Foreign registration · no form number

Pennsylvania LLC Foreign Registration in Massachusetts

Massachusetts registers an LLC from Pennsylvania as a foreign LLC on a paper registration (no form number), with $520 in state fees. Massachusetts also wants Pennsylvania's Subsistence Certificate ($40), dated within 90 days. We file it with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division from your Pennsylvania records, then serve as your resident agent there for year one.

Pennsylvania and Massachusetts side by side

	Pennsylvania formed here	Massachusetts registering here
Document	Pennsylvania Subsistence Certificate	Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$40	$520 at order (filing fee $500 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Pennsylvania: online through Business Filing Services, or by mail on the copy and certificate request form	Filed on Massachusetts's paper form
Paid expedite		$20
Office	Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division
Official page	file.dos.pa.gov	sec.state.ma.us
Age rule	Dated when issued	Accepted if dated within 90 days
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $7, every year	Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report, $500, every year
Due	September 30	On or before the anniversary date of registration to do business in Massachusetts
Agent	Your Pennsylvania registered office	Our Massachusetts resident agent

How Pennsylvania companies register with Massachusetts

Order the Pennsylvania certificate
The Subsistence Certificate ($40) is ordered from Pennsylvania separately; it is not part of our Massachusetts order. Massachusetts counts 90 days from the day Pennsylvania issues it, so the order goes in shortly before filing.
We prepare and file the registration
It names us as your Massachusetts resident agent, with your Pennsylvania name and formation date and the certificate attached. The Pennsylvania certificate comes first; then the Massachusetts filing goes in. After approval, your Pennsylvania LLC is registered with Massachusetts.

First-year cost, Pennsylvania to Massachusetts

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$520
Subsistence Certificate, paid to Pennsylvania	$40
Our service, with a year of Massachusetts resident agent service	$199
First-year total, Pennsylvania certificate included	$759

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

Your Pennsylvania name and Massachusetts's rules

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

Agents: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania

Massachusetts calls it a resident agent; Pennsylvania says registered office. Your current registered office stays for Pennsylvania; ours takes Massachusetts's papers and notices.

Yearly filings: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania

Each year your LLC files Pennsylvania's Annual Report ($7) and Massachusetts's Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($500). With our $149 resident agent renewal, Pennsylvania plus Massachusetts comes to $656 a year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

The other way: Massachusetts into Pennsylvania

An LLC formed in Massachusetts that registers with Pennsylvania files Form DSCB:15-412 with $250 in state fees; no Massachusetts certificate is needed. See that filing.

Questions Pennsylvania owners ask about Massachusetts

Does my Pennsylvania company need to register in Massachusetts?

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

How much does it cost to register a Pennsylvania LLC in Massachusetts?

$719 at checkout plus $40 to Pennsylvania for the Subsistence Certificate, $759 in all (checkout is $520 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Pennsylvania's certificate of good standing?

Yes: Massachusetts wants Pennsylvania's Subsistence Certificate ($40), no more than 90 days old at filing.

What are the yearly costs for Pennsylvania and Massachusetts?

$656 a year: our $149 resident agent renewal, $7 to Pennsylvania and $500 to Massachusetts for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with Massachusetts?

A Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania registered office stays, and ours covers Massachusetts for year one.

Can I form a new Massachusetts LLC instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Massachusetts later?

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

Official sources

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