Foreign registration · no form number

Pennsylvania Corporation Foreign Registration in North Dakota

To do business in North Dakota, a corporation formed in Pennsylvania registers there on an online registration (no form number), with $145 in state fees. North Dakota may ask for Pennsylvania's Subsistence Certificate ($40). We file it with the Secretary of State from your Pennsylvania records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

What Pennsylvania and North Dakota each ask for

	Pennsylvania formed here	North Dakota registering here
Document	Pennsylvania Subsistence Certificate	Foreign Business Corporation Certificate of Authority Application (no form number)
State fee	$40	$145 at order
How it is handled	Pennsylvania: online through Business Filing Services, or by mail on the copy and certificate request form	Filed online with North Dakota
Office	Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations	North Dakota Secretary of State
Official page	file.dos.pa.gov	sos.nd.gov
Name endings	the word corporation, company, incorporated or limited, an abbreviation, the word association, fund or syndicate, or words of like import used in the home state	company, corporation, incorporated, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $7, every year	Annual Report, $25, every year
Due	June 30	May 15
Agent	Your Pennsylvania registered office	Our North Dakota registered agent

How Pennsylvania companies register with North Dakota

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

Your Pennsylvania name and North Dakota's rules

North Dakota accepts your Pennsylvania name if it includes company, corporation, incorporated, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them. Pennsylvania's list (the word corporation, company, incorporated or limited, an abbreviation, the word association, fund or syndicate, or words of like import used in the home state) is not the same, but an ending such as “corporation” works in both states. We check your exact Pennsylvania name against North Dakota's records before filing.

Your North Dakota agent and the Pennsylvania one

North Dakota calls it a registered agent; Pennsylvania says registered office. Your current registered office stays for Pennsylvania; ours takes North Dakota's papers and notices.

Staying in good standing in Pennsylvania and North Dakota

Each year your corporation files Pennsylvania's Annual Report ($7) and North Dakota's Annual Report ($25). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Pennsylvania plus North Dakota comes to $181 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Pennsylvania to North Dakota

An LLC formed in Pennsylvania files its own registration with North Dakota ($135 in state fees, plus the Subsistence Certificate ($40)). After that come Pennsylvania's Annual Report ($7) and North Dakota's Annual Report ($50). See the LLC filing.

The other way: North Dakota into Pennsylvania

A corporation formed in North Dakota that registers with Pennsylvania files Form DSCB:15-412 with $250 in state fees; no North Dakota certificate is needed. See that filing.

Common questions: Pennsylvania to North Dakota

Does my Pennsylvania company need to register in North Dakota?

Yes, once a Pennsylvania business operates there; North Dakota registers it as a foreign corporation.

Is this a certificate of authority?

Yes: North Dakota issues one to Pennsylvania corporations once the filing is approved.

How much does the North Dakota registration cost?

$344 at checkout; North Dakota may also want Pennsylvania's Subsistence Certificate, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Pennsylvania and North Dakota?

$181 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $7 to Pennsylvania and $25 to North Dakota for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with North Dakota?

A Pennsylvania company cannot sue in court there until it registers.

Does North Dakota require a registered agent?

Yes: the Pennsylvania registered office stays, and ours covers North Dakota for year one.

Will North Dakota accept my Pennsylvania name?

Yes, if no company there already uses it and it includes company, corporation, incorporated, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them; “corporation” works in both states.

Can I form a new North Dakota corporation instead?

Yes, but Pennsylvania keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files North Dakota's Annual Report ($25), and the original keeps Pennsylvania's Annual Report.

Official sources

People also search

Corporation into North Dakota, by home state (48)

Pennsylvania into other states (41)

The same move for an LLC