A Connecticut Certificate of Incorporation (of Existing Religious Society) is a document used to register an existing religious society as a non-profit corporation in the state of Connecticut. It is the legal document that provides the religious society with legal authority to transact business and exercise the powers of a corporation. There are two types of Connecticut Certificates of Incorporation (of Existing Religious Society): the Standard Certificate of Incorporation and the Extended Certificate of Incorporation. The Standard Certificate of Incorporation is used for most religious societies and includes the basic information needed to register the organization, such as the name, address, purpose, and members of the society. The Extended Certificate of Incorporation is used for religious societies that require additional information to be entered in the Certificate of Incorporation, such as the society’s legal bylaws, the names of officers, and the society’s governing documents. In addition to registering the religious society as a non-profit corporation in Connecticut, the Certificate of Incorporation also serves as a public record that can be used to inform the public of the existence of the religious society.