(1) The following definitions apply for filing corporation and limited liability company annual reports on-line:

(a) "Compliance officer" is a person who works in the Secretary of State's office who is qualified to certify that an annual report meets the requirements of the law;

(b) "Registered user" is a person or entity who is registered with a private vendor to file annual reports using the on-line filing system available through internet technology;

(c) "Submitter" is a person or entity that files an annual report on-line.

(2) Fees and payment methods for on-line filing of annual reports are published on-line by the private vendor.

(3) Annual reports filed through the use of internet technology are considered to be annual reports filed on-line.

(4) The following annual reports are acceptable for on-line filing:

(a) domestic and foreign profit corporations (meet the requirements of Title 35, chapter 1, section 1104, MCA);

(b) domestic and foreign nonprofit corporations (meet the requirements of Title 35, chapter 2, section 904, MCA);

(c) domestic and foreign limited liability companies (meet the requirements of Title 35, chapter 8, section 208, MCA).

(5) An annual report may be filed electronically without the signature of the authorized agent.

(a) If an original or reproduced paper document is filed, the annual report must be signed by an authorized agent.

(6) Annual reports against the following entities are not acceptable for on-line filing:

(a) inactive corporations;

(b) inactive limited liability companies;

(c) corporations or limited liability companies that are pending renewal for term of existence.

(7) On-line filing is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

(8) On-line filing is not available for domestic corporations or domestic limited liability companies after the first business day in December, until the first business day in January. Foreign corporations and foreign limited liability companies will not be available for filing on-line after the first business day in November until the first business day in January.

(9) Submitters will be notified through the on-line application when the site is unavailable due to technology problems or system maintenance. 

(10) The following requirements must be met in order to successfully complete an on-line annual report filing:

(a) the requirements set forth under Title 35, chapter 1, section 1104 and Title 35, chapter 2, section 904, and Title 35, chapter 8, section 208, MCA.

(11) An annual report document that is successfully completed and submitted on-line will be considered filed upon receipt by the Secretary of State's office. The on-line technology application will ensure the document is properly completed prior to acceptance. The submitter will be notified by an on-line message if required fields are not properly completed. A message confirming successful completion and acceptance will appear on-line when the filing is accepted.

(12) Submitters should print and retain their acknowledgement message as proof that the on-line filing was received by the Secretary of State's office. The acknowledgement message will contain a unique filing number, filing date, and time.

(13) The on-line annual reports will be rejected if information is omitted.

(14) The submitter will be notified through the on-line site if the electronically filed annual report is rejected. If a filing is later determined to be improper the Secretary of State's office will notify the submitter via phone, fax, or e-mail notification.

(15) The date and time a successfully submitted on-line filing is considered to be effective is the date and time the document was accepted by the Secretary of State's office.