Foreign registration · Form 635_0010

Maine LLC Foreign Registration in Iowa

Iowa registers an LLC from Maine as a foreign LLC on Form 635_0010, with $100 in state fees. Iowa also wants Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30), dated within 90 days. We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Services from your Maine records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

What Maine and Iowa each ask for

	Maine formed here	Iowa registering here
Document	Maine Certificate of Existence	Form 635_0010, Limited Liability Company Foreign Registration Statement
State fee	$30	$100 at order
How it is handled	Maine: online, downloaded from the company's information summary page	Filed with Iowa
Paid expedite		5-business-day $15, 2-business-day $50
Office	Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions	Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services
Official page	apps3.web.maine.gov	sos.iowa.gov
Age rule	Dated when issued	Accepted if dated within 90 days
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $85, every year	Biennial Report, $30, every two years
Due	June 1	April 1 of odd-numbered years
Agent	Your Maine registered agent	Our Iowa registered agent

How Maine companies register with Iowa

Order the Maine certificate
The Certificate of Existence ($30) is ordered from Maine separately; it is not part of our Iowa order. Iowa counts 90 days from the day Maine issues it, so the order goes in shortly before filing.
We prepare and file Form 635_0010
It lists us as your Iowa registered agent, next to your Maine name and formation date, with the certificate attached. Once Maine's certificate is in hand, Iowa's filing goes in. Once Iowa approves it, the Maine company can do business there.

First-year cost, Maine to Iowa

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$100
Certificate of Existence, paid to Maine	$30
Our service, with a year of Iowa registered agent service	$199
First-year total, Maine certificate included	$329

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

Will your Maine name work for Iowa?

If another Iowa company uses the Maine name, an alternate name is allowed. We search Iowa's records for Maine's name on file before anything is filed.

Your Iowa agent and the Maine one

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

Staying in good standing in Maine and Iowa

Maine wants the Annual Report every year ($85); Iowa wants the Biennial Report every two years ($30). The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Maine to Iowa

A corporation formed in Maine files Form 635_0110A with Iowa ($100 in state fees, the same). After that come Maine's Annual Report ($85) and Iowa's Biennial Report ($60). See the corporation filing.

The other way: Iowa into Maine

An LLC formed in Iowa that registers with Maine files Form MLLC-12 with $250 in state fees and a $50 required expedite, plus the Certificate of Existence ($5) dated within 90 days. See that filing.

Common questions: Maine to Iowa

Does my Maine company need to register in Iowa?

Yes, once a Maine business operates there; Iowa law lists 11 activities that do not count on their own.

How much does the Iowa registration cost?

$299 at checkout plus $30 to Maine for the Certificate of Existence, $329 in all (checkout is $100 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Maine's certificate of good standing?

Yes: Iowa wants Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30), no more than 90 days old at filing.

What are the yearly costs for Maine and Iowa?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Maine's report ($85) and Iowa's report ($30, every two years).

What if I don't register with Iowa?

A Maine company cannot sue in court there until it registers.

Does Iowa require a registered agent?

Yes: the Maine registered agent stays, and ours covers Iowa for year one.

Will Iowa accept my Maine name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its Maine name at home.

Can I form a new Iowa LLC instead?

Yes, but Maine keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Iowa's Biennial Report ($30), and the original keeps Maine's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Iowa later?

Maine companies leave by filing a Statement of Withdrawal ($10); until then, Iowa's report stays due alongside Maine's filings.

Official sources

People also search

LLC into Iowa, by home state (48)

Maine into other states (47)

The same move for a corporation