How to incorporate a startup in Delaware, and what has to be in place before you do
The short answer
Filing with Delaware is the easy part, and the smallest part. A company is not really formed until four more things are done: bylaws adopted, founder stock issued with vesting, the founders' work formally assigned to the company, and a first board consent approving all of it.
Founders Form AI generates the whole set, routes it for signature and files the certificate for $19 plus state and registered agent fees — against $1,000 to $5,000 at a traditional startup firm.
What it actually takes, in order
- 1
Certificate of incorporation, filed with Delaware
- 2
Bylaws adopted
- 3
Initial board consent authorizing the stock issuance
- 4
Founder stock purchase agreements, with vesting
- 5
IP assignment from each founder to the company
- 6
An 83(b) election filed within 30 days — a one-page form that tells the IRS to tax your founder stock now, while it is worth almost nothing, instead of later when it is not
The step founders skip
The IP assignment — the document where each founder formally hands the company the code and designs they built. A company whose founders never signed one does not own its own product, and this surfaces in the first diligence request rather than at the time. It is trivial to fix on day one and expensive to fix later.
What you get
You answer a few questions. State, how many shares, how you are splitting them, what vesting you want. The full set comes back signed and filed.
You stop watching the 83(b) deadline. It is 30 days from the day your stock is issued, it cannot be extended, and we track it from the document rather than from a reminder you have to set.
From then on, everything else reads off these records. Your first hire. Your first SAFE. You never re-enter any of it.
What it costs
Traditional startup firm
$1,000–$5,000
Flat-fee incorporation packages at a boutique; more at a large firm, and considerably more when it runs hourly.
Founders Form AI
$19
One time, excluding state and registered agent fees. No attorney review on incorporation, which is why it costs $19.
Ranges from published startup legal fee guides accessed 2026-08-20.
Common questions
Do I need a lawyer to incorporate a startup?
Not strictly. Incorporation is the one part of startup legal where the document set is fully determined by a handful of choices — state, share count, founder split, vesting — and there is no judgment call hiding in it. Founders Form AI prices it at $19 and does not put an attorney on it for exactly that reason. Every workflow after incorporation depends on facts that only exist once the company does.
What is an 83(b) election and when is it due?
An 83(b) election tells the IRS to tax restricted stock at grant rather than as it vests, which for founder stock issued at a nominal price usually means almost no tax at all. It must be filed within 30 days of the date of transfer. The window is statutory and cannot be extended, so a missed election generally cannot be cured.
Delaware or my home state?
Delaware, if you intend to raise venture capital. Institutional investors expect a Delaware C-Corp because the corporate law is settled and the documents are standardized, and converting later costs more than incorporating correctly at the start. Founders Form AI serves Delaware C-Corporations only.
What usually comes next
Incorporate, and have the records right from the first day
Founders Form AI generates the whole formation set — charter, bylaws, founder stock with vesting, IP assignments, initial board consent — routes it for signature and files it. Already incorporated elsewhere? The free check tells you what your formation is missing.
- Charter filed with Delaware, bylaws adopted, board consent executed
- Founder stock issued with vesting, and IP assigned to the company
- The 83(b) window tracked from the date of transfer, not a calendar reminder
- Every workflow after this reads off these records instead of asking you again
$19 one time, excluding state and registered agent fees. Already formed? Run the free check instead — it tells you what is missing.