How to start your business
Learn how to get started with Atlas.
To start a business using Stripe Atlas, you need to provide information about your company, founders, ownership, and company officers. Atlas provides legal information and self-serve tools that assist you in providing this information, filling out template documents, and filing these with the appropriate government offices. Atlas isn’t a law firm and doesn’t provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. Using Atlas isn’t a substitute for individual advice from qualified legal, tax, or accounting professionals.
Atlas is appropriate for most founders, but not all. For example, if you’re contributing intellectual property (IP) to your company, Atlas’ use of a default, industry standard valuation might not accurately reflect the value of your IP. After you submit your information, Atlas fills out template entity formation documents. Double-check that the information you provided is accurate before submitting your Atlas application, because you likely need to work with a lawyer to make changes after your submission.
We charge 500 USD for company incorporation and then 100 USD annually each year to be your registered agent. We won’t charge you if you don’t submit, and we’ll refund your fee if we’re not able to support your business. Read more about Stripe’s restricted businesses.
Note
Create an account to start your company with Stripe Atlas.
Information submission 
Review the following table and submit the required information:
| What we need | What to provide |
|---|---|
| Company structure | Select the type of entity structure that is right for you. Stripe Atlas supports forming Delaware C Corporations, Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs), and C Corporation subsidiaries. |
Company name | Enter a legal name for your company. The Atlas application will check if a name is available in the State of Delaware, but you can also check if a name is available on Delaware’s website. If you’re creating the new company as a subsidiary of an existing company, you also need to provide the following information about the existing parent company:
|
| Company description | Provide a few sentences to describe your company. We review this description to make sure that we can support your business. |
| (Optional) Company website | Provide a website or social media profile for your business. While this is optional, it helps us process your company more quickly. |
| Company address | If you don’t have an official company address yet, you can use a virtual or home address. |
| Company US phone number | You aren’t required to provide a company phone number to use Atlas. However, providing a phone number can expedite receiving your tax ID, which you need before you can accept payments through Stripe. We never call you for marketing purposes. |
Founders | We need to know a bit about you and any co-founders:
|
| Ownership | Enter in the percentage of the company each founder owns (founder split) and reserve an equity pool for your team if you choose. |
Roles and officers | Choose your company’s role and officers:
|
| Tax ID (Employer Identification Number or EIN) | Choose one of two ways to get your company’s tax ID (EIN) from the IRS: Standard (available to everyone) or Expedited (limited). |
Receive your Tax ID from the IRS
Learn more about the differences between standard and expedited processes when choosing to get your company’s Tax ID:
- Standard (available to everyone): 10–20 business days after incorporation.
- Expedited (limited): 1–2 business days after incorporation for no additional cost. Available if the account opener provides a US Social Security number (SSN), a US company address, and a US phone number.
We make a few assumptions when we submit your company’s EIN application to the IRS. We assume your company doesn’t:
- Have or expect to have any employees who will receive a Form W-2 in the next 12 months.
- Own a highway motor vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more.
- Need to file Form 720 (Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return).
- Involve gambling or wagering.
- Sell or manufacture alcohol, tobacco, or firearms.
If any of the above assumptions are incorrect, you can simply file applicable employment taxes and/or excise taxes for your company.
How we use your information
Stripe uses your information to generate the legal documents necessary to form your company in Delaware, get an EIN from the IRS, and file your 83(b) election. We also review your details to confirm that we can support your business. The Stripe Atlas Agreement and the Stripe Privacy Policy give more details about the information we collect and how we use that information.
After you sign your documents
After you sign your documents and submit the form, we review your information to make sure we have everything we need to form your company and to check that we can support your business within 1 business day. We might ask you clarifying questions or request additional details regarding your company. We’ll send you an email after you complete these steps. You can also track your approval progress in the Dashboard.
Company formation
We form your company after you submit the necessary information and we review it.
Company documents
After Stripe forms your company, you can view your documents in the Company page in the Dashboard. The available documents depend on whether you’re forming a C Corporation or an LLC.
How we get your tax ID (EIN)
After incorporation, we use your Form SS-4 to request an EIN for your company from the IRS. You also complete Form 8821, which allows us to call the IRS on your behalf to get your company’s EIN as fast as possible.
If you have a Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), Stripe Atlas can request an EIN on your company’s behalf through an online, expedited process that takes 1–2 business days. If you don’t have a SSN or ITIN, it generally takes 10–20 business days to receive your company’s EIN in your Dashboard and 6–8 weeks (or longer) to receive it by physical mail. After your company has its EIN, your company can activate Stripe payments, open a business banking account, and file US tax returns.
Note
To get an IRS tax ID using Stripe Atlas, begin by creating an account.
Registered agent service
Delaware requires that companies have a registered agent to receive official notices and maintain good standing. A registered agent is included as part of the initial 500 USD setup fee, and is renewed automatically each year thereafter for 100 USD. Your registered agent might contact you directly to share legal notices and communications from Delaware with you. Your registered agent address isn’t a general purpose mail-forwarding address for your company and shouldn’t be listed as a company address. You can separately use a virtual address service to receive general mail and for customer contact.