Register Your Business in a New State
When You Want More
Foreign qualification is the official legal phrase for expanding your business into a new state. Here, the foreign doesn’t mean international. It just means another U.S. jurisdiction. So if you start your business in Alabama and want to also operate in Wyoming, you’ll need to apply for foreign qualification.
Expanding your business to a new state requires filing registration paperwork, connecting with potential clients, and building a business identity that works in multiple territories.
Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.
What is Foreign Qualification?
Foreign qualification is the process of registering your company to do business in another state.
When you start a business in the state you live in, you are forming the business. When you are expanding that business into a second (or third, fourth, etc.) state, you are registering a foreign business. This is the only way to legally operate your current business in a new state.
- Foreign qualification is when you register your business in new state.
- Business formation is when you start a new business entity.
- Domestication is when you move a business from one state to another.
Are you actually a non-US citizen looking to open a business as a foreigner? Here’s how to register a business in the US as a non-citizen.
How to Complete Foreign Qualification
The steps to get foreign qualification for your business changes state-to-state. For example, to register as an Iowa foreign LLC, you need to get a Certificate of Existence from your current state. In Kentucky, you can skip this step. The steps also change depending on if you are an LLC or a corporation.
Completing foreign qualification usually takes longer than just incorporating as a new business. This is because there are more forms required, occassionally forms requested in your original state and forms that need to be filed with the new state. However, it is typically cheaper and less work in the long run to register as a foreign business than it is to start a second LLC or corporation.
Why Use Northwest to Register Your Foreign Business?
Here at Northwest, we don’t just file your paperwork and send you on your way. With our comprehensive in-house services and team of expert Corporate Guides®, we’re here to help every step of the way. You can call us about any issue, use our free resources, or add on any of our services as you need them.
Once your business is registered in a new state, you need to then actually operate in that state. That means being searchable and reachable by a new market. Maybe you’ve got an established business identity in your current state and you need to stretch it out to include your new location, or maybe you haven’t had the time yet to really build out your online presence. Either way, we can help.
Here’s what we can do.
- Register your business with the state business officials. This means gathering information, filing paperwork, and generally dealing with the headache of bureaucracy so you don’t have to.
- Serve as your business’ Registered Agent. You must have a registered agent that resides in the state you’re doing business in. So if you live in Tennessee and want to expand to North Carolina, you need a business or person who can accept legal mail during regular business hours in both states. Lucky for you, we can be your registered agent in any U.S. state.
- Compliance filings. A tricky part of expanding is remembering the different reports and fees due to more than one Secretary of State. Our compliance service takes care of things for you. There’s no initial fee. 90 days before your reports are due, we’ll send you a reminder, giving you the option to file yourself or hire us to do it for you. You can cancel any time until we file the report.
- Open a virtual office. Even if you absolutely love commuting on the interstate, there are going to be times someone wants to reach you when you’re in the other state. We’ve got reliable, affordable phone service, mail forwarding, business email accounts, and a local business address.
- Create an instantly functional business identity. Including a custom website with an unique domain name, top notch security, and hosted by us, your business identity is an online presence that lets you instantly connect with an entirely new market. Whether you never got around to setting up a digital footprint when you first opened your business or you want to add new state-specific websites, we can get you set up in less than ten minutes with less than ten clicks. The best news? It’s all free for 90 days so you can test it out before committing.
In other words, we’re a one stop shop to expanding your business into any and all US states. If you want to get everything you need done right, spend ten minutes with us and we’ll launch your business wherever you want it to go.
Register Your Foreign Business Today!
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Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to conduct business in a new state without starting a brand new business, yep.
Licensing and permits depend on your profession and location. Most cities, counties, and states have licensing rules, and some professions, like law and education, have specific rules in each jurisdiction. A good place to start checking for licensing requirements is with state departments. Here’s contact information for each state’s Secretary of State office and state licensing agency.
Most states require annual state reports to be filed, however it varies state-to-state. Some states don’t make foreign businesses file anything–others charge even more than domestic businesses.
Want to skip thinking about this all together? Our business compliance service can take care of your annual reports for you.
No, your foreign LLC or corporation does not need a separate EIN. Since foreign qualification expands the jursidiction of your business, the IRS still knows who you are.
Your federal taxes should stay the same. However, your state taxes will change because you will have to pay income taxes on the portion of income made in each state. Most of the time, home states give you a deduction for the part of the income done in another state and the taxes you paid to the other state. However, there is no hard and fast rule. It changes state-to-state.
Need more information? Here’s contact information for your state’s Department of Revenue.