Register a Foreign LLC in New Mexico
A New Mexico Foreign LLC is a limited liability company that was formed in another state but registered to do business in New Mexico. To operate legally, it must file an Application for Registration with New Mexico's Secretary of State and pay a $129 fee.
Northwest can do it for you for just $225 + state fees. We'll handle the paperwork, provide a full year of registered agent service, a custom domain, local phone number, email, web hosting, and a local New Mexico business address. Everything your business needs to get going in New Mexico.
$225 Foreign Registration
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- Local phone line
- Free domain name
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How to Register a Foreign LLC in New Mexico
To register your foreign LLC in New Mexico, you’ll go through a process called foreign qualification and submit an Application for Registration ($100) to the New Mexico Secretary of State. Here’s a rundown of the steps:
The first action you’ll need to take is obtaining a certificate of good standing, which verifies that your LLC has filed all required paperwork and paid all applicable fees in your home state.
You can get a certificate of good standing (or your state’s equivalent) from the governing authority in charge of business registration in your home state. So, for example, if you filed your formation paperwork with the secretary of state in your home jurisdiction, the secretary of state should be able to provide you with a certificate of good standing, typically for a small fee. Your certificate will need to be dated within the last 30 days.
Most states offer online services that allow you to request and receive your certificate in one day.
According to New Mexico state statute NM Stat § 53-19-3, your foreign LLC’s name must be distinguishable from the name of any other domestic or foreign LLC, limited partnership, or corporation operating in New Mexico. You can check if your name is available using the Secretary of State’s online Business Search. If another business has already taken your LLC’s name, you must use a different name in New Mexico.
LLC name taken? Learn how to get a New Mexico DBA.
You can appoint an individual or a business to serve as your New Mexico registered agent. To qualify as a registered agent, that individual or business must possess a physical address in New Mexico and be available to accept legal documents during regular business hours.
Note: Many foreign LLCs choose to hire a professional registered agent such as Northwest for convenience and reliability.
As you go through the process of qualifying your LLC to do business in New Mexico, now is the time to think about how best to reach your new market. With Northwest’s Business Identity Service, your foreign LLC will be able to hit the ground running. We can set you up with a custom website, secure hosting, a unique domain name, a local phone number, and a professional email address to establish your business in the state.
Your next step is completing New Mexico’s Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration. You’ll need to attach a copy of your certificate of good standing to your application before submitting it to the New Mexico Secretary of State. The filing fee is $100. Your application will include:
- LLC name
- Name of LLC in New Mexico (if different)
- Domestic state
- Date LLC was formed
- Business purpose
- Principal address of LLC (in your home state)
- Name and business address of each manager or managing member
- Name and street address of your registered agent
- Name, title, and signature of authorized person and date signed
- Signature of registered agent
You will also need to include document delivery instructions that contain the contact phone number, mailing address, and email address of the person or business responsible for receiving documents. If you do not wish to share this information, you can pick up your documents from the secretary of state’s office (you must do so within five business days).
Note: All of New Mexico’s business filings have been moved online. You’ll need to create an account HERE.
Ready to get started? Register a Foreign LLC in New Mexico now with Northwest.
Once you’ve submitted your Application for Registration, you can check your filing status and get copies of your Certificate of Registration using the New Mexico Secretary of State’s online business portal.
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New Mexico Foreign LLC FAQs
Unless you live in New Mexico, you’ll need to find someone willing to undertake the task of being your point-person for receiving legal and state mail.
Don’t know anyone? Then you’ll need to hire a professional registered agent like Northwest! We’ll list our name and address on your formation documents, so you’ll be able to maintain your privacy as much as possible. And we’ll be available to receive important mail, should it come your LLC’s way.
It costs $129 to file your Foreign LLC Certificate of Registration with the New Mexico Secretary of State.
You can file your New Mexico foreign LLC Application for Registration online with the New Mexico SOS.
No. Articles of Organization are only required if you are establishing a new LLC in New Mexico. As a foreign LLC, you only need to file the foreign LLC Application for Registration.
New Mexico will take around 30 days to process your Application for Registration.
Like many states, New Mexico doesn’t explicitly define what constitutes doing business. However, a company is usually considered to be doing business if it has a substantial physical and economic presence in the state. The following activities typically qualify:
- Owning or renting real estate used to conduct or support business operations, such as a store, research facility, warehouse, or office
- Employing workers
- Conducting multiple business transactions in the state
- Any actions that result in having to pay taxes in New Mexico
Note that your LLC may need to pay taxes in New Mexico even without having any physical presence in the state. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department’s Gross Receipts Tax and Marketplace Sales policy states that businesses without a physical presence in New Mexico are subject to the state’s Gross Receipts Tax if they have $100,000 or more in taxable gross receipts from sales in New Mexico during the previous calendar year.
New Mexico law does specify what is NOT considered transacting business in the state in NM Stat § 53-19-54. These activities include, but are not limited to:
- Maintaining, defending, and settling lawsuits
- Holding meetings
- Maintaining bank accounts
- Accruing debts
- Maintaining offices for the transfer of securities
- Selling goods or services through independent contractors
- Soliciting orders (before they become contracts)
- Owning a controlling interest in another LLC or corporation, foreign or domestic
Want to know if your LLC needs to foreign qualify? Visit our guide on doing business in another state to learn more.
No. New Mexico LLCs are not required to file annual reports with the Secretary of State.
Like domestic New Mexico LLCs, you must pay all applicable New Mexico taxes. LLCs are taxed as pass-through entities by default. This means that your LLC’s profits pass through your company to its members. The profits are then reported as income on your members’ taxes. There are a couple of circumstances where your LLC may need to pay additional taxes:
- If you choose to have your LLC taxed as a corporation, you’ll also have to pay a Franchise Tax in New Mexico.
- If you are a marketplace seller without a physical presence in the state making at least $100,000 in taxable gross receipts from sales in New Mexico, you’ll need to pay the Gross Receipts Tax.
If you’re confused, the best course of action is to talk to a tax professional in your area.
To amend your foreign LLC in New Mexico, you’ll have to sign into the New Mexico’s online filing system and search your business to file an amendment.
To withdraw your New Mexico foreign LLC, you’ll need to sign into New Mexico’s online filing portal.
No. In New Mexico, you can register an LLC anonymously if you avoid putting personal information in your New Mexico Articles of Organization. However, you can’t register anonymously as a foreign LLC because the information contained in your formation paperwork from your home state is not anonymous. To operate anonymously in New Mexico, you’d need to form a new LLC.
