Tennessee

Foreign registration · no form number

Tennessee LLC Foreign Registration in Massachusetts

To do business in Massachusetts, an LLC formed in Tennessee registers there on a paper registration (no form number), with $520 in state fees. Massachusetts also asks for Tennessee's Certificate of Existence ($20), no older than 90 days. We file it with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division using your Tennessee records and act as your resident agent there for the first year.

What Tennessee and Massachusetts each ask for

	Tennessee formed here	Massachusetts registering here
Document	Tennessee Certificate of Existence	Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$20	$520 at order (filing fee $500 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Tennessee: online or by mail	Filed on Massachusetts's paper form
Paid expedite		$20
Office	Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division
Official page	sos.tn.gov	sec.state.ma.us
Age rule	Dated when issued	Accepted if dated within 90 days
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $300, every year	Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report, $500, every year
Due		On or before the anniversary date of registration to do business in Massachusetts
Agent	Your Tennessee registered agent	Our Massachusetts resident agent

From Tennessee to Massachusetts, step by step

Order the Tennessee certificate
The Certificate of Existence ($20) is ordered from Tennessee separately; it is not part of our Massachusetts order. Massachusetts counts 90 days from the day Tennessee 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 Tennessee name and formation date and the certificate attached. Once Tennessee's certificate is in hand, Massachusetts's filing goes in. Once Massachusetts approves it, the Tennessee company can do business there.

Massachusetts costs for Tennessee companies

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$520
Certificate of Existence, paid to Tennessee	$20
Our service, with a year of Massachusetts resident agent service	$199
First-year total, Tennessee certificate included	$739

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

Your Tennessee name and Massachusetts's rules

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

Your Massachusetts agent and the Tennessee one

Massachusetts calls it a resident agent; Tennessee says registered agent. Massachusetts papers come to us; Tennessee's agent is unchanged.

Yearly filings: Massachusetts and Tennessee

Each year your LLC files Tennessee's Annual Report ($300) and Massachusetts's Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($500). With our $149 resident agent renewal, Tennessee plus Massachusetts comes to $949 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

The other way: Massachusetts into Tennessee

An LLC formed in Massachusetts that registers with Tennessee files Form SS-4233 with $300 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Good Standing ($25) dated within 60 days. See that filing.

Common questions: Tennessee to Massachusetts

Does my Tennessee company need to register in Massachusetts?

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

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

$719 at checkout plus $20 to Tennessee for the Certificate of Existence, $739 in all (checkout is $520 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Tennessee's certificate of good standing?

Yes: Massachusetts wants Tennessee's Certificate of Existence ($20), no more than 90 days old at filing.

What are the yearly costs for Tennessee and Massachusetts?

$949 a year: our $149 resident agent renewal, $300 to Tennessee and $500 to Massachusetts for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with Massachusetts?

A Tennessee 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 Tennessee registered agent stays, and ours covers Massachusetts for year one.

Can I form a new Massachusetts LLC instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Massachusetts later?

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

Official sources

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