Foreign registration · no form number

Wisconsin Corporation Foreign Registration in Montana

A corporation formed in Wisconsin that wants to do business in Montana files an online registration (no form number), with $70 in state fees. Montana may ask for Wisconsin's Certificate of Status ($10). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Services using your Wisconsin records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Wisconsin and Montana each ask for

	Wisconsin formed here	Montana registering here
Document	Wisconsin Certificate of Status	Certificate of Authority (no form number)
State fee	$10	$70 at order
How it is handled	Wisconsin: online, emailed as soon as it is requested	Filed online with Montana
Office	Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Corporate and Consumer Services	Montana Secretary of State, Business Services
Official page	dfi.wi.gov	help.sosmt.gov
Yearly filing	Domestic Business Corporation Annual Report, $25, every year	Annual Report, no fee, every year
Due	End of the calendar quarter containing the anniversary of the articles' effective date	April 15
Late yearly filing	$25 late fee	$15 late fee
Agent	Your Wisconsin registered agent	Our Montana registered agent

How Wisconsin companies register with Montana

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

Your Wisconsin name and Montana's rules

We search Montana's records for Wisconsin's name on file before anything is filed.

Agents: Montana and Wisconsin

Wisconsin and Montana both call it a registered agent. Your current registered agent stays for Wisconsin; ours takes Montana's papers and notices.

Staying in good standing in Wisconsin and Montana

Each year your corporation files Wisconsin's Domestic Business Corporation Annual Report ($25) and Montana's Annual Report (no fee). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Wisconsin plus Montana comes to $174 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Wisconsin to Montana

An LLC formed in Wisconsin files its own registration with Montana ($70 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Wisconsin's Annual Report (Form 5 / CORP5) ($25) and Montana's Annual Report ($20). See the LLC filing.

The other way: Montana into Wisconsin

A corporation formed in Montana that registers with Wisconsin files Form 21 with $100 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($5) dated within 60 days. See that filing.

Common questions: Wisconsin to Montana

Does my Wisconsin company need to register in Montana?

Yes, once a Wisconsin business operates there; Montana registers it as a foreign corporation.

Is this a certificate of authority?

Yes: Montana issues one to Wisconsin corporations once the filing is approved.

How much does it cost to register a Wisconsin corporation in Montana?

$269 at checkout; Montana may also want Wisconsin's Certificate of Status, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Wisconsin and Montana?

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

Does Montana require a registered agent?

Yes: the Wisconsin registered agent stays, and ours covers Montana for year one.

Can I form a new Montana corporation instead?

Yes, but Wisconsin keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Montana's Annual Report (no fee), and the original keeps Wisconsin's yearly report.

What does a Montana company file to register in Wisconsin?

It files Form 21 with $100 in state fees, plus Montana's good standing certificate.

How do I get a Wisconsin certificate of good standing?

Wisconsin issues the Certificate of Status online, emailed as soon as it is requested ($10).

Official sources

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