Foreign registration · no form number

California Corporation Foreign Registration in Montana

A corporation formed in California that wants to do business in Montana files an online registration (no form number), with $70 in state fees. Montana may ask for California's Certificate of Status ($5). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Services using your California records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What California and Montana each ask for

	California formed here	Montana registering here
Document	California Certificate of Status	Certificate of Authority (no form number)
State fee	$5	$70 at order
How it is handled	California: online as a PDF within minutes, or on paper by mail or drop-off in Sacramento	Filed online with Montana
Office	California Secretary of State, Business Entities	Montana Secretary of State, Business Services
Official page	bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov	help.sosmt.gov
Yearly filing	Statement of Information (Form SI-550), $25, every year	Annual Report, no fee, every year
Due	Last day of the corporation's registration-anniversary month, annually	April 15
Late yearly filing	$250 late fee	$15 late fee
Agent	Your California agent for service of process	Our Montana registered agent

From California to Montana, step by step

We prepare and file the registration
It names us as your Montana registered agent, with your California name and formation date. If Montana wants the California certificate, it is ordered first. After approval, your California corporation is registered with Montana.

Will your California name work for Montana?

We search Montana's records for California's name on file before anything is filed.

Your Montana agent and the California one

Montana calls it a registered agent; California says agent for service of process. Your current agent for service of process stays for California; ours takes Montana's papers and notices.

Yearly filings: Montana and California

Each year your corporation files California's Statement of Information (Form SI-550) ($25) and Montana's Annual Report (no fee). With our $149 registered agent renewal, California plus Montana comes to $174 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, California to Montana

An LLC formed in California files its own registration with Montana ($70 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come California's Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) ($20) and Montana's Annual Report ($20). See the LLC filing.

The other way: Montana into California

A corporation formed in Montana that registers with California files Form S&DC-S/N with $100 in state fees. See that filing.

Questions California owners ask about Montana

Does my California company need to register in Montana?

Yes, once a California business operates there; Montana registers it as a foreign corporation.

Is this a certificate of authority?

Yes: Montana issues one to California corporations once the filing is approved.

How much does the Montana registration cost?

$269 at checkout; Montana may also want California's Certificate of Status, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for California and Montana?

$174 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $25 to California and nothing to Montana for the yearly reports.

Does Montana require a registered agent?

Yes: the California agent for service of process stays, and ours covers Montana for year one.

Can I form a new Montana corporation instead?

Yes, but California keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Montana's Annual Report (no fee), and the original keeps California's Statement of Information (Form SI-550).

What does a Montana company file to register in California?

It files Form S&DC-S/N with $100 in state fees.

How do I get a California certificate of good standing?

California issues the Certificate of Status online as a PDF within minutes, or on paper by mail or drop-off in Sacramento ($5).

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC