Register Your Louisiana Foreign Corporation
A Louisiana foreign corporation is a corporation that does business both in the state it was originally formed in and Louisiana. All foreign corporations must register with Louisiana to legally conduct business. In order to register as a Louisiana foreign corporation, you'll need to file an Application for Authority to Transact Business in Louisiana with the Louisiana Secretary of State. This costs $125 to file. You'll also need to attach the certificate of good standing from your home state.
You can follow our comprehensive guide below to register as a foreign corporation on your own. If you’d rather skip the headache, we can handle the paperwork for you.
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GET STARTEDHow to Register as a Foreign Corporation in Louisiana
To legally register as a foreign corporation in Louisiana, your business must go through a process called foreign qualification. This tells the state of Louisiana that you are legally operating within its borders.
Foreign qualification is not the same as starting a new business in Louisiana. Your business itself is the same, but your business range expands to a new jurisdiction. Some of the steps are similar to registering a new business, but there are less of them. For instance, you don’t have to create bylaws.
Below you’ll find the steps for registering as a foreign corporation in Louisiana.
1. Name Your Louisiana Corporation
You need to register your business name in Louisiana. Having it registered in your home state doesn’t mean it’s available for use in Louisiana. Conduct a free business name search to make sure your corporation’s name is available. If someone else in Louisiana is already using it, you’ll have to come up with a new name that is available but easily connected to your current name.
If you’re not quite ready to register as a foreign business, that’s fine. You can reserve your business name in Louisiana for $25.
Want to make sure your business name is used only by you? Consider getting a federal trademark to secure the name in your industry.
2. Designate a Registered Agent
A Louisiana registered agent is someone who accepts legal mail on your company’s behalf. Since the registered agent should be located within the state to receive legal mail, including lawsuits, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to act as your own registered agent in this case.
However, at Northwest, we offer comprehensive registered agent services for every state. You can simplify things by using a single registered agent.
3. Start Your Business Identity
Once your business is legal in the new state, you’ll want to be ready to connect with customers. Forming your business identity, or the way you present yourself to your potential clients, can help.
Now’s a prime opportunity to start a business website or get a custom business email address.
Your business should have a way to market itself in a new, well, market. Consider getting phone service that has the local area code or a local business address to use on documents where possible.
4. Get Certificate of Good Standing
A certificate of good standing or existence shows that your corporation is in good shape with its home state. The process for receiving a certificate of good standing, which may be called a certificate of existence in certain areas, depends on your home state. However, the one you submit to the Louisiana of Secretary of State must be dated within 90 days of registering.
5. Submit Application for Authority to Transact Business in Louisiana Form
The certificate of good standing must be submitted with your Application for Authority to Transact Business in Louisiana form and, if filing by mail, the notarized Transmittal Information form. It costs $125 to file.
Your form should include:
- Corporation name
- Previous corporation name, if it’s different in your home state
- State where corporation was formed
- Principal business address in LA
- Principal business establishment in LA
- Registered agent address and name
- Names and addresses of directors and officers
You can file online, by fax, in person, or, in some parishes, by mail.
Mailed, faxed, or in-person filings take around 4-5 business days to be processed by the state, plus additional time for mail.
For online filings, Louisiana will typically process the same business day.
Note that if you pay by credit card, there’s also an additional $5 fee.
Online:
By mail:
Louisiana Secretary of State
PO Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125
In person:
8585 Archives Ave.
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Phone: (225)925-4704
Yes. You have two options: paying an additional $30 for 24-hour processing or an additional $50 for same-day processing.
6. File Louisiana Reports and Taxes
Your foreign corporation will now have taxes and reports to file independent of the ones you file in your home state.
Annual Report: Your Louisiana annual report is due on the exact anniversary of the day you filed your foreign corporation.
Income Tax: Louisiana has a corporate net income tax rate that starts at 4% and maxes out at 8%.
Franchise Tax: Louisiana also has a franchise tax of $1.50 for each $1000 of assets in the State of Louisiana. It goes to $3 per $1000 after $300,000 of equipment.
Northwest Can Register Your Louisiana Foreign Corporation
If doing things on your own sounds overwhelming, boring, or generally like not a good use of your time, we’re ready to help. Our foreign qualification package is $225 + state fees. This includes:
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Registering your business as a Louisiana Foreign Corporation. We’ll file your paperwork and let you know when it’s approved.
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Serving as your business’ Louisiana Registered Agent. We can be your RA in as many states as you want to expand into.
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Launching your business identity. We’ll get you a digital presence, including a business email address, phone service, and mail forwarding. Plus, we’ll put together a custom website with a domain, web hosting, and security in place. These will all be free for 90 days. After that, most services are $9/month.
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Sending reminders for your Louisiana annual report. We can even file this for you. We’ll send you a reminder about the report 90 days before they’re due, and you can either have us file for you or opt out of the service.
Louisiana Foreign Corporation FAQs
You can submit a Statement of Change. If you want to withdraw your entire application, submit an Application to Withdraw. Each form costs $25 to file.
There is no concise rule about what counts as doing business in Louisiana. But in general, you are providing services or products in exchange for money, that is conducting business.
For more information, check out our resource on what it means to do business in another state.
Yes. Their signature must also be notarized.
Any officer may sign the form. If you’re filing by mail, the form must be notarized.
If the corporation includes in its name the words “engineer”, “engineering”, “surveyor”, or “surveying”, you will want to contact the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board prior to submitting the application for authority.
County filing or publication is not necessary for foreign corporations, unless specifically required by the county in which your registered agent resides.
We definitely can. Our foreign qualification package is $225 + state fees. You can also add additional services, like premium mail forwarding and a custom website our experts can help you make, for a free trial.