North Carolina

Texas

Foreign registration · Form 301

North Carolina Corporation Foreign Registration in Texas

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

What North Carolina and Texas each ask for

	North Carolina formed here	Texas registering here
Document	North Carolina 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	North Carolina: online as a downloadable electronic certified document, or on paper	Filed with Texas
Required expedite		$50 at order (Texas Express)
Faster options		next-day $500, same-day $750
Office	North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division	Texas Secretary of State
Official page	sosnc.gov	sos.state.tx.us
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $25, every year	Franchise Tax Report + Public Information Report, no fee, every year
Due	15th day of the 4th month following the close of the fiscal year	May 15 each year
Agent	Your North Carolina registered agent	Our Texas registered agent

How North Carolina companies register with Texas

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

Your North Carolina name and Texas's rules

Texas accepts your North Carolina name if it includes corporation, incorporated, company, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them. If another Texas company uses the North Carolina name, an alternate name is allowed. We search Texas's records for North Carolina's name on file before anything is filed.

Agents: Texas and North Carolina

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

Yearly filings: Texas and North Carolina

Each year your corporation files North Carolina's Annual Report ($25) and Texas's Franchise Tax Report + Public Information Report (no fee). With our $149 registered agent renewal, North Carolina plus Texas comes to $174 a year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, North Carolina to Texas

An LLC formed in North Carolina 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 North Carolina's Annual Report ($203) and Texas's Public Information Report + Franchise Tax Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Texas into North Carolina

A corporation formed in Texas that registers with North Carolina files Form B-09 with $253 in state fees. See that filing.

Questions North Carolina owners ask about Texas

Does my North Carolina company need to register in Texas?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

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

$1,016.13 at checkout, including the $50 required expedite; Texas may also want North Carolina'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 North Carolina's certificate if Texas asks for it. Faster state options: next-day $500, same-day $750.

What are the yearly costs for North Carolina and Texas?

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

Does Texas require a registered agent?

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

Will Texas accept my North Carolina name?

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

How do I withdraw from Texas later?

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

Official sources

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