Register Your Connecticut Foreign Corporation

If the business name you use in your home state is unavailable in Connecticut, you will have to choose a new business name. To check if your desired name is available, you can complete a free business name search on your Secretary of State’s site.

If you need or want to use a name other than the official name of your corporation, you will need to get a fictitious name. To register a fictitious name, file the Application for Registration of Corporate Name. This secures the name you want to use in the state of Connecticut. It costs $60. In order to file, you’ll need to attach a certificate of existence or good standing from your home state.

A Connecticut registered agent is a person or company that accepts legal mail on behalf of a business. Your registered agent must be located in the state your business is operating in. That means even if you already have a registered agent in your home state, you will need to make sure you have a local Connecticut registered agent in order to register as a foreign corporation. Luckily, we offer registered agent service in every state.

Your business identity starts as soon as someone learns about your business. From whether or not you have a local Connecticut phone number to if customers can find a safe, personalized business website that easily shows you operate in Connecticut, your business identity help you seem like an established, trustworthy business, even if it’s day one of operating in the state.

You may already have ordered a certificate of existence or good standing if you filed to register a fictitious name. If you do not have one already, you’ll need to order a certificate of existence from your home state in order to register as a foreign corporation. It needs to be dated within 90 days of you registering your business as a Connecticut foreign corporation.

The Application for Certificate of Authority Foreign Corporation is the document that you file with the Connecticut Secretary of State in order to register your foreign corporation. It costs $385 to file.

You will need to include:

• Name and address of the filing party
• Name of corporation in its home state
• The Connecticut fictitious name
• The for profit or nonprofit status
• The home state/country
• Date of original incorporation
• Duration of company
• Date the company began transacting business in Connecticut
• Principal office address
• Mailing address
• Entity addresses
• NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code
• Name, title, business address, and residence address of officer(s)
• Name, business address, and residence address of director(s)
• Registered agent name, address, and signature
• Name, title, and signature of authorized official

The Connecticut Secretary of State will send you a Certificate of Verification to confirm that you are registered as a foreign corporation.

After registering as a Connecticut foreign corporation, you will be on the hook for Connecticut annual reports and taxes. Here’s what that looks like.

• Connecticut Annual Reports are due on your anniversary date each year. It costs $435 and must be filed with the Connecticut Business Services Division Online Filing System.
• Connecticut corporate income taxes are due each year. There is a $250 minimum even if you don’t make any money. The current corporate income tax rate is 7.5%.