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How do I register my company to do business in another state?

Multi-stateComplianceRegistered agent

You file an application with the new state's business filing office, usually the Secretary of State, asking for authority to operate there. For a corporation it is generally called an application for a certificate of authority; California calls it a statement and designation by foreign corporation, and LLC versions carry names like application for registration. Whatever the label, it is a short form: the company's legal name, home state and formation date, its principal office, what it does, its officers or managers, and a registered agent in the new state.

What you need before you file

A certificate of good standing from your home state, dated recently, since most states want one issued within the last sixty to ninety days, showing the company exists and is current on its filings there. A registered agent with a street address in the new state, because service of process there has to reach someone there. If your name is already taken in that state, an alternate name to operate under, since each state's name rules apply separately. And a filing fee, which runs from tens of dollars to several hundred depending on the state, and in a few states scales with authorized shares or capital.

What follows

Qualification is not a one-off. The new state will expect an annual or biennial report, often a franchise or minimum tax return, and a registered agent kept current, each on that state's own calendar. Miss them and the state revokes the authority, which puts you back where you started with a reinstatement fee on top. If the company changes its name or merges at home, every state it is qualified in has to be told. When the company leaves a state for good, file a withdrawal, otherwise reports and taxes keep accruing against a company that is no longer there.

When you form through Arabella, the questionnaire asks which states, and the qualification is filed with the formation. Arabella can be the registered agent in each one.

Written by the lawyers who built Arabella. This is legal information, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. For a real dispute or a high-stakes decision, talk to a licensed attorney. More questions.