Register a Foreign LLC in New York
A New York Foreign LLC is a company that was created in another state but wants to do business in New York. To to operate in New York, the limited liability company must file an Application for Authority with the New York Department of State and pay a $250 fee.
Northwest can register your foreign LLC in New York for $225 plus state fees. We'll handle the paperwork and provide a full year of registered agent service, free domain, local phone line, business email, open-source website, Brand Protection, and a local business address. Everything your business needs to get going in New York.
$225 Foreign Registration
Have Northwest Registered Agent expand your business and get more:
- Local experts handle your paperwork
- Local phone line
- Free domain name & open source website
- Free business email
- Free Brand Protection
How to Register a Foreign LLC in New York
To register a foreign LLC in New York, you’ll need to submit an Application for Authority ($250) to New York’s Department of State. The process is called foreign qualification. Here’s how it’s done:
First, you’ll need to obtain a certificate of existence (called a certificate of good standing in many jurisdictions) from your home state or jurisdiction. The certificate serves to show that your LLC is up to date on reporting requirements and fees in its home state (and is fit to do business in New York). Attach the certificate of existence to your Application for Authority.
Note: In most states, you can request a certificate of existence online and receive it immediately. New York allows for the certificate to be dated within one year prior to the Application for Authority.
Registered agents are designated to accept important legal mail—such as subpoenas, complaints or summons—on behalf of an LLC. In New York, the Secretary of State is automatically the registered agent for every LLC in the state, and will forward that mail to your business.
However, many LLCs also appoint a second registered agent to ensure forwarded legal mail arrives quickly. Your New York registered agent can be a business or someone you know—but that person must have a physical address in the state, and (most importantly) must be able to deliver legal notifications to your business in a timely manner.
When companies start expanding operations into other states, many choose to hire a registered agent service like Northwest to handle this important aspect of their business for them.
To really connect with your new customers, you’ll want a strong local presence—especially online. A great website and local contact info can make your business look trustworthy and professional, even if you’re just getting started. Our Business Identity Service can set your foreign LLC up with a free open source website, unique domain, local phone line, business email, Brand Protection, and a local business address that will help establish your LLC in New York. It’s everything you need to make your business feel right at home in the Empire State.
To foreign register your LLC in New York, you’ll have to complete the state’s Application for Authority and file it with the New York Department of State. Here’s what to include:
- Name of LLC
- Fictitious name of LLC in New York (if your LLC’s name is taken in New York or otherwise unacceptable for use in the state)
- Jurisdiction where LLC was formed
- Date the LLC was organized in its home jurisdiction
- Name of the New York county where the principle office of the LLC will be located (tip: this is the county where you’ll have to meet the publication requirement)
- Name and street address of whoever will accept legal mail on behalf of your business in New York
- Principal address of LLC (in home state, if required)
- Name and address of the agency where you initially formed your LLC (for example: Secretary of State or Division of Corporations)
- Signature and name of a person authorized to do business on behalf of your LLC (it doesn’t have to be a member)
- Name, address, and company (if applicable) of the person filing the application
You will also need to attach your Certificate of Existence (or equivalent in your state), along with the $250 filing fee.
Note: The information you list on your application will end up on New York’s public record, easily searched by anyone with a smart phone. Hire Northwest to file for you, and we’ll list our information in place of yours, wherever possible. Just another way we help our customers keep their privacy.
New York requires foreign LLCs to publish a copy of the Application for Authority—or a notice substantially summarizing the application—in two newspapers within 120 days after the original filing. This publication must run once every week for six weeks in a row, in both a weekly and a daily paper in the same New York county as the LLC’s principal office.
The newspapers will supply you with affidavits of publication to be used in filing a Certificate of Publication ($50).
If you want to save money on publication fees and avoid publishing your address in a newspaper, you can hire us as your registered agent and use our address to publish in Albany County. Or you can hire us to complete the entire publication requirement for you.
Learn more about New York LLC publication requirements.
After processing your Application for Registration, a copy of the official filing will be available on New York’s Corporation and Business Entity Database.
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New York Foreign LLC Registration FAQ
When you choose Northwest as your registered agent, you can list our Albany address instead of your address. As an added bonus, all registered agent or business formation clients get limited free mail forwarding (up to five non-state mail scans per year).
Need a more robust mail solution? Add New York Mail Forwarding Service. We give you a reliable mailing address, unique suite number, and your choice of same-day digital scans or weekly physical mail forwarding.
Want more? Take our New York Virtual Office Service for a spin. You’ll get all of our mail forwarding services plus a local New York phone number, accessible from any device, with all the perks of regular phone service (call forwarding, custom voicemail, and reliable support).
Both of these services can help a foreign LLC establish a presence in New York, with the high cost of a brick and mortar office or storefront.
In order to serve as your own New York registered agent, you’re going to need a physical address in New York. Most LLCs hire a professional registered agent service when doing business in other states.
The names and addresses you put on state business filings will go on the public record. This will allow spammers and scammers access to your information. No one wants that. Hiring a registered agent who will put their address on state forms instead of yours is an easy way to keep your private information on lock.
The processing fee for filing an Application for Authority in New York is $250. Checks should be payable to the Department of State.
You can file your New York Application for Authority by mail, fax, or in person. New York does not offer online filing for foreign LLC applications.
By Mail or In Person:
New York Department of State
Division of Corporations
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12231
Fax:
(518) 474-1418
When filing by mail or fax, fees can be paid by check, money order, or credit/debit card. If paying by credit or debit card, attach a Credit Card/Debit Card Authorization form.
Mailed Applications can take up to four months to be processed. That’s a long time to wait. Most filers choose to expedite the process by paying an additional $25 for 24-hour service.
This means that once your paperwork arrives, NY will process it within 24 hours. Factor in postal times, and you’re looking at about seven business days before your New York Foreign LLC is ready to go.
It’s not clear from New York’s legal statutes what activities count as doing business in New York. However, in most states, you’ll need to register a foreign LLC if you hire employees, open a location, sell services or products, or apply for a professional license within the state.
According to New York Limited Liability Company Law 34:803, activities that do NOT constitute transacting business in New York include, but are not limited to:
- Settling or defending lawsuits
- Holding business meetings
- Maintaining bank accounts
- Maintaining offices for the transfer of securities
If you’re not sure whether you’re technically doing business in New York, contact a CPA or business attorney.
Check out our page, What Exactly Does Doing Business in Another State Mean?, to learn more.
You can amend your foreign LLC filing in New York by filing a Certificate of Amendment for Foreign Limited Liability Company. The filing fee is $60.
Yes, all foreign LLCs in New York must file a New York Biennial Statement. Your report will be due every other year during the month you officially registered to do business in New York—otherwise known as your company’s anniversary month. The filing fee is $9.
You must pay all applicable New York taxes, just like any New York LLC. By default, your LLC will be taxed as a pass-through entity, which means your business profits pass through the company itself and get reported as income on individual members’ tax returns. An LLC may choose to be taxed as a corporation instead, but to do that you’ll have to file paperwork with the IRS.
To withdraw your foreign business in New York, you’ll have to file a Certificate of Surrender of Authority online ($60). If you plan to stop doing business entirely, you’ll have to dissolve your LLC in your home jurisdiction, followed by submitting a New York Certificate of Termination of Existence ($60).
