finally got their Articles of Incorporation approved.

    Blog text (18)
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art's articles of incorporation outline a museum that will "provide instruction and maintain courses of lectures upon art" and that would serve "the best interests of mechanics, manufacturers, and artisans."

    Academic text (1999)
  • Through the articles of incorporation and the stipulations of the FSA loan, they worked the land independent of the larger Pembroke Farms and direct federal inclusion, and were left to engage in any activities that they saw fit in the operation of their farms.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Seven months later, in December 1839, eighty-five charter members petitioned the Georgia General Assembly for articles of incorporation, forging a private-public partnership with the State of Georgia that continues to this day.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The lawyers reviewed the articles of incorporation to ensure all necessary information was included.

  • Before opening the business, we had to file our articles of incorporation with the state government.

Synonyms

charter
vsarticles of incorporation
  • Formal
253 4.9

An official document that creates an organization and sets its rights and purpose

focuses on statutory filing and listing basic corporate information rather than broad rights
certificate of incorporation
vsarticles of incorporation
  • Formal
1 6.8

An official paper from the government that shows a company is legally formed

is a filed founding document that states the company's basic legal details

Antonyms

dissolution
  • Formal
20 6.8

The official ending of a group like a partnership or parliament

1 7.5

Breaking up an organized group like a band or army

Surface Forms

Morphology

article + of + incorporation

The meaning 'a legal document establishing a corporation' is directly built from 'articles' (numbered sections or clauses) combined with 'of incorporation' (relating to the process of forming a corporation), so the overall sense follows straightforward compositional logic. Although it is a domain-specific legal term, the noun + of + noun structure is transparent and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Articles of incorporation comes from a simple image: articles are the written rules or papers, and incorporation means giving a company its own legal 'body' or life. So these are the papers that officially 'create' a company and set its basic rules.