(1) The Department of State files a document by stamping or otherwise endorsing the document as “filed,” together with the Secretary of State’s official title and the date and time of receipt. After filing a document, the Department of State shall deliver an acknowledgment or certified copy of the document to the domestic or foreign limited liability company or its representative.
(2) The Department of State shall return any document the department refuses to file to the domestic or foreign limited liability company or its representative within 15 days after the document was received for filing, together with a brief, written explanation of the reason for refusal.
(3) If the applicant returns the document with corrections in accordance with the rules of the Department of State within 60 days after it was mailed to the applicant by the Department of State and if at the time of return the applicant so requests in writing, the filing date of the document shall be the filing date that would have been applied had the original document not been deficient, except as to persons who justifiably relied on the record before correction and were adversely affected thereby.
(4) The Department of State’s duty to file documents under this section is ministerial. Filing or refusing to file a document does not:(a) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document in whole or part;
(b) Relate to the correctness or incorrectness of information contained in the document;
(c) Create a presumption that the document is valid or invalid or that information contained in the document is correct or incorrect.
(5) If not otherwise provided by law and the provisions of this chapter, the Department of State shall determine, by rule, the appropriate format for, number of copies of, manner of execution of, method of electronic transmission of, and amount of and method of payment of fees for, any document placed under its jurisdiction.
