Wisconsin Corporation Certificate of Authority: Form 21

Wisconsin corporation certificate of authority at a glance

Filing

Form 21, Application for Certificate of Authority

State fee

$100 filing fee

Total with us

$299, first year of Wisconsin registered agent service included

Home-state certificate

Required, dated within 60 days

Wisconsin yearly filing

Yearly report (named below), $65, every year

Filed with

Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Corporate and Consumer Services

What Form 21 asks for

For Form 21, Wisconsin needs:

• The exact name of your corporation as formed
• The state it was formed in and its date of formation
• A Wisconsin registered agent with a street address there; we fill in ours
• A principal office address
• A certificate of good standing from the home state, no older than 60 days when Wisconsin receives it

Corporation into Wisconsin, by home state

The first-year total adds the home state's certificate fee to the $299 checkout total; the certificate is ordered from that state.

When Wisconsin expects a corporation to register

A one-off transaction completed within 30 days, and not one of a series, does not count as doing business in Wisconsin. An office, staff, or regular sales and contracts there are what typically lead to registration.

If you do business in Wisconsin without registering

Wisconsin penalties for unregistered business: up to $65 for each year or part of a year.

Wisconsin registered agent rule

Wisconsin requires every registered foreign corporation to keep a registered agent there. The agent must agree to serve before Wisconsin accepts the appointment. Switching agents later costs $25 on Form 13. Our $199 includes the first year of Wisconsin registered agent service, then $149 a year.

Wisconsin yearly filings

Once registered, your corporation files the Wisconsin Foreign Business Corporation Annual Report every year, at $65, due March 31 each year after qualification. The Wisconsin filing window opens January 1 and closes March 31. Filing it late adds $25. From year two, keeping the Wisconsin registration costs $214 a year with our registered agent service.

How long Wisconsin takes

We file Form 21 on Wisconsin's paper form with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Paid speed-ups: next-day $100, 4-hour (in person) $250, 1-hour (in person) $500; they are optional and not in the total.