1. A foreign corporation may register its corporate name, or its corporate name with the addition of any word or abbreviation listed in section 490.401, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, if necessary for the corporate name to comply with section 490.401, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, if the name is distinguishable upon the records of the secretary of state from the corporate names that are not available under section 490.401, subsection 2.

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Terms Used In Iowa Code 490.403

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Document: means any of the following:
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Secretary: means the corporate officer to whom the board of directors has delegated responsibility under section 490. See Iowa Code 490.140
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. A foreign corporation registers its corporate name, or its corporate name with any addition permitted by subsection 1, by delivering to the secretary of state for filing an application that complies with all of the following:

 a. Sets forth that name, the state or country and date of its incorporation, and a brief description of the nature of the business which is to be conducted in this state.
 b. Is accompanied by a certificate of existence, or a document of similar import, from the state or country of incorporation.
 3. The name is registered for the applicant’s exclusive use upon the effective date of the application and for the remainder of the calendar year, unless renewed.
 4. A foreign corporation whose name registration is effective may renew it for successive years by delivering to the secretary of state for filing a renewal application, which complies with the requirements of subsection 2, between October 1 and December 31 of the preceding year. The renewal application when filed renews the registration for the following calendar year.
 5. a. A foreign corporation whose name registration is effective may thereafter do any of the following:

 (1) Register to do business as a foreign corporation under the registered name, if it complies with section 490.401, subsection 1, paragraph “b”.
 (2) Consent in writing to the use of that name by a domestic corporation thereafter incorporated under this chapter or by another foreign corporation.
 b. The registration terminates when the domestic corporation is incorporated or the foreign corporation registers to do business under that name.