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Registering an LLC in another state: steps and every state's fee

An LLC that registers in a state other than the one where it was formed files as a foreign LLC there. It stays a company of its home state, and it takes on the filings of the new state as well.

What a foreign registration is

"Foreign" here means formed in another state, not another country. The new state issues a certificate of authority, sometimes called a registration or an application for authority, rather than forming a new company. Florida's statute, for example, says a certificate of authority does not let a foreign LLC do anything a Florida LLC could not do.

1. Get a certificate of good standing from the home state

The new state asks for proof that the LLC exists in its home state. Names vary: certificate of existence, certificate of status or certificate of good standing. Florida requires one dated no more than 90 days before the application (Fla. Stat. 605.0902). New York accepts a certificate of existence, or a certified copy of the articles where the home state issues no such certificate (NY LLC Law 802).

2. File the application for authority

The application goes to the new state's filing office, usually the Secretary of State, on that state's form. In Florida it states the LLC's name, its home state, its principal office and mailing addresses, and at least one person with authority to manage it. If the name is not available in the new state, the LLC applies under an alternate name.

3. Name a registered agent in the new state

The application names an agent with an address in the new state to receive legal papers. Florida's statute requires the agent's name, street address in Florida and written acceptance. Paid agents charge a yearly fee; Business tools lists registered agent services.

4. Keep up annual reports in both states

The LLC keeps filing its home state's annual or biennial report and pays any yearly fee there. The new state can ask for its own report from a registered foreign LLC too: Florida's annual report rule covers both Florida LLCs and registered foreign LLCs. New York also requires a registered foreign LLC to publish a notice of its application for authority for six weeks, the same requirement its own LLCs face (see New York's publication requirement).

Foreign LLC registration fee in every state

The state's fee for registering an out-of-state LLC, including any filing the state requires with it. Each state page links to the state's own source.

Compare the full cost of a foreign LLC in every state on the Rank page: set Where It's Formed to Foreign.