South Carolina

Foreign registration · no form number

South Carolina LLC Foreign Registration in South Dakota

To do business in South Dakota, an LLC formed in South Carolina registers there on an online registration (no form number), with $750 in state fees. South Dakota also wants South Carolina's Certificate of Existence ($10). We file it with the Secretary of State from your South Carolina records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

South Carolina and South Dakota side by side

	South Carolina formed here	South Dakota registering here
Document	South Carolina Certificate of Existence	Application for Certificate of Authority (Foreign LLC) (no form number)
State fee	$10	$750 at order
How it is handled	South Carolina: online	Filed online with South Dakota
Paid expedite		$50
Office	South Carolina Secretary of State	South Dakota Secretary of State
Official page	businessfilings.sc.gov	sdsos.gov
Age rule	Dated when issued	Must be current
Yearly filing	No annual report	Annual Report, $55, every year
Due		During the entity's anniversary month each year
Agent	Your South Carolina agent for service of process	Our South Dakota registered agent

How South Carolina companies register with South Dakota

Order the South Carolina certificate
The Certificate of Existence ($10) is ordered from South Carolina separately; it is not part of our South Dakota order. South Dakota wants the South Carolina certificate current, so it is ordered close to the filing date.
We prepare and file the registration
It names us as your South Dakota registered agent, with your South Carolina name and formation date and the certificate attached. Once South Carolina's certificate is in hand, South Dakota's filing goes in. Once South Dakota approves it, the South Carolina company can do business there.

South Dakota costs for South Carolina companies

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$750
Certificate of Existence, paid to South Carolina	$10
Our service, with a year of South Dakota registered agent service	$199
First-year total, South Carolina certificate included	$959

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

Your South Carolina name and South Dakota's rules

South Dakota accepts your South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina company. South Dakota can hold a name for $25 before you file.

Agents: South Dakota and South Carolina

South Dakota calls it a registered agent; South Carolina says agent for service of process. South Dakota papers come to us; South Carolina's agent is unchanged.

Staying in good standing in South Carolina and South Dakota

South Carolina has no annual report for LLCs; South Dakota wants the Annual Report every year ($55). Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, South Carolina to South Dakota

A corporation formed in South Carolina files its own registration with South Dakota ($750 in state fees, the same, plus the Certificate of Existence ($10)). After that come South Carolina's Annual Report (Schedule D of Form SC1120 / SC1120S) and South Dakota's Annual Report. See the corporation filing.

The other way: South Dakota into South Carolina

An LLC formed in South Dakota that registers with South Carolina files Form F0008 with $110 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Good Standing/Existence ($20) dated within 30 days. See that filing.

Questions South Carolina owners ask about South Dakota

Does my South Carolina company need to register in South Dakota?

Yes, once a South Carolina 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 $10 to South Carolina for the Certificate of Existence, $959 in all (checkout is $750 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need South Carolina's certificate of good standing?

Yes: South Dakota wants South Carolina's Certificate of Existence ($10), current at filing.

How long does the South Dakota registration take?

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

What are the yearly costs for South Carolina and South Dakota?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), no South Carolina yearly report and South Dakota's report ($55).

Does South Dakota require a registered agent?

Yes: the South Carolina agent for service of process stays, and ours covers South Dakota for year one.

Will South Dakota accept my South Carolina name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its South Carolina 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 South Carolina keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files South Dakota's Annual Report ($55), and South Carolina has no yearly report for the original.

How do I withdraw from South Dakota later?

South Carolina 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 South Carolina's filings.

Official sources

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