Corporate Bylaws Basics

Reviewed by Rocket Lawyer On Call Attorney C. Mario Jaramillo, Esq.

When your company is organized as a corporation, many states require you to create Corporate Bylaws to set basic rules around how your business is run. Even if Bylaws are not required, it's a smart idea to put them in place so you'll have clear rules in place.

Use the Corporate Bylaws document if:

You want to define the structure of a newly-incorporated small business or non-profit organization.

Corporate Bylaws is a legal document that defines a corporation's purpose, how it will run its affairs, and the duties and responsibilities of people who own and manage it. When you incorporate, you sketch out some of these concepts in your Articles of Incorporation, but Bylaws take it a step further. 

They set out the duties and obligations of the shareholders, directors and officers. They also let you specify shareholder ownership rights, select officers and directors, plan annual meetings and the create rules around the removal of officers or directors.

Corporate Bylaws also describe how stock is issued by the corporation. By creating Bylaws, you'll clearly define how your corporation will run be and you'll set expectations for shareholders, officers and board members.

Other names for this document: Corporation Bylaws, Company Bylaws, Bylaws Template

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