Corporation/Business Entity Filings & Annual Reports

State archives collections include records from the Corporation Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. These records include corporation charters, annual reports, and filings, or "dead jackets". Portions of the Secretary of State's corporation database are available online at http://www.acesskansas.org/apps/corporations.html, which provides basic information about Kansas corporations. The following records series from the State Archives provide more detailed information.

Corporation Charters:

This series consists of microfilm editions of the ledger copies of original charters and charter amendments filed with the Secretary of State's office up to 1939. These charters are indexed. Both the index and the charters are available through interlibrary loan.

Annual Reports:

Corporation/Business Entity annual reports are available on microfilm from circa. 1868 to circa 1997. They are not available through interlibrary loan. The arrangement and content of these records varies significantly over time. The agency has used several different filing systems and periodically changes the classification categories into which corporations are placed. From 1868 to 1971 corporations were classified as Domestic (i.e. chartered in Kansas), Foreign (corporations chartered outside of Kansas), and Railroads. Beginning in 1972 classifications broadened to include Limited Partnerships, Cooperative Associations, Professional Associations, Non-Profit Corporations, and other designations. Non-profit corporations were not required to file annual reports before 1972. An attempt has been made to reconstruct the various filing systems and classification schemes found in these records for the period up to 1986.

Corporation/Business Entity annual reports for years beginning in 1987 are indexed electronically by the Office of the Secretary of State. It is necessary to retrieve the correct reel and frame number for the records of interest by telephoning the Secretary of State's office at 785-296-4564 or the reference staff of the Kansas State Historical Society at 785-272-8681, ext. -116 or -117.

These records are available to the public in our research room and patrons are welcome to visit our facility to use these records. Our reference staff can perform searches in these records upon request. Requests for corporation records are handled in the order they are received, along with all other reference questions. Typical turnaround time on most reference requests is two weeks, although requests for numerous annual reports may take longer. For information on the cost of searching annual reports please contact the reference staff at 785-272-8681, ext. -116 or -117, or submit a question electronically. For faster service, patrons may wish to visit our reading room to conduct their own research, or hire an independent researcher. A list of persons doing research for hire can be provided upon request.

Corporation/Business Entity Filings:

Often referred to as "dead jackets", state archives holdings include corporation/business entity filings only for corporations that forfeited five years ago or longer. Included in these jackets are all of the papers filed by a business entity with the Office of the Secretary of State and may include a charter application, charter, amendments, changes of resident agent, and other papers. If dissolution documents are present, they do not include the disposition of property or assets. Lists of stockholders may be present. Jackets for corporations that forfeited prior to 1976 are filed alphabetically by the last corporation name. Jackets for corporations that forfeited after 1976 are filed by corporation ID number. Corporation filings for corporations in good standing and corporations that forfeited less than five years ago are available from the Secretary of State's office (785-296-4564). For information on the cost of searching corporation filings, please consult the reference correspondence services sheet.