The necessary steps for the organization of a corporation are regulated by statute in each State. There is more or less difference between the different statutory provisions, as can be seen by the study of the extracts from the different statutes collected in the eighth chapter of this subject. A certain general similarity, however, is to be observed in the requirements for incorporation in all of the states.

Three or more persons are everywhere required as incorporators. In some states one or more of them must be a citizen of the State where the incorporation is being effected. Any natural person capable of contracting may be an incorporator. Partnerships or corporations cannot be original subscribers to the stock of a new corporation.

The general requirements on this subject are thus summed up, by Judge Elliott in his work on Private Corporations:

"General statutes authorizing the formation of business corporations usually provide, in substance, that the persons purporting to form the corporation, not less than a designated number, shall sign and acknowledge an instrument called the Articles of Incorporation, setting forth the name of the corporation, the general nature of the business, and the principal place of transacting the same, the time of commencement and the period of continuance of the corporation, the amount of capital stock and how to be paid in, the highest amount of indebtedness or liability to which the corporation shall be subject, the names and places of residence of the incorporators, the number and amount of the shares of the capital stock, the names of the first board of directors, and in what officers or persons the management of the affairs of the corporation shall be vested. Such articles being published for a certain period, filed in the office of the secretary of state, and in certain offices of record, a certificate of incorporation is issued by the secretary of state reciting that the provisions of the statute have been complied with, and that the parties are properly incorporated. In many states different statutes are enacted for the organization and regulation of different kinds of incorporations, such as railway, insurance, banking and manufacturing companies, and corporations with or without the power of eminent domain." A substantial compliance with all the terms of a general incorporation law is essential to the validity of any corporation created by such law, but a noncompliance with provisions merely directory will not affect the legality of a corporation.