Register an Oregon Foreign LLC
An Oregon Foreign LLC is a business formed outside Oregon that wants to do business in the state. To operate legally, it must file an Oregon Application for Authority and pay a $275 state fee. Northwest can handle the entire registration process for $225 plus state fees.
Want more? Hire us and get one year of registered agent service, and a free trial of tools to take your business online—like a custom domain (free for a year), 90 days of web hosting, a local phone number, business email, and so much more. You’ll also get lifetime access to legal templates, expert support, and built-in privacy protection.
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How To Register a Foreign LLC in Oregon
The process of registering as a foreign LLC in Oregon, called foreign qualification, requires you to submit an Application for Authority to Transact Business to Oregon’s Secretary of State, Corporation Division. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
1. Appoint an Oregon Registered Agent
Oregon requires that all foreign LLCs have an Oregon registered agent. The registered agent is the the person (or business) responsible for delivering important mail and legal documents to your foreign LLC. Your Oregon registered agent must have a physical address in the state and be available during regular business hours.
Unless you live in Oregon, you cannot be your own registered agent there. You can appoint an Oregonian friend, relative, or employee or hire a professional registered agent with an Oregon office.
Do you like privacy? Because hiring a professional registered agent can help you maintain your privacy. Many registered agent services (including ours) let you to use their name and business address on public documents instead of yours, which makes it that much harder for scammers and spammers to gain access to your personal information.
2. Complete the Application for Authority
This is where the rubber meets the road. Your Oregon Application for Authority to Transact Business will allow your foreign LLC to register to do business in Oregon. To successfully register, you’ll need to include the following information:
- Name of LLC (this should be the same as in your home state)
- If you can’t provide a home state registry number, attach a certificate of existence (aka a certificate of good standing) dated within 60 days.
- The date your LLC was originally formed in your home state
- Whether your LLC has a known end date and if so, what that date is
- Home jurisdiction where your LLC was originally formed
- Name and address of the registered agent (must be a physical address in Oregon)
- Principal address of business
- Mailing address of business
- Note if the LLC will be managed by members or managers
Ready to get started? Register your foreign LLC in Oregon with Northwest.
Oregon charges $275 to file the application. You can pay online with a credit or debit card, or by mail with a check.
You can file online, in person, or by mail.
Online:
Oregon Secretary of State
Mail and in person:
Secretary of State
Corporation Division
255 Capitol St. NE, Suite 151
Salem, OR 97310
No. Only domestic Oregon LLCs file OR Articles of Organization.
You only need to include a certificate of good standing/existence with your application if you can’t provide a registry number from your home state.
3. Launch Your Business Identity
Once your business is up and running in the new state, you’ll want to be able to connect with the new market of consumers. Having a robust and localized digital presence can help build your business’ identity, which in turn will make your business seem more trustworthy and professional, even if you’ve only just started offering services/products.
We can help you build a custom website that is securely hosted with an unique domain, plus give you a local phone number and up to ten email addresses to help establish your business in Oregon.
Learn more about how to launch your business identity in a new state.
4. Receive confirmation from Oregon Secretary of State
Online filers will receive an email notification from Oregon that their LLC now has the authority to do business in the state. In-person filers will receive notification while they wait. People who file by mail will receive a mailed acknowledgment of the LLC’s authority to do business.
Oregon processes online filings in about one day. Processing time for mailed filings is typically seven business days after your application is received, although Oregon asks that you wait two weeks for it to arrive before contacting the Secretary of State’s office.
Oregon Foreign LLC Registration FAQ
Submit an Amendment to Application of Authority. Oregon uses the same form to both amend and withdraw a foreign LLC, so make sure to fill out the portion marked amendment rather than withdrawal. Otherwise, you risk withdrawing a foreign LLC unintentionally. The cost is $275.
Online amendments are not available right now so you’ll need to print out the form and mail it to the following address:
Secretary of State
Corporation Division
255 Capitol St. NE, Suite 151
Salem, OR 97310
The Oregon Secretary of State considers you to be doing business in the state if you’re an Oregon taxpayer with one or more of the following:
- Goods to sell
- An office or business area
- Employees providing service
- An economic presence or substantial nexus within the state, which includes doing things like filing reports and returns with Oregon regulatory bodies, marketing to Oregon residents, and generally making money from Oregon residents
Read more about what counts as doing business in another state.
Yes. The Oregon Annual Report should be filed no later than the first anniversary of when you registered your foreign LLC in Oregon. So if you registered your foreign LLC in Oregon on February 20th, you’d need to complete an annual report by February 20th the next year.
Fill out a Withdrawal of Authority to Transact Business. It’s the same form Oregon uses to amend a foreign LLC, so make sure to fill out the section marked “withdrawal” rather than “amendment.” The cost is $275.
Online withdrawal filing is not available right now, so you’ll need to print out the form and mail it to the following address:
Secretary of State
Corporation Division
255 Capitol St. NE, Suite 151
Salem, OR 97310
When it comes to taxes, Oregon LLCs, both foreign and domestic, are classified as pass-through entities by default, meaning the profits and losses from the business will pass through the LLC to the personal tax forms of each member. LLC members will also be on the hook for self-employment taxes of 15.3% (12.4% for social security and 2.9% for Medicare). An LLC can also elect to be taxed as an S-corp or C-corp.
For more information on Oregon taxes, check out our Oregon tax guide.
Perform a Business Name Availability Check through the Secretary of State’s website. It will check the main words in your proposed foreign LLC name and compare them to businesses that are already on file. The final decision will be made by an Oregon filing officer after you submit your paperwork.
You have two options. Follow Oregon law (ORS 63.717) and add a few words to your existing name to avoid confusion. Or get an Oregon DBA. A DBA (doing business as) allows businesses to operate under a name that isn’t their legal business name.
Find out more about Oregon DBAs.
