TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 9, 2022

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett is warning business owners about a scam incorrectly implying they need a Certificate of Good Standing, Chattanoogan.com reports. Hargett said a deceptive mailer from a company called Business Document Center asks business owners to pay $87.25 for the certificate. That fee is four times more than what the Secretary of State’s office charges for an equivalent document known as a Certificate of Existence. “These mailers imply that businesses must have a Certificate of Good Standing to operate in Tennessee,” Hargett said. “A Certificate of Good Standing is not even something that our office offers. What is called a Certificate of Good Standing in some other states is a Certificate of Existence in Tennessee, and neither are necessary to do business in our great state.”