Rhode Island

Foreign registration · no form number

Rhode Island LLC Foreign Registration in Massachusetts

Massachusetts registers an LLC from Rhode Island as a foreign LLC on a paper registration (no form number), with $520 in state fees. Massachusetts also wants Rhode Island's Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing ($22), dated within 90 days. We file it with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division from your Rhode Island records, then serve as your resident agent there for year one.

What Rhode Island and Massachusetts each ask for

	Rhode Island formed here	Massachusetts registering here
Document	Rhode Island Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing	Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$22	$520 at order (filing fee $500 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Rhode Island: online in about two business days, the same day in person, or in 5 to 7 business days by mail	Filed on Massachusetts's paper form
Paid expedite		$20
Office	Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division
Official page	sos.ri.gov	sec.state.ma.us
Age rule	Dated when issued	Accepted if dated within 90 days
Yearly filing	Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company (Form 632), $50, every year	Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report, $500, every year
Due	May 1	On or before the anniversary date of registration to do business in Massachusetts
Agent	Your Rhode Island resident agent	Our Massachusetts resident agent

From Rhode Island to Massachusetts, step by step

Order the Rhode Island certificate
The Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing ($22) is ordered from Rhode Island separately; it is not part of our Massachusetts order. It comes as a short form ($22) or a long form ($30). With Rhode Island taking days and Massachusetts counting 90 days from issue, the order is timed for both.
We prepare and file the registration
It names us as your Massachusetts resident agent, with your Rhode Island name and formation date and the certificate attached. The Rhode Island certificate takes days to arrive, so the Massachusetts filing waits for it. After approval, your Rhode Island LLC is registered with Massachusetts.

First-year cost, Rhode Island to Massachusetts

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$520
Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing, paid to Rhode Island	$22
Our service, with a year of Massachusetts resident agent service	$199
First-year total, Rhode Island certificate included	$741

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

Your Rhode Island name and Massachusetts's rules

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

Your Massachusetts agent and the Rhode Island one

Rhode Island and Massachusetts both call it a resident agent. Your current resident agent stays for Rhode Island; ours takes Massachusetts's papers and notices.

Yearly filings: Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Each year your LLC files Rhode Island's Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company (Form 632) ($50) and Massachusetts's Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($500). With our $149 resident agent renewal, Rhode Island plus Massachusetts comes to $699 a year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

The other way: Massachusetts into Rhode Island

An LLC formed in Massachusetts that registers with Rhode Island files Form 450 with $156 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Good Standing ($25) dated within 60 days. See that filing.

Common questions: Rhode Island to Massachusetts

Does my Rhode Island company need to register in Massachusetts?

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

How much does the Massachusetts registration cost?

$719 at checkout plus $22 to Rhode Island for the Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing, $741 in all (checkout is $520 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Rhode Island's certificate of good standing?

Yes: Massachusetts wants it ($22), no more than 90 days old at filing.

What are the yearly costs for Rhode Island and Massachusetts?

$699 a year: our $149 resident agent renewal, $50 to Rhode Island and $500 to Massachusetts for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with Massachusetts?

A Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island resident agent stays, and ours covers Massachusetts for year one.

Can I form a new Massachusetts LLC instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Massachusetts later?

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

Official sources

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