South Carolina Corporation Foreign Registration in North Dakota

To do business in North Dakota, a corporation formed in South Carolina registers there on an online registration (no form number), with $145 in state fees. North Dakota may ask for South Carolina's Certificate of Existence ($10). We file it with the Secretary of State from your South Carolina records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

South Carolina and North Dakota side by side

	South Carolina formed here	North Dakota registering here
Document	South Carolina Certificate of Existence	Foreign Business Corporation Certificate of Authority Application (no form number)
State fee	$10	$145 at order
How it is handled	South Carolina: online	Filed online with North Dakota
Office	South Carolina Secretary of State	North Dakota Secretary of State
Official page	businessfilings.sc.gov	sos.nd.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report (Schedule D of Form SC1120 / SC1120S), fee set by the state, every year	Annual Report, $25, every year
Due	15th day of the 4th month after the close of the tax year	May 15
Agent	Your South Carolina agent for service of process	Our North Dakota registered agent

How South Carolina companies register with North Dakota

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

Your South Carolina name and North Dakota's rules

North Dakota accepts your South Carolina name if it includes company, corporation, incorporated, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them. We check your exact South Carolina name against North Dakota's records before filing.

Your North Dakota agent and the South Carolina one

North Dakota calls it a registered agent; South Carolina says agent for service of process. Your current agent for service of process stays for South Carolina; ours takes North Dakota's papers and notices.

Yearly filings: North Dakota and South Carolina

South Carolina wants the Annual Report (Schedule D of Form SC1120 / SC1120S) every year; North Dakota wants the Annual Report every year ($25). The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, South Carolina to North Dakota

An LLC formed in South Carolina files its own registration with North Dakota ($135 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($10)). See the LLC filing.

The other way: North Dakota into South Carolina

A corporation formed in North Dakota that registers with South Carolina files Form F0002 with $110 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Good Standing ($20). See that filing.

Questions South Carolina owners ask about North Dakota

Does my South Carolina company need to register in North Dakota?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the North Dakota registration cost?

$344 at checkout; North Dakota may also want South Carolina's Certificate of Existence, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for South Carolina and North Dakota?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), South Carolina's report (fee set by the state) and North Dakota's report ($25).

What if I don't register with North Dakota?

A South Carolina company cannot sue in court there until it registers.

Does North Dakota require a registered agent?

Yes: the South Carolina agent for service of process stays, and ours covers North Dakota for year one.

Will North Dakota accept my South Carolina name?

Yes, if no company there already uses it and it includes company, corporation, incorporated, limited, or an abbreviation of one of them.

Can I form a new North Dakota corporation instead?

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

Official sources

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