North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 55D. Filings, Names, and Registered Agents for Corporations, Nonprofit Corporations, and Partnerships § 55D-15. Filing duty of Secretary of State

(a) If a document delivered to the office of the Secretary of State for filing satisfies the requirements of this Chapter and of Chapter 55, 55A, 55B, 57D, or 59 of the General Statutes, the Secretary of State shall file it. Documents filed with the Secretary of State under this Chapter may be maintained by the Secretary either in their original form or in photographic, microfilm, optical disk media, or other reproduced form. The Secretary may make reproductions of documents filed under this Chapter, or under any predecessor law, by photographic, microfilm, optical disk media, or other means of reproduction, and may destroy the originals of those documents reproduced.

(b) The Secretary of State files a document by endorsing “Filed”, together with the Secretary's name and official title and the date and time of filing, on the document. After filing a document, the Secretary of State shall deliver a document copy to the person submitting the document for filing and as provided in G.S. 55D-32.

(c) If the Secretary of State refuses to file a document, the Secretary shall return it to the person submitting the document for filing within five days after the document was received, together with a written statement of the date of the refusal and a brief explanation of the reason for refusal. The Secretary of State may correct apparent errors and omissions on a document submitted for filing if authorized to make the corrections by the person submitting the document for filing.

(d) The Secretary of State's duty is to review and file documents that satisfy the requirements of this Chapter and of Chapter 55, 55A, 55B, 57D, or 59 of the General Statutes. The Secretary of State's filing or refusing to file a document does not do any of the following: