South Carolina LLC Certificate of Authority: Form F0008

South Carolina LLC certificate of authority at a glance

Filing

Form F0008, Application for a Certificate of Authority by a Foreign Limited Liability Company

State fee

$110 filing fee

Total with us

$309, first year of South Carolina agent for service of process included

Home-state certificate

Required, dated within 30 days

South Carolina yearly filing

None for foreign LLCs

Filed with

South Carolina Secretary of State

What Form F0008 asks for

For Form F0008, South Carolina needs:

• The exact name of your LLC as formed
• The state it was formed in and its date of formation
• A South Carolina agent for service of process with a street address there; we fill in ours
• A principal office address
• A certificate of good standing from the home state, no older than 30 days when South Carolina receives it

LLC into South Carolina, by home state

The first-year total adds the home state's certificate fee to the $309 checkout total; the certificate is ordered from that state.

When South Carolina expects an LLC to register

South Carolina law lists 11 activities that do not, on their own, count as doing business in South Carolina; the list gives examples and is not the full test. A one-off transaction completed within 30 days, and not one of a series, does not count either. Owning property there, without more, is not doing business either. Being a member or manager of an LLC that does business in South Carolina does not by itself mean you do business there. These rules decide registration only; South Carolina tax nexus and lawsuits follow their own tests. An office, staff, or regular sales and contracts there are what typically lead to registration.

If you do business in South Carolina without registering

An unregistered LLC doing business there cannot start a lawsuit in South Carolina courts until it registers. Its contracts stay valid, and it can still defend a case brought against it. The South Carolina attorney general can ask a court to stop the LLC doing business there until it registers. With no agent for service of process on file, legal papers can be served through the South Carolina Secretary of State.

South Carolina agent for service of process rule

South Carolina requires every registered foreign LLC to keep an agent for service of process there. Switching agents later costs $10. A resigning agent stays responsible for 31 days after filing the resignation. Our $199 includes the first year of South Carolina agent for service of process, then $149 a year.

South Carolina yearly filings

South Carolina has no annual report for foreign LLCs.

How long South Carolina takes

We file Form F0008 with the South Carolina Secretary of State.

Leaving South Carolina later

If your LLC stops doing business there, it ends the registration by filing a Foreign Limited Liability Company Certificate of Cancellation of Authority to Transact Business. Until then, the South Carolina registration and agent for service of process stay in place.