Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced today that the Department of State maintained a two-to-four-day processing time for business and charity registrations throughout 2024, down from an average of 40 days in January 2023 – an achievement that has allowed Pennsylvania businesses and nonprofits to move at the speed of business.
“The Shapiro Administration is committed to state government helping those setting up a corporation or charitable operation move through the process efficiently,” Schmidt said. “Throughout last year, we continuously processed these registrations in a matter of days, helping our entrepreneurs get to the work of contributing to the state’s economy and providing good-paying jobs for Pennsylvanians.”
The average processing time for business, charity, and trademark filings in January 2023 was 40 days. By January 2024, that average was reduced to four days, and the Department sustained that improvement despite several months in 2024 bringing a significant increase in filings over the previous year.
“Maintaining this dramatic improvement required a multipronged approach,” Schmidt said. “Key among the changes were reducing hiring times, appropriately staffing the Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations (BCCO), which handles this work, and employing hands-on managerial tactics to prevent any filing backlog from forming.”
The reduction in processing times is also due, in part, to a significant increase in the percentage of filings submitted online through the Department’s Business Filing Services portal as opposed to being filed on paper. In 2024, 89% of filings were submitted online, compared with only 54% in 2022.
“Allowing owners to file their necessary documents online drastically reduces staff time required to handle these documents, and – since owners are typing in the information themselves instead of forcing a staff member to read a handwritten paper form – it minimizes mistakes in the paperwork,” Schmidt said.
BCCO was recognized in 2024 by the International Association of Commercial Administrators for having one of the top three online filing systems for businesses in the United States based on ease of use; frequent and open stakeholder communication; and partnership in efficiently managing corporate and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) transactions.
BCCO serves as the repository for more than 2.4 million records of companies registered to do business in the Commonwealth. It also serves as the centralized filing office for Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) financial statements, and it maintains registrations and financial information on over 16,000 charities operating in Pennsylvania.
The Shapiro Administration remains committed to enhancing opportunities for business owners in Pennsylvania. Last year, the Department of State also increased opportunities for small diverse businesses to compete for state contracts and significantly cut down business licensing times, and the Commonwealth’s Department of General Services reduced the time it takes to certify a small business by 33%.
Business and charity owners can learn more about registration at the Department’s online Business Filing Services portal.
Governor Shapiro: Two Years of G-S-D
As Governor Shapiro marks two years in office, he remains focused on continuing to bring people together to build on this progress and get a lot more stuff done for Pennsylvanians. Having shown up in communities all across the Commonwealth hundreds of times in these first two years, the Governor has listened to Pennsylvanians’ priorities and pledged to keep showing up, solving problems, and delivering results.
Visit Governor Shapiro's Accomplishments website to explore the Administration’s interactive midterm report and download a detailed PDF overview of accomplishments.