Foreign registration · no form number

Maine LLC Foreign Registration in South Dakota

South Dakota registers an LLC from Maine as a foreign LLC on an online registration (no form number), with $750 in state fees. South Dakota also wants Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30). We file it with the Secretary of State using your Maine records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

Maine and South Dakota side by side

	Maine formed here	South Dakota registering here
Document	Maine Certificate of Existence	Application for Certificate of Authority (Foreign LLC) (no form number)
State fee	$30	$750 at order
How it is handled	Maine: online, downloaded from the company's information summary page	Filed online with South Dakota
Paid expedite		$50
Office	Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions	South Dakota Secretary of State
Official page	apps3.web.maine.gov	sdsos.gov
Age rule	Dated when issued	Must be current
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $85, every year	Annual Report, $55, every year
Due	June 1	During the entity's anniversary month each year
Late yearly filing	$50 late fee	$50 late fee
Agent	Your Maine registered agent	Our South Dakota registered agent

How Maine companies register with South Dakota

Order the Maine certificate
The Certificate of Existence ($30) is ordered from Maine separately; it is not part of our South Dakota order. South Dakota wants the Maine certificate current, so it is ordered close to the filing date.
We prepare and file the registration
It lists us as your South Dakota registered agent, next to your Maine name and formation date, with the certificate attached. The Maine certificate comes first; then the South Dakota filing goes in. Once South Dakota approves it, the Maine company can do business there.

South Dakota costs for Maine companies

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$750
Certificate of Existence, paid to Maine	$30
Our service, with a year of South Dakota registered agent service	$199
First-year total, Maine certificate included	$979

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

Will your Maine name work for South Dakota?

South Dakota accepts your Maine name if it includes 'limited liability company', 'limited company', or one of the abbreviations L.L.C., LLC, L.C. or LC (limited may be written Ltd. and company Co.). If the Maine name already ends in LLC, it meets the rule. If South Dakota's records show it taken, you can use an alternate name for the Maine company. South Dakota can hold a name for $25 before you file.

Agents: South Dakota and Maine

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

Staying in good standing in Maine and South Dakota

Each year your LLC files Maine's Annual Report ($85) and South Dakota's Annual Report ($55). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Maine plus South Dakota comes to $289 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Maine to South Dakota

A corporation formed in Maine files its own registration with South Dakota ($750 in state fees, the same, plus the Certificate of Existence ($30)). After that come Maine's Annual Report ($85) and South Dakota's Annual Report. See the corporation filing.

The other way: South Dakota into Maine

An LLC formed in South Dakota that registers with Maine files Form MLLC-12 with $250 in state fees and a $50 required expedite, plus the Certificate of Good Standing/Existence ($20) dated within 90 days. See that filing.

Common questions: Maine to South Dakota

Does my Maine company need to register in South Dakota?

Yes, once a Maine business operates there; South Dakota law lists 10 activities that do not count on their own.

How much does the South Dakota registration cost?

$949 at checkout plus $30 to Maine for the Certificate of Existence, $979 in all (checkout is $750 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Maine's certificate of good standing?

Yes: South Dakota wants Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30), current at filing.

How long does the South Dakota registration take?

South Dakota approves online filings immediately, once Maine's certificate is in hand. Paid expedite: $50.

What are the yearly costs for Maine and South Dakota?

$289 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $85 to Maine and $55 to South Dakota for the yearly reports.

Does South Dakota require a registered agent?

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

Will South Dakota 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. South Dakota names must include 'limited liability company', 'limited company', or one of the abbreviations L.L.C., LLC, L.C. or LC (limited may be written Ltd. and company Co.).

Can I form a new South Dakota LLC instead?

Yes, but Maine keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files South Dakota's Annual Report ($55), and the original keeps Maine's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from South Dakota later?

Maine companies leave by filing a Notice of Cancellation of Certificate of Authority, Foreign Limited Liability Company; until then, South Dakota's report stays due alongside Maine's filings.

Official sources

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