Texas

Foreign registration · Form 301

Kentucky Corporation Foreign Registration in Texas

A corporation formed in Kentucky that wants to do business in Texas files Form 301, with $767.13 in state fees and a $50 required expedite. Texas may ask for Kentucky's Certificate of Existence ($10). We file it with the Texas Secretary of State from your Kentucky records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

What Kentucky and Texas each ask for

	Kentucky formed here	Texas registering here
Document	Kentucky Certificate of Existence	Form 301, Application for Registration of a Foreign For-Profit Corporation
State fee	$10	$767.13 at order (filing fee $750 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Kentucky: online as a printable certificate, or by mail or fax	Filed with Texas
Required expedite		$50 at order (Texas Express)
Faster options		next-day $500, same-day $750
Office	Kentucky Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings	Texas Secretary of State
Official page	web.sos.ky.gov	sos.state.tx.us
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $15, every year	Franchise Tax Report + Public Information Report, no fee, every year
Due	On or before June 30	May 15 each year
Agent	Your Kentucky registered agent	Our Texas registered agent

How Kentucky companies register with Texas

We prepare and file Form 301
It names us as your Texas registered agent, with your Kentucky name and formation date. If Texas wants the Kentucky certificate, it is ordered first. Once Texas approves it, the Kentucky company can do business there.

Will your Kentucky name work for Texas?

Texas accepts your Kentucky name if it includes corporation, incorporated, company, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them. If another Texas company uses the Kentucky name, an alternate name is allowed. We check your exact Kentucky name against Texas's records before filing.

Your Texas agent and the Kentucky one

Kentucky and Texas both call it a registered agent. Texas papers come to us; Kentucky's agent is unchanged.

Yearly filings: Texas and Kentucky

Each year your corporation files Kentucky's Annual Report ($15) and Texas's Franchise Tax Report + Public Information Report (no fee). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Kentucky plus Texas comes to $164 a year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Kentucky to Texas

An LLC formed in Kentucky files Form 304 with Texas ($767.13 in state fees and the $50 required expedite, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Kentucky's Annual Report ($15) and Texas's Public Information Report + Franchise Tax Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Texas into Kentucky

A corporation formed in Texas that registers with Kentucky files Form FBE with $90 in state fees; no Texas certificate is needed. See that filing.

Questions Kentucky owners ask about Texas

Does my Kentucky company need to register in Texas?

Yes, once a Kentucky business operates there; Texas registers it as a foreign corporation.

Is this a certificate of authority?

Texas calls it registration for Kentucky corporations; other states say certificate of authority.

How much does it cost to register a Kentucky corporation in Texas?

$1,016.13 at checkout, including the $50 required expedite; Texas may also want Kentucky's Certificate of Existence, at extra cost.

How long does the Texas registration take?

Typically 2 to 3 business days with Texas's required expedite, plus time for Kentucky's certificate if Texas asks for it. Faster state options: next-day $500, same-day $750.

What are the yearly costs for Kentucky and Texas?

$164 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $15 to Kentucky and nothing to Texas for the yearly reports.

Does Texas require a registered agent?

Yes: the Kentucky registered agent stays, and ours covers Texas for year one.

Will Texas accept my Kentucky name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its Kentucky name at home. Texas names must include corporation, incorporated, company, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them.

Can I form a new Texas corporation instead?

Yes, but Kentucky keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Texas's Franchise Tax Report + Public Information Report (no fee), and the original keeps Kentucky's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Texas later?

Kentucky companies leave by filing Form 608; until then, Texas's report stays due alongside Kentucky's filings.

Official sources

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