Foreign registration · no form number

Illinois LLC Foreign Registration in Massachusetts

To do business in Massachusetts, an LLC formed in Illinois registers there on a paper registration (no form number), with $520 in state fees. Massachusetts also asks for Illinois's Certificate of Good Standing ($25), no older than 90 days. We file it with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division using your Illinois records and act as your resident agent there for the first year.

Illinois and Massachusetts side by side

	Illinois formed here	Massachusetts registering here
Document	Illinois Certificate of Good Standing	Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$25	$520 at order (filing fee $500 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Illinois: online as an instant PDF, printed from the receipt page or sent by email link	Filed on Massachusetts's paper form
Paid expedite		$20
Office	Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Limited Liability Division	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division
Official page	ilsos.gov	sec.state.ma.us
Age rule	Dated when issued	Accepted if dated within 90 days
Yearly filing	Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form LLC-50.1), $75, every year	Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report, $500, every year
Due	Before the first day of the entity's anniversary month each year	On or before the anniversary date of registration to do business in Massachusetts
Agent	Your Illinois registered agent	Our Massachusetts resident agent

How Illinois companies register with Massachusetts

Order the Illinois certificate
The Certificate of Good Standing ($25) is ordered from Illinois separately; it is not part of our Massachusetts order. An instant Illinois certificate reaches Massachusetts only hours old, well inside the limit of 90 days.
We prepare and file the registration
It names us as your Massachusetts resident agent, with your Illinois name and formation date and the certificate attached. Illinois issues the certificate instantly, so the Massachusetts filing can go in the same day. After approval, your Illinois LLC is registered with Massachusetts.

First-year cost, Illinois to Massachusetts

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$520
Certificate of Good Standing, paid to Illinois	$25
Our service, with a year of Massachusetts resident agent service	$199
First-year total, Illinois certificate included	$744

Massachusetts's paid expedite is optional and not in the total.

Your Illinois name and Massachusetts's rules

Massachusetts can hold a name for $30 before you file.

Agents: Massachusetts and Illinois

Massachusetts calls it a resident agent; Illinois says registered agent. Massachusetts papers come to us; Illinois's agent is unchanged.

Yearly filings: Massachusetts and Illinois

Each year your LLC files Illinois's Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form LLC-50.1) ($75) and Massachusetts's Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($500). With our $149 resident agent renewal, Illinois plus Massachusetts comes to $724 a year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

Common questions: Illinois to Massachusetts

Does my Illinois company need to register in Massachusetts?

Yes, once an Illinois business operates there; Massachusetts registers it as a foreign LLC.

How much does it cost to register an Illinois LLC in Massachusetts?

$719 at checkout plus $25 to Illinois for the Certificate of Good Standing, $744 in all (checkout is $520 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Illinois's certificate of good standing?

Yes: Massachusetts wants it ($25), no more than 90 days old at filing.

What are the yearly costs for Illinois and Massachusetts?

$724 a year: our $149 resident agent renewal, $75 to Illinois and $500 to Massachusetts for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with Massachusetts?

An Illinois company cannot sue in court there until it registers, and Massachusetts can add a civil penalty of up to $500.

Does Massachusetts require a registered agent?

Yes: the Illinois registered agent stays, and ours covers Massachusetts for year one.

Can I form a new Massachusetts LLC instead?

Yes, but Illinois keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Massachusetts's Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($520), and the original keeps Illinois's yearly report.

How do I withdraw from Massachusetts later?

Illinois companies leave by filing a Certificate of Withdrawal ($100); until then, Massachusetts's report stays due alongside Illinois's filings.

Official sources

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