Register Your New York Foreign Corporation

Your first order of business is to make sure your corporate name is available for use in New York. Use our free business name search to research your business name. Don’t forget, your corporation’s name must also comply with New York’s naming regulations as outlined in NY Bus Corp L § 301.

Interested in expanding your business to more states? It might be time to consider a federal trademark.

New York law says that any corporation that does business in the state must appoint a registered agent. Your New York registered agent must have a physical address in the state (not a PO Box) and be available during business hours (9am to 5pm) to accept official official mail and get it to you quickly.

Northwest has offices in every state (including DC and Puerto Rico), which means as your business grows, we can grow with you. We also offer bulk discounts once you hit five registered agent services.

Your business identity (website, phone number, email address, etc…) matters because it shapes how potential clients and customers view your business. If you’re 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 York, we’ll hook you up with a domain name, custom website, a local phone number, and up to ten business email addresses, all free for 90 days (your domain is free for the first year!).

In order to complete your foreign registration in New York, you’ll need to get a certificate of existence from your corporation’s home state. Also called a certificate of good standing, your certificate will confirm to New York that your corporation is active in its home state, and is up to date on taxes and fees. The certificate must have been issued within the last year.

To officially register your foreign corporation in New York, you’ll need to fill out and submit an Application for Authority, and pay the $225 filing fee. Processing for all types of filings can take up to 3 weeks. If you’re in a hurry, pay $25 for 24-hour processing, $75 for same-day processing, and $150 for 2-hour processing.

Here’s the information you’ll need to successfully fill out the application:

• Name of corporation
• Jurisdiction and date where corporation was originally formed
• County in New York where corporation will be located
• Registered agent name and address where official mail will be sent
• Name, signature, and address of person filing application

Note: You’ll also need to check one of two boxes on the application. One box affirms that your corporation has conducted no business in New York. The other box confirms that your corporation has engaged in business in the state and will attach a New York Tax Commission consent form.

Once accepted, New York will mail you a copy of your Certificate of Authority to keep in your files.

Now that you’ve foreign qualified your corporation, you’ll need to be aware of state filings and taxes.

Corporate Franchise Tax: Instead of a standard corporate net income tax, New York has a corporate franchise tax. Your tax base is one of the following (whichever yields the highest tax liability):

• business income (6.5%)
• business capital (0.025%)
• fixed dollar minimum of NY receipts (for example, $25 for up to $100K in receipts and $75 for $100,001-250,000).

New York Biennial Report: The New York Biennial Report is an every other year filing that updates the state on your corporation’s basic information. The filing fee is $9. If you forget to file (which is easy to do since the report is only due every other year), your business status will be changed to “delinquent.” The report is due every other year on your anniversary month (the date your corporation foreign qualified in New York).