Applications for a certificate must be signed by which individuals in the case of a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation?

• A. sole proprietor, partner, officer
• B. partner, owner, director
• C. sole proprietor, partner, shareholder
• D. officer, partner, director

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is who has the authority to sign official applications on behalf of a business, and that authority depends on the business structure. In a sole proprietorship, the owner is the person who runs and binds the business, so the owner signs. In a partnership, signing authority generally rests with a partner (often any partner or those designated by a partnership agreement). In a corporation, signing power typically lies with an officer (such as the president or other corporate officers) who is authorized to bind the company.

This combination—owner for a sole proprietorship, partner for a partnership, and officer for a corporation—fits the way each structure is legally empowered to sign on behalf of the entity. Other options mix roles that don’t universally apply across all three forms: directors or shareholders are not universally authorized signatories for sole proprietorships or partnerships, and officers are the standard corporate signatories rather than directors or shareholders.