How to Make a Stock Certificate (4 Steps)

Draft the wording for the front and back of the certificate. On the front side, include your company’s full legal name, the name of the person to whom you’re issuing the stock, the number of shares the certificate represents and the issue date; leave a space for the business owner or corporate officers to sign. On the back side, summarize 'fine print' legal rights and limitations. For example, explain that there is a waiting period between when an employee receives stock as part of a private company's stock option and can sell it.
Set the page orientation of an 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheet of 32-pound paper to landscape, as most stock certificates run horizontally across the page. Then set page margins as wide as possible, about 0.5 inches on all four sides. Choose the center alignment option so the certificate has an equal amount of white space on both sides. Turn on paragraph marks using the show-hide option if you need help with spacing or placement. Once you finish the first certificate, save it as a template.
Find a border using the Borders and Shading or the Clip Art feature in your word processing program, or visit websites such as PDClipart.org or FreePrintableBorders4U.com that offer free downloadable borders. Follow the Walt Disney Company’s lead and include a unique background that allows you to use a stock certificate as a branding tool. Although you most likely don’t have the option to include drawings of famous characters like the Walt Disney Company does, you can include your company logo, a picture of your facility or pictures of your products or services. Insert background images as watermarks to make sure the background doesn’t interfere with foreground text.
Select an appropriate font and font size. Stock certificates commonly use a cursive or script-style font such as Old English, Script or Calligraphy for the business name and title, and a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial for the remaining information on the front and the back. Choose no more than one or two fonts to avoid a cluttered appearance. Set the font size to about 48 points for the title and 11 points to 14 points for the body to make sure all the information is clear and readable

How to Buy Toyota Stock (8 Steps)

Research Toyota stock. Pull up a chart and most recent news articles. The ticker symbol for Toyota is TM (NYSE---TOYOTA MTR CP ADS). If you have a broker, request analyst reports. See Resources for a link to Yahoo! Finance research on Toyota.
Review the definition of an ADS. According to InvestorWords, an ADS is, 'A U.S. dollar-denominated equity share of a foreign-based company available for purchase on an American stock exchange.' ADS shares are usually issued by a bank. Essentially, these are international stock certificates.
Determine if you want a broker (face to face) or an online broker account. Do you need to be able to reach someone or do you prefer a text? If you are looking to make a trade at a discounted rate, finding an online brokerage is key. E-trade and Ameritrade are two reputable online firms.
Request an application or fill out an online application. You will be required to send or wire funds if you open the account online.
Determine how much you want to invest in Toyota at the given price. If you want to invest $100,000 and Toyota is selling for $100 you can buy 1000 shares, disregarding transaction costs. That is, divide the amount you wish to invest by the current price of the the Toyota ADS. This is an estimate of the amount of shares you will be purchasing at the current price.
Make a Buy Order. Follow the instructions to make a purchase (buy) order if online or call up a representative to help walk you through it. You will need to have the ticker symbol (TM), amount of shares you wish to purchase, the price you would like to purchase the shares at, and the length of time you would like the order to remain outstanding ('good until' date).
Buy mutual funds. Another way to buy Toyota stock without actively managing it is to buy mutual funds with Toyota ADS holdings. The largest holders of Toyota are Fidelity Diversified, Fidelity Overseas Fund, and Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund. Franklin Templeton VIP TR---Foreign Securities Fund also owns a significant share.
Request or print out the confirmation on the 'good until' date, the number of shares and the price.

How to Transfer Stock Certificates (3 Steps)

Contact your financial representative. In order to transfer a stock certificate, you must get the help of the firm holding your shares. If you intend to transfer your stock to another brokerage account, the easiest way is usually to use the Automated Customer Account Transfer Process, or ACATS. Through ACATS, transfers are usually completed in 6 to 10 business days. The main advantage of ACATS is convenience. Instead of having to call the company's transfer agent, or obtain physical stock certificates, all you have to do is provide your firm with written instructions outlining your intentions. Generally speaking, this information will include the destination account number, name of firm, name of account holder, and exact number of shares you wish to transfer. Some firms request a more formal Transfer Information Form (TIF), which requests the same information. As long as you are the valid owner of the stock, the process should begin immediately.
Sign the certificates and transfer them yourself. If you hold your own stock certificates, or for any reason do not want to go through the ACATS process, you can make the transfer yourself. Follow the instructions on the back of your stock certificate to make the transfer legal. Generally speaking, you will enter the name of the party you wish to make the transfer to, and you will sign the certificate at the bottom. You may also have to enter the name of the authorized transfer agent of the company in order to effect the change.
Monitor the transfer. Make sure that the proper amount of the correct security ends up in the right account. Although the stock transfer process is pretty straightforward, even with explicit instructions, mistakes do occur. Sometimes the name on the receiving account is not an exact match with those in the instructions and the transfer is denied, while other times certificates are simply lost. Although lost certificates are unlikely with the ACATS system, manual transfers can be at risk. A lost or misplaced certificate is generally just an administrative headache rather than a true cause for alarm, but it could delay your transfer and should be monitored.

How to Issue a Stock Certificate

A stock certificate represents proof of ownership or investment in a corporate financial entity. All forms of corporations, including the limited liability corporations (LLC), partnership, including limited liability (LLP), and limited partnership (LLP), should receive a certificate. An LLC certificate is called a membership certificate. The LLP and LP are called partnership certificates. A stock certificate proves ownership and thus should be carefully held by the investor.
Review the number of authorized corporate shares. This material is available in the articles of incorporation. It may also be found through the public records of the Secretary of State in the state of issuance. Issue shares for less than half of all the authorized shares so that additional members added in the future do not require a new authorization of shares by existing shareholders.
Calculate the percentage ownership of each shareholder. Allocate the appropriate number of shares based on the percentage ownership and the number of shares to be issued. For example, a shareholder owns 10 percent of a recently formed company. There are 200 shares authorized and 50 shares to be issued. The shareholder will receive stock certificates for five shares.
Each stock certificate should include the name and number of shares of the stockholder. The certificates, readily available online or in stationery stores, should include a certificate number so changes in share ownership can be easily transacted. Never change the number of shares on a certificate. A purchase should result in additional certificates being issued or the old certificate being retired and a new certificate created.
A listing of all shareholder information, including name, address, shares held and certificate numbers, should be entered into the articles of incorporation. Another copy should be kept in a separate place where it can be quickly accessed by the secretary of the company. A certificate should be sent by certified mail to each shareholder.

How to Perfect a Lien Upon Shares of Stock (3 Steps)

Draft a security agreement, which gives you a lien on the shares of stock to guarantee the debt's repayment. Review the SBA Form Security Agreement for an informative example of a security agreement. Sign and date the security agreement. Request that the other party sign the security agreement as well.
Take physical possession of the stock share certificates. If the certificates are registered in the other party's name, request the party endorse the certificates over to you by separate document. Generally, the document need only recite the security terms, and that the shares are assigned and transferred to you pursuant to the security agreement. The physical possession of the stock constitutes perfection in the majority of jurisdictions, but it's recommended you proceed to perfect the stock as you would other property.
File a Uniform Commercial Code Financing Statement. The UCC financing statement puts the entire world on constructive notice that you have a security interest or lien in the shares of stock. This protects you from other parties claiming to have a higher previous lien in the shares. Filing the UCC financing statement is not absolutely or legally necessary for perfection of a lien on stock, in the majority of states, but offers further protection of your lien.