COVID-19 Updates from the Secretary of State (Week of March 23rd)

Submitted by UCS on March 23, 2020

This page will be updated periodically with the latest news and updates. Updated as of March 23, 2020.

As long as the Secretary of State offices are open, United Corporate Services will remain open.

Alabama: Open with limited staff and extended processing delays.

Arizona: The Arizona Secretary of State’s office will be closed to the public beginning Monday March 23, 2020 until further notice. However, there will be a drop box to leave search and filing requests along with other services. Expect turnaround times to be approximately 2 business days slower than normal.

Arkansas: Effective beginning today, March 13th, the secretary of state’s office will not accept walk-in visitors to their Business & Commercial Services offices in Little Rock and Fayetteville. This restriction will remain in place until further notice. This means paper records cannot be filed across the counter and it is unclear whether mail delivery will be permitted.

California: Effective March 20th, the Secretary of State is closed to the public. Online services and mail-in filings are encouraged. As of March 20th, the Secretary of State will continue to have a rotating staff in the office at any given time. They have also set up a Dropbox for business entities and Apostilles that can be utilized by service companies. Regular counter drop offs will be deemed received at 5:00 p.m. on the date dropped off and processed on a first in, first out basis with focus on business registrations and Apostilles.

Connecticut: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available.

Colorado: Online service remains available.
 
District of Columbia: Effective March 20th, the DRCA is closed. Online access is limited. Note: Customers filing 2020 biennial reports between April 2nd and June 1st will not incur the late filing fee. The same is true for trade name renewals. Any business licenses, professional/occupational licenses, vending licenses, etc. that expire during the declared emergency will be considered valid, and people will have until 45 days after the declared emergency is over to renew their licenses.

Delaware: In-person access to the Division of Corporations will be by appointment only. Note: United Corporate Service can assist with filings and retrievals.

Federal: The CDC has posted Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers online at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html

Florida: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available. Although expedited service is an option, expect delays.

Georgia: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available. Although expedited service is an option, expect delays.

Guam: The Department of Revenue and Taxation is closed for a minimum of 14 days as of March 15th. At this time there will be corporate filings or retrieval requests processed.

Hawaii: The Business Services and Bureau of Conveyances (UCC) departments are closed. Staff is working remotely and online service is available. Expect significant delays for processing mail-in and faxed requests.

Idaho: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available.

Illinois: As of March 17th, the Secretary of State office is closed and will not be processing any requests until at least 3/31.

IOWA: The Secretary of State is closing allowing no walk-in traffic from March 18 – 27. Filers are encouraged to use online filing or email to submit.

Indiana: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available.

Kansas: The Secretary of State’s office will be closed to the public and operating with limited staff beginning Monday, March 23, 2020. A secure onsite drop box will be available to submit business documents.

Kentucky: Effective March 17th, public access to all government agencies will be closed to walk in services. This includes the Secretary of State’s office in the capitol building. However, Kentucky offices are currently still operational and will accept request by email, fax and online.

Louisiana: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available.

Maine: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available.

Maryland: The Secretary of State is closed to the public. Charter transactions and all UCC transactions be processed within a few business days. All mailed-in filings are going to take significantly longer to process, although they don’t have a good estimate of the delayed turnaround time right now.

Maine: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available.

Massachusetts: Open with limited staff and extended processing delays.

Michigan: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online service remains available.

Minnesota: The Secretary of State is expanding their telework to full time while some staff are electing to stay in office. Effective, March 18th, there will be no walk-in service and office phone hours are reduced to 9am to 1pm.

Mississippi: Secretary of State’s Office will be closed to the general public until further notice, effective at 2 p.m. on March 17, 2020. Some filings can be processed online.

Montana: Open with limited staff and extended processing delays.

Nebraska: Walk-In service has been suspended. Mail-in or submission using the online systems, if available.

Nevada: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online filing is available.

New Hampshire: The Secretary of State remains open as of March 18th.

New Mexico: Same Day (waiting) service has been suspended until further notice. All in-person transactions without an appointment have also been suspended.

New Jersey: Walk-In service has been suspended. Mail-in or submission using the online systems, if available.

New York: Effective March 23rd, all walk in services are suspended until further notice. Note: United Corporate Service is able to assist with filings and retrievals. Expect delays in receiving your evidence when submitting filings using 24-Hour service. Only Same-day and 2-Hour expedite service is available for receiving confirmation of filing the day of submission. Cut-off times for Same Day service is 11:30am and 2:00pm for 2-Hour service. Contact your Client Representative with any questions.

New York Service of Process: Effective March 23rd, the Department of State will not accept in person legal process served on the Department of State as statutory agent of a corporation or other business entity. Please note that Executive Order 202.8 tolls various statutes of limitations related to actions in New York State. For urgent service of process issues, please call (518) 473-2492 so that arrangements can be made to effectuate service.

North Carolina: Effective March 20th at 4pm, all walk-in service will be suspended. Online filing option is available.

Ohio: Walk-In service has been suspended. Mail-in or submission using the online systems, if available.

Oklahoma: Walk-In service has been suspended. Mail-in or submission using the online systems, if available.

Oregon: Walk-In service has been suspended. Limited Online service is available.

Pennsylvania: Walk-In and expedited services have been suspended. As of March 17th, government offices are closed for the next 14 days. Online services remain available.

Puerto Rico: Walk-in and expedited services have been suspended. Mail-in service or submission using the online system, if available.

Rhode Island: The Business Services Division has announced staff will be available Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and that filings that cannot be processed online can be mailed or submitted by using their newly installed Dropbox.

South Carolina: Walk-In service has been suspended. Limited Online service is available.

South Dakota: The Business Office will be closed to the public until Monday, March 30th. Mail-in or submission using the online systems, if available.

Tennessee: Walk-In service has been suspended. Limited Online service is available.

Texas: Effective March 18th, all walk-in service was suspended. Limited Online service is available.

Utah: Walk-In service has been suspended. Limited Online service is available.

Vermont: Staff will serve the public by phone and email and are available during normal business hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Virginia: In-person visits to SCC offices are temporarily suspended unless by advance appointment or for scheduled hearings. If you must make filings or other deliveries, drop offs are permitted. The processing of such may be delayed.

Washington: All walk-in service has been suspended. Limited Online service is available.

West Virginia: All walk-in service has been suspended. Limited Online service is available.

Wyoming: Beginning March 23, 2020, all walk-in service has been suspended. Staff will still be available to process requests received by mail or by submitting requests using the UCS drop box.