How do I issue stock?

There are two ways to issue stock. The traditional way is to get paper stock certificates printed and have an appropriate corporate official sign and deliver the certificates identifying the class and number of shares being issued to each shareholder. The transfer is then registered in the corporation’s records. Alternatively, the corporation may adopt a system of recording, transferring, and registering its shares electronically, without the issuance of actual paper certificates to the shareholders. Either way is legally acceptable, but it is important that records of all stock transactions be scrupulously maintained by the corporation, both to avoid disputes among shareholders as to stock ownership and to lessen the possibility that a court may “pierce the corporate veil” to hold shareholders personally liable for corporate obligations. See Failure to Issue Stock Certificates Is a Crushing Blow to Liability Protection.