Every buyer who reaches this site eventually faces the same decision: pay for an entity with an existing formation date, or form a new one from scratch and let it accumulate its own history from today forward. Neither choice is right in every situation, and this section exists to lay the two paths side by side rather than argue for one of them.
Forming new is faster, simpler, and cheaper at the outset. You choose the name, file the articles yourself in minutes in most states, and know exactly what the entity has and has not done since it is your own history from day one. Buying aged trades that simplicity for a formation date that already sits further back on the public record, along with the verification work described throughout the buying guide, the ongoing filing obligations described in the state guides, and a cost to acquire that a new filing does not carry. The honest comparison depends on what the formation date is actually being used for: if a specific counterparty’s criteria genuinely weigh entity age, an aged entity may close that gap faster than waiting it out; if the goal is simply to have a functioning corporation or LLC as quickly and cheaply as possible, forming new almost always wins.
Aged vs new works through this tradeoff in detail, with the verification steps, ongoing costs, and timeline for each path set out against each other rather than treated in isolation. Read it alongside the buying guide and the uses section before deciding, since both of those sections speak directly to whether an aged entity’s specific advantages apply to your situation or not, and neither path here is presented as a guaranteed outcome with any lender, agency, or counterparty you eventually deal with.
There is no universally correct answer, only a correct answer for a given set of facts. The comparison page is written so you can supply your own facts, your intended use, your timeline, and your tolerance for the verification work described in the buying guide, and reach a conclusion that fits your situation rather than a generic recommendation.
In this section
- Aged Corporation or New LLC? How to Decide
A shelf corporation or a new LLC? A decision matrix on formation date, filing history, credit, banking and ownership records, with the disclosure rule for each. - Shelf Corporation Glossary
Plain definitions of the terms used in the aged and shelf corporation market, from good standing and reinstatement to EIN, Paydex, nominee and domestication. - Shelf Corporation Questions, Answered
Twenty shelf corporation questions answered from primary sources, on name changes, EIN age, backdating, credit files, clean entities, foreign owners and more.