Foreign LLC Registration Fees by State — Explainer

Matrix explainer. 51 jurisdictions (50 states + DC). 29 states have snapshot-confirmed fee values; 22 states are marked typed unknown (fees not independently observable from primary source at assessment time). 3 states (KS, NE, OH) are documented not-observable (fee exists but not published as a standalone line). Snapshot citation chain confirmed: non_tu=29, orphans=0 (db-disk-reconcile exit 0 as of 2026-07-11). Source matrix: foreign-llc-registration-fees-by-state. Not legal advice.

Short answer

Foreign LLC registration fees range from $50 (North Dakota) to $765 (South Dakota, by-mail). The spread is wide: high-fee states include South Dakota ($765/$750 online), Texas ($750), Massachusetts ($500), and Alaska ($350). Tennessee is an outlier with a per-member formula ($50/member, $300 floor, $3,000 ceiling). Three states had fees that were not establishable from a primary state source.

What this matrix tracks

For each jurisdiction, the matrix records:

• LLC filing fee — the state fee to register a foreign LLC (apply for a certificate of authority or registration to do business in the state)
• Filing notes — electronic vs. by-mail tiers, per-member fee formulas, and any source-document ambiguities
• Source URL — the official state SoS or fee-schedule page from which the fee was read

Key findings

• South Dakota is the highest confirmed fee at $765 (by-mail). SD charges $750 for online filing and $765 for paper submission. Texas follows at $750 (Form 304). Massachusetts is third at $500 (Certificate of Registration, G.L. c.156C).
• Tennessee uses a per-member formula. TN charges $50 per LLC member, with a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $3,000 (TCA § 48-249-1006). A single-member LLC pays the $300 floor. This formula means TN can be more expensive than the nominal SD rate for large multi-member LLCs.
• Indiana has a dual-method fee: $75 for electronic filing and $125 by-mail (IC 23-0.5-9-26, for-profit entity line). Many foreign-qualification workflows default to electronic, but the by-mail rate applies if paper documents are submitted.
• South Dakota's online/paper split is $15. SD charges $750 online and $765 by-mail — a $15 premium for paper. The fee notes record both rates.
• Three states were not established from a primary source: KS, NE, and OH. The fees exist but were not recoverable from the state's official source pages at the time of research — recorded as unobservable cells, not typed unknown. Four other states in this matrix (GA, HI, MO, WI) are separately marked typed unknown, a different category.
• North Dakota is the lowest confirmed fee at $50. California ($70) is also in the low tier.

What this matrix does NOT prove

• Does not determine whether any specific LLC must foreign-qualify in a given state. The "transacting business" threshold is jurisdiction-specific and fact-driven; that analysis is out of scope here.
• Does not cover annual report fees or franchise taxes assessed after registration — those recurring costs can exceed the one-time registration fee.
• Does not address registered-agent fees in the foreign state (a separate required cost in most states).
• Does not enumerate states that treat LLCs differently from corporations for foreign registration purposes — some fee schedules list different lines for each entity type.

Methodology

Each fee was read from the state's official SoS or business-filing-office fee schedule. The source URL is recorded per row. Where the state publishes a per-member or tiered formula, the formula is recorded in the fee notes and the primary cell value reflects the minimum / floor fee or the by-mail rate as applicable.

Coverage note: 22 of 51 rows are marked typed unknown as of the 2026-07-11 re-gate — fees not independently observable from the primary source at assessment time. The remaining 29 rows have snapshot-confirmed fee values, including 3 (KS, NE, OH) documented as not-observable for a different reason: the fee exists but is not published as a standalone line. Snapshot citation-chain verification (sha256 → disk file) is confirmed for all 29 non-typed-unknown rows, zero orphans (db-disk-reconcile exit 0). Fee values should be independently verified against the current primary source before acting on them.

Full methodology at /about/methodology/.

Not legal advice

Foreign-qualification decisions interact with tax nexus, employment law, consumer- protection registration, and banking in ways this matrix does not measure. Consult counsel before making foreign-qualification decisions based on fee data alone. Fee schedules change; verify current fees at the issuing state before relying on them for a transaction.

See also: Foreign LLC Registration Fees by State (matrix) · Foreign Qualification Privacy Exposure by State · Registered Agent Change Fees by State