COVID-19 Updates from the Secretary of State (Week of April 13th)

Submitted by UCS on April 13, 2020

Most Secretary of State offices are closed to the public but are still offering services. Below is a running list of the status of each office. United Corporate Services is prepared to assist you with your corporate and UCC filing needs as well as document retrieval and UCC search requests. Contact your Client Service Representative or email us at info@unitedcorporate.com with question regarding procedures in a specific jurisdiction.

This page will be updated periodically with the latest news and updates. Updated as of April 13, 2020.

Alabama: Open with limited staff and extended processing delays.

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

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

California: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online services and mail-in filings are encouraged. Beginning April 20th, all 24 hour processing requests are suspended until further notice. The Secretary of State continues 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: Walk-in service has been suspended. 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 all filings and document retrievals.

Federal: The CDC has posted Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers online at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.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 no corporate filings or retrieval requests processed. See attached warning regarding a Phishing scam related to CARES Act.

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: Mail-in and Walk-in service has been suspended through April 30th. Limited Online service remains available.

IOWA: The Secretary of State is closing allowing no walk-in traffic until April 16th. Filers are encouraged to use online filing or email to submit.

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

Kansas: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online filing is available. A secure onsite drop box will be available to submit business documents.

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

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 will be processed within a few business days. Note that all filings that are mailed in are going to take significantly longer to process.

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: Online service remains available.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Pennsylvania: Walk-In and expedited services have been suspended. Mail-in or submission using the online systems.

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

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

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, May 4th. Mail-in or submission using the online systems.

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

Texas: Walk-in service has been suspended. Limited Online service is available.

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

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

Virginia: Walk-in service has been suspended. Online filing is available. If you must make filings or other deliveries, drop offs are permitted. The processing of such will 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: 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.

United Corporate Services, Inc. will continue to provide jurisdictional updates as they are received. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter to get the latest information or email us at info@unitedcorporate.com or call us at (800) 899-8648.