Register Your New Jersey Foreign Corporation

To start, you’ll need to make sure your corporate name is available for use in New Jersey. Use our free business name search to make sure no other business is using your corporate name. But that’s not all. Your corporation’s name must also comply with New Jersey’s business name regulations.

Interested in expanding your corporation to more states? Now is probably a good time to file for a federal trademark.

All corporations that do business in New Jersey must appoint a registered agent. Your New Jersey registered agent must have a physical address in the state and be available during regular business hours (9am to 5pm) to accept service of process (lawsuits, summons, subpoenas, and other legal notices).

Northwest has offices in every state (including DC and Puerto Rico), which means as your business grows, we can grow with you.

Your business is viewed by customers as the sum of its parts. Its address, logo, color scheme, social media, even its area code are all part of your corporation’s business identity. It’s the smart move to begin developing your business identity as soon as possible.

Not sure how to start building your business identity? Northwest can help. When you hire us as your registered agent or to register your corporation as a foreign corporation in New Jersey, we’ll hook you up with a domain name, custom website with a unique domain, a local phone number, and up to ten business email addresses, all free for 90 days (your domain is free for the first year).

New Jersey requires that, along with your Application for Certificate of Authority, you include a certificate of good standing (sometimes called a certificate of existence) from your corporation’s home state. In most states you can visit the Secretary of State website, pay a small fee, and receive your certificate the same day.

Note: New Jersey won’t accept certificates that are older than 30 days.

To officially register your foreign corporation in New Jersey, you must file your Application for Certificate of Authority with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services.

Here’s the information you’ll need to have ready:

• Name of your corporation
• State or jurisdiction where you initially incorporated
• Date you initially started your corporation
• Business purpose/activity
• Primary business address (this can be the address of your corporation in its home state)
• Name and address of your New Jersey registered agent
• Name and signature of the person filing your certificate

Note: This information does become public record in the state of New Jersey.

Online filings are processed in about one business day. Paper filings take about 2-3 weeks to be processed (add time for mailing). If filing online, you’ll be able to print your Certificate of Authority and keep it for your files. All other filing types will have their certificate returned by mail.

All New Jersey corporations file an annual report each year, and are subject to state taxes, including the Corporate Business Tax. Here’s what that looks like.

New Jersey Corporate Business Tax: New Jersey has a graduated Corporate Business Tax. The following rates are based on your corporation’s entire net income (but only applied to your taxable income). The minimum payment is $500.

• 6.5%: $0 to $50,000
• 7.5%: $50,001 to $100,000
• 9.0%: over $100,000

New Jersey Annual Report: The New Jersey Annual Report is required to be filed each year with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. The report essentially keeps the state up to date on any changes to your corporation. The Annual Report costs $75 (add $3.50 for credit card fees), and is due by the end of your registration anniversary month. So if you incorporated in June, then your report is due by June 30th each year.

BOI Report: As of March 26, 2025, most non-US corporations are required to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The deadline for filing your BOI Report is 30 days from your U.S. registration date to file.

New Jersey is often the state many out of state and international business owners use to do foreign business in. Doing business in a state you don’t live in can make getting an office hard and expensive.

With a virtual office, anyone living outside of the state can get an affordable addresses for their business without having to deal with hefty monthly rents and real estate costs. With Northwest, we offer New Jersey Virtual Office service and two NJ mail forwarding options to choose from: same-day digital scanning and weekly physical mail forwarding—whichever best suits your needs.