Tennessee

Foreign registration · Form SS-4233

Illinois LLC Foreign Registration in Tennessee

Tennessee registers an LLC from Illinois as a foreign LLC on Form SS-4233, with $300 in state fees. Tennessee also wants Illinois's Certificate of Good Standing ($25), dated within 60 days. We file it with the Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations using your Illinois records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Illinois and Tennessee each ask for

	Illinois formed here	Tennessee registering here
Document	Illinois Certificate of Good Standing	Form SS-4233, Application for Certificate of Authority, Foreign Limited Liability Company
State fee	$25	$300 at order
How it is handled	Illinois: online as an instant PDF, printed from the receipt page or sent by email link	Filed with Tennessee
Office	Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Limited Liability Division	Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations
Official page	ilsos.gov	sos.tn.gov
Age rule	Dated when issued	Accepted if dated within 60 days
Yearly filing	Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form LLC-50.1), $75, every year	Annual Report, $300, every year
Due	Before the first day of the entity's anniversary month each year
Agent	Your Illinois registered agent	Our Tennessee registered agent

From Illinois to Tennessee, step by step

Order the Illinois certificate
The Certificate of Good Standing ($25) is ordered from Illinois separately; it is not part of our Tennessee order. An instant Illinois certificate reaches Tennessee only hours old, well inside the limit of 60 days.
We prepare and file Form SS-4233
It lists us as your Tennessee registered agent, next to your Illinois name and formation date, with the certificate attached. With the certificate issued on the spot, nothing from Illinois delays the Tennessee filing. Once Tennessee approves it, the Illinois company can do business there.

Tennessee costs for Illinois companies

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$300
Certificate of Good Standing, paid to Illinois	$25
Our service, with a year of Tennessee registered agent service	$199
First-year total, Illinois certificate included	$524

Your Illinois name and Tennessee's rules

Tennessee can hold a name for $20 before you file.

Your Tennessee agent and the Illinois one

Illinois and Tennessee both call it a registered agent. Tennessee papers come to us; Illinois's agent is unchanged.

Yearly filings: Tennessee and Illinois

Each year your LLC files Illinois's Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form LLC-50.1) ($75) and Tennessee's Annual Report ($300). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Illinois plus Tennessee comes to $524 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Illinois to Tennessee

A corporation formed in Illinois files Form SS-4431 with Tennessee ($600 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Good Standing ($25)). After that come Illinois's Annual Report (Form BCA 14.05) ($75) and Tennessee's Annual Report ($20). See the corporation filing.

Common questions: Illinois to Tennessee

Does my Illinois company need to register in Tennessee?

Yes, once an Illinois business operates there; Tennessee law lists 11 activities that do not count on their own.

How much does the Tennessee registration cost?

$499 at checkout plus $25 to Illinois for the Certificate of Good Standing, $524 in all (checkout is $300 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Illinois's certificate of good standing?

Yes: Tennessee wants it ($25), no more than 60 days old at filing.

What are the yearly costs for Illinois and Tennessee?

$524 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $75 to Illinois and $300 to Tennessee for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with Tennessee?

An Illinois company cannot sue in court there until it registers, and Tennessee can add a fine of at least $900.

Does Tennessee require a registered agent?

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

Can I form a new Tennessee LLC instead?

Yes, but Illinois keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Tennessee's Annual Report ($300), and the original keeps Illinois's yearly report.

How do I withdraw from Tennessee later?

Illinois companies leave by filing an Application for Certificate of Withdrawal or Cancellation (Foreign Entity) ($20); until then, Tennessee's report stays due alongside Illinois's filings.

Official sources

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