Tag Archive for 'central business registry'

Spread the word – Beware of business registration scams!

Published on January 27, 2012 in Corporation, Headlines and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
Peter Threlkel, Director of Corporation Division

Peter Threlkel, Director of Secretary of State Corporation Division, speaks with KATU about the scam

Thank you to KATU news for helping us get the word out about a possible Business Registration scam in the Salem area.

Our Corporations office received more than 600 calls in the last week. Corporation Director Peter Threlkel spoke with reporter Kerry Tomlinson on Friday about our efforts to educate  the public and our cooperation with the Department of Justice to help shut the down the scam.

For more information about the scam, read about the Corporate Regulatory Committee Annual Report scam and also Business Alert – Possible Deceptive Business Annual Report Notice Mailing on the Oregon Secretary of State site.

100,000 Registrations (And Counting)

Published on June 24, 2010 in Corporation. 0 Comments Tags: .

Courtesy of German Naruto

We’ve spoken many times of the Central Business Registry, which allows people wanting to start a business in Oregon start filing online. Well, we have official word that the system has recently cracked the 100,000 registration mark, quite an achievement!

But that’s not the only good news coming from the CBR front. In fact, filings are up in general, an important ray of optimism in these tough economic times.

Currently, by logging on to the Filing in Oregon website, you can complete the Corporation Division, Department of Revenue and Department of Employment sections of the registry process entirely online, on one website. In the very near future, we’re bringing the Department of Consumer and Business Services directly into the system as well.

And the great thing about the Online Business Registry is that it was designed to be expandable. The next phase of the project includes plans to expand the system even further, allowing filers to take care of local government and licensing requirements instantly, online.  Implementing this phase will make our Online Business Registry truly one-stop shopping for everyone looking to file a business in this state.

Breaking Down Silos

Published on November 18, 2009 in Corporation. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Source: debbieweil.com

We often hear that government bureaucracy is slow to respond, difficult to deal with and frustratingly opaque. One of the major problems  is that government agencies tend to be like silos; isolated and unable to effectively share information and contribute to improving the function of state government.

Back in September, we highlighted the Central Business Registry in light of our Corporation and Information Services Divisions being awarded a Digital Government Achievement Award in the Government-to-Business category. But aside from winning awards, we at the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office believe that the CBR is a tremendous example of how government agencies can create frameworks upon which they can build  projects to share information and streamline their processes.

Currently, customers can log on to the CBR and complete registration with the Oregon Corporation Division, Employment Department, and the Department of Revenue. The next phase of development will bring the Department of Consumer and Business Services into the mix, further streamlining the process.

There are a couple of state agency functions, which could benefit from a Central Business Registry framework. The licensing process, for instance, could be dramatically improved by an online registry built on the same principles as the CBR. The usefulness of such a system would span across the licensing spectrum, helping construction contractors, health care professionals and especially convenience store , restaurant, taverns owners, all of whom have a vast array of licensing needs.

Making the process more fluid for customers is just one great benefit the CBR has produced. Another is the tremendous number of hours that are saved when customers use CBR. The Secretary of State saves approximately 400 hours a month, while the Department of Revenue boasts a savings of roughly 135 hours a month in processing time. These savings translate to improved services to the State’s business customers as well as savings to the agencies involved. In looking to future applications of a CBR framework, these kinds of savings could mean huge gains in productivity across State agencies.

We will be sure to highlight new developments in the CBR as they arrive.

Online Notary Education

Published on September 30, 2009 in Corporation and Notary Public. 0 Comments Tags: , .

From processedright.com

Much like our Central Business Registry streamlined the filing process for those hoping to start up a new business, the on-line course of education for Oregon Notary Public applicants makes it easier than ever for would-be notaries to learn the requisite notary laws, rules and procedures needed to take the final notary public exam. At the completion of the online education, the exam can be completed as well, significantly streamlining the process for aspiring notaries.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Users register for the course online
  2. Users take part in the 3 hour course
  3. Once the requirement has been fulfilled, a link for the test will appear in the table of contents
  4. Users take the test

That’s it! After successful completion of the test, exam takers will receive an email with a Certificate of Education and instructions on what to do next to complete the path towards becoming a Notary Public, all that’s left is completing the application and taking care of some minor details which are outlined here, on the Corporation division’s site.

The on-line course of education is another great innovation from our Corporation division and what’s more, we now own the code and application that backs the course, which means we can expand it to other areas at the Secretary of State who want to provide online training to the public.

The Digital Government Achievement Awards

Published on September 18, 2009 in Corporation. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

The Secretary of State’s Office is a multi-faceted agency with program divisions that handle some of our State Government’s most vital tasks. However, what often goes unseen is the work that our internal divisions do in support of our program divisions. On September 1st, our Information Systems Division was awarded a Digital Government Achievement Award (DGAA) in the Government-to-business category for its development of the Central Business Registry, which has streamlined the filing process for those wishing to start a business in Oregon. The DGAA is given to an agency or department for an outstanding Web site or project at the application and infrastructure level. It is open to all government agencies the world over, so it’s safe to say that our competition was pretty fierce.

So what’s the big deal with the Central Business Registry (CBR) anyways? Well, for starters, before the development of CBR, in order to start a business in Oregon, a business registrant may have been required to register with as many as six different state agencies.  Each of these agencies has separate requirements and forms that must be completed and processed.  This process required  days or even weeks to complete, and in some cases even required the business registrant to travel to the agency to complete the transaction.

What we have now is a process that’s a bit more like “one stop shopping” for starting a business. Currently, customers can log on to the CBR and complete registration with the Oregon Corporation Division, Employment Department, and the Department of Revenue. The next phase of development will bring the Department of Consumer and Business Services into the mix, further streamlining the process.

Making the process more efficient for customers is just one great benefit the CBR has produced. Another is the tremendous number of hours that are saved when customers use CBR. The Secretary of State saves approximately 400 hours a month, while the Department of Revenue boasts a savings of roughly 135 hours a month in processing time. These savings translate to improved services to the State’s business customers as well as savings to the agencies involved.

Our ISD and Corporations divisions put a great deal of work into this project and we are very happy that their hard work and ingenuity have not gone unnoticed. If you’re looking to start a business in Oregon, go ahead and pay the CBR a visit. After all, it’s award winning.