Massachusetts Corporation Foreign Registration in Texas

To do business in Texas, a corporation formed in Massachusetts registers there on Form 301, with $767.13 in state fees and a $50 required expedite. Texas may ask for Massachusetts's Certificate of Good Standing ($12). We file it with the Texas Secretary of State using your Massachusetts records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Massachusetts and Texas each ask for

	Massachusetts formed here	Texas registering here
Document	Massachusetts Certificate of Good Standing	Form 301, Application for Registration of a Foreign For-Profit Corporation
State fee	$12	$767.13 at order (filing fee $750 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Massachusetts: online, by mail or in person, delivered by mail or email depending on the certificate	Filed with Texas
Required expedite		$50 at order (Texas Express)
Faster options		next-day $500, same-day $750
Office	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division	Texas Secretary of State
Official page	sec.state.ma.us	sos.state.tx.us
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $125, every year	Franchise Tax Report + Public Information Report, no fee, every year
Due	Within 2.5 months after the close of the corporation's fiscal year	May 15 each year
Late yearly filing	$25 late fee	$50 late fee
Agent	Your Massachusetts resident agent	Our Texas registered agent

From Massachusetts to Texas, step by step

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

Your Massachusetts name and Texas's rules

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

Agents: Texas and Massachusetts

Texas calls it a registered agent; Massachusetts says resident agent. Texas papers come to us; Massachusetts's agent is unchanged.

Staying in good standing in Massachusetts and Texas

Each year your corporation files Massachusetts's Annual Report ($125) and Texas's Franchise Tax Report + Public Information Report (no fee). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Massachusetts plus Texas comes to $274 a year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Massachusetts to Texas

An LLC formed in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts's Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($520) and Texas's Public Information Report + Franchise Tax Report. See the LLC filing.

Questions Massachusetts owners ask about Texas

Does my Massachusetts company need to register in Texas?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Texas registration cost?

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

How long does the Texas registration take?

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

What are the yearly costs for Massachusetts and Texas?

$274 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $125 to Massachusetts and nothing to Texas for the yearly reports.

Does Texas require a registered agent?

Yes: the Massachusetts resident agent stays, and ours covers Texas for year one.

Will Texas accept my Massachusetts name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Texas later?

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

Official sources

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