South Dakota Foreign LLC Certificate of Authority

South Dakota LLC certificate of authority at a glance

Filing

Application for Certificate of Authority (Foreign LLC) (no form number)

State fee

$750 filing fee

Total with us

$949, first year of South Dakota registered agent service included

Online processing

immediately

Home-state certificate

Required

South Dakota yearly filing

Annual Report, $55, every year

Filed with

South Dakota Secretary of State

What the South Dakota filing asks for

For the filing, South Dakota needs:

• The exact name of your LLC as formed, with an ending South Dakota accepts: '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.), or an alternate name if that name is taken there
• The state it was formed in and its date of formation
• A South Dakota registered agent with a street address there; we fill in ours
• A principal office address
• A certificate of good standing from the home state

LLC into South Dakota, by home state

The first-year total adds the home state's certificate fee to the $949 checkout total; the certificate is ordered from that state.

When South Dakota expects an LLC to register

South Dakota law lists 10 activities that do not, on their own, count as doing business in South Dakota. 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. These rules decide registration only; South Dakota 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 Dakota without registering

Its contracts stay valid, and it can still defend a case brought against it. The South Dakota attorney general can ask a court to stop the LLC doing business there until it registers. With no registered agent on file, legal papers can be served through the South Dakota Secretary of State.

South Dakota registered agent rule

South Dakota requires every registered foreign LLC to keep a registered agent there. The agent must agree to serve before South Dakota accepts the appointment. 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 Dakota registered agent service, then $149 a year.

South Dakota yearly filings

Once registered, your LLC files the South Dakota Annual Report every year, at $55, due during the entity's anniversary month each year. The South Dakota filing window opens first day of the anniversary month and closes last day of the anniversary month. Filing it late adds $50. From year two, keeping the South Dakota registration costs $204 a year with our registered agent service.

How long South Dakota takes

We file it online with the South Dakota Secretary of State. South Dakota online processing: immediately. South Dakota paper processing: one to three business days on average. Paid speed-ups: expedite $50; they are optional and not in the total.

Leaving South Dakota later

If your LLC stops doing business there, it ends the registration by filing a Notice of Cancellation of Certificate of Authority, Foreign Limited Liability Company. Until that is filed, South Dakota's yearly filing stays due.