I’m the president and sole shareholder of my corporation. Do I really have to issue myself stock?

Yes, stock should be issued to every shareholder, no matter the size of the corporation. In a way, it is even more important that you issue yourself stock if you are the sole shareholder. Protection of personal assets is a perfectly legitimate legal reason for incorporating your business, even if you are the only shareholder. But that protection can be lost if, after incorporation, you don’t treat your business as being owned by the corporation rather than by you individually. One of the easiest things you can do to show that you are respecting the corporate form in a one-person corporation is to cause the corporation to issue stock evidencing your shareholding interest in the corporation, so why skip that step and put your personal assets unnecessarily at risk? For more information, see Failure to Issue Stock Certificates Is a Crushing Blow to Liability Protection.