South Carolina Certificate of Authority: Form F0002

South Carolina corporation certificate of authority at a glance

Filing

Form F0002, Application by a Foreign Corporation for a Certificate of Authority to Transact Business

State fee

$110 filing fee

Total with us

$309, first year of South Carolina agent for service of process included

Home-state certificate

Required

South Carolina yearly filing

Yearly report (named below), every year

Filed with

South Carolina Secretary of State

What Form F0002 asks for

For Form F0002, South Carolina needs:

• The exact name of your corporation as formed
• The state it was formed in and its date of formation
• A South Carolina agent for service of process with a street address there; we fill in ours
• A principal office address
• A certificate of good standing from the home state

Corporation into South Carolina, by home state

The first-year total adds the home state's certificate fee to the $309 checkout total; the certificate is ordered from that state.

When South Carolina expects a corporation to register

South Carolina law lists 13 activities that do not, on their own, count as doing business in South Carolina. Owning property there, without more, is not doing business either. An office, staff, or regular sales and contracts there are what typically lead to registration.

If you do business in South Carolina without registering

An unregistered corporation doing business there cannot start a lawsuit in South Carolina courts until it registers. Its contracts stay valid, and it can still defend a case brought against it. South Carolina penalties for unregistered business: $10 a day and a civil penalty of up to $1,000.

South Carolina agent for service of process rule

South Carolina requires every registered foreign corporation to keep an agent for service of process there. South Carolina allows an individual who resides in South Carolina with a business office identical to the registered office, or a domestic or foreign corporation authorized in the state with a business office identical to it to serve. Switching agents later costs $10. A resigning agent stays responsible for 31 days after filing the resignation. Our $199 includes the first year of South Carolina agent for service of process, then $149 a year.

South Carolina yearly filings

Once registered, your corporation files the South Carolina Annual Report (Schedule D of Form SC1120 / SC1120S) filed with DOR every year, due 15th day of the 4th month after the close of the tax year.

How long South Carolina takes

We file Form F0002 with the South Carolina Secretary of State.

Leaving South Carolina later

If your corporation stops doing business there, it ends the registration by filing an Application for Surrender of Authority to Do Business. Until that is filed, South Carolina's yearly filing stays due.