Certificate of Good Standing

A certificate of good standing or existence can be ordered online in most states. Check your state-specific guide above for the specific government body in your state. You’ll want to check first to make sure your business does not have any outstanding fees and is not missing any periodic reports.

Not every state requires a certificate of good standing for foreign registration. If you register as a foreign business in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, or Texas, you needn’t worry about obtaining a certificate of good standing.

Some states are stricter than others about how old a certificate can be when registering for foreign qualification. Check the list below to see how recent your certificate must be in the state where you are registering: 

90 days old: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington.

60 days: Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois (for LLCs), Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska (for corporations), New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

30 days: Arkansas, D.C., Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wyoming.

6 months: California, Delaware, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska (for LLCs), and North Carolina.

1 year: New York and West Virginia.

Foreign qualification is not the only reason you might need a certificate. Some other reasons are:

• Opening a business bank account
• Applying for business licenses or permits
• Entering certain contracts
• Government contracting
• Business sales and mergers
• Real estate transactions