Foreign LLC registration in Ohio
Ohio foreign LLC registration: one short form, no certificate, no yearly report
Registration is $99 on Form 617. An LLC owes Ohio no home certificate and no yearly report.
Answers in
Company facts and the agent.
Form 617 typed
Name, home state, agent, signature.
Registration filed
Sent to the Secretary of State.
Registering a foreign LLC in Ohio costs $99 on Form 617, the Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company, and the filing needs no certificate of good standing from the LLC's home state. A company that works in Ohio without registering cannot sue to collect a debt in an Ohio court, and it owes the state an amount equal to the registration fee before a late registration will be filed. We type the form from your answers, handle the statutory agent paperwork and file it for $199.
The sections below give the short version of each topic, and each links to a longer page: the registration walkthrough, the fee page, the Form 617 walkthrough, the statutory agent rules and the cost of skipping registration.
- No home certificate for LLCs
- No yearly report for LLCs
- Ohio statutory agent available
Ohio Secretary of State
Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company
- Company
- Sample Lakeshore Partners LLC
- Formed in
- Kentucky
- Statutory agent
- Ohio address
A mock-up for display. Actual records carry your facts.
Your order covers
One short form
Form 617 asks for a name, a home state, an agent and a signature.
One state fee
$99 to register, with no yearly report afterward.
Statutory agent
We can act as your Ohio agent, or you can name another.
Name checked first
A home name that Ohio will not take gets an assumed name before filing.
Short questionnaire
Company name, home state, agent and signer.
A preparer replies
A person handles questions about Ohio.
Registering a foreign LLC in Ohio
Check the name
Ohio wants the words "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C.," "LLC," "limited," "ltd.," or "ltd", and a name that stands apart on its records. If the home name falls short, an assumed name is adopted first.
Choose a statutory agent
Pick an Ohio resident, or a business that has an Ohio address and is authorized to operate in the state.
Get the agent's acceptance
The agent signs an acceptance of the appointment on the form itself.
Type Form 617
Name, jurisdiction of formation, the agent and the signature of an authorized person.
Pay and file
The fee is $99. Submit it in Ohio Business Central or send it by post.
Keep the approved record
The company may begin transacting business once the registration is approved.
Ohio registration in brief
- Form
- Form 617, Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company
- Filed with
- Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services
- State fee
- $99
- Home-state paper
- None for an LLC
- Agent
- An Ohio-based statutory agent who signs an acceptance
- Signed by
- One person authorized by the company
- Where to file
- Ohio Business Central on the web, or paper by post
- Recurring filing
- Not required of an LLC
- Leaving
- Form 618, $50
Must an LLC formed in another state register in Ohio?
Yes, before it transacts business in the state. The Ohio LLC Act says a foreign LLC must register with the Secretary of State and may not transact business until the registration is approved. The Act does not define the phrase. It names 11 activities that fall outside the term, including bank accounts, member meetings, lawsuits the company defends or settles, sales made through independent contractors, orders a seller outside Ohio must accept, lending and borrowing, debt collection, plain ownership of property, one isolated deal and interstate commerce.
Everything else is a judgment about your facts. Staff, an office, a storefront or recurring Ohio customers point toward registering. The doing-business page works through everyday cases, and a business lawyer licensed in Ohio can decide a borderline one.
What does Form 617 ask for?
Very little. The statute lists what the registration must state: the LLC's name, and an assumed name where the real one falls short of Ohio's naming rule; the state of formation; the name and street address of the statutory agent with the agent's signed acceptance; and a line saying the company is foreign. A company with series adds the series statements. There is no purpose clause, no member list and no principal office address in the statute, and no certificate of good standing. The Form 617 page walks through each line.
What does registration cost?
The state fee is $99, the same as for an Ohio LLC's articles of organization. Corporations, nonprofits, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships also pay $99 to enter the state, though each uses its own form. Faster handling is an add-on to the filing fee: $100 for two business days, $200 for one business day, and $300 for in-person delivery. The fee page sets out every Ohio charge a foreign LLC meets.
Ohio's fee for each kind of entity
| Type of entity | What is filed | Form | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited liability company | Registration | Form 617 | $99 |
| Business corporation | Application for license | Form 530A | $99 |
| Nonprofit corporation | Application for license | Form 530B | $99 |
| Limited partnership | Registration | Form 531B | $99 |
| Limited liability partnership | Registration | Form 537 | $99 |
A corporation has its own Form 530A page, because Ohio licenses a corporation rather than registering it, and asks for a certificate from home.
What happens if an LLC works in Ohio without registering?
Three things follow from section 1706.515. The LLC cannot maintain a court proceeding in Ohio to collect its debts while no effective registration is on file, though a court may pause the case and let it continue once the company registers. It is liable to the state for an amount equal to the registration fee, and the Secretary of State holds back any later registration until that sum is paid. And the Attorney General can sue for the money and ask a court to stop further activity until everything is paid.
The same section is gentler on contracts and owners: the LLC's acts stay valid, it can defend any lawsuit, and no member answers for company debts merely because the registration is missing. The penalty page covers the details, including the separate and heavier rule for corporations.
Does an LLC owe a yearly report?
Not for an LLC. The Secretary of State's list of filings that keep a business active names biennial reports for limited liability partnerships, a statement every five years for nonprofits, trade name renewals and statutory agent updates, and no annual report for an LLC. What keeps an LLC's Ohio registration alive is the statutory agent: if the agent resigns or moves and no update is filed, the Secretary of State sends notice and cancels the registration unless the default is fixed inside 30 days. The yearly reports page lists every recurring filing and what falls to other agencies.
Leaving Ohio
A foreign LLC that stops working in Ohio files Form 618, the certificate of cancellation, for $50. It is effective when the Secretary of State files it, and it declares the company finished with Ohio business and supplies a mailing address for service of process. The cancellation page has the list of what to settle first.
The other entity types
A corporation entering Ohio applies for a license on Form 530A and pays $99. The application is verified by an officer's oath, carries a certificate of good standing dated within 90 days of filing, and is notarized. A foreign nonprofit pays the same fee and follows the same chapter. A foreign limited partnership or limited liability partnership pays $99 on its own form. The corporation page has the full list.
How fast can the registration be approved?
Regular handling takes 3 to 7 business days. Three paid levels shorten that: level one is $100 for 2 business days after receipt, level two is $200 for 1 business day, and level three is $300 with in-person delivery.
What if the name is not available?
Ohio will not accept a name that is indistinguishable on its records from another LLC, corporation, partnership, limited partnership or registered trade name, unless the other holder consents in writing. The fix is an assumed name that meets the rule, adopted before the filing. The company then does business in Ohio under that name, and no separate name registration is needed. A reservation of an assumed name holds it for 180 days while you decide.
What shows on the public record?
Each foreign LLC appears in an Ohio register beside the name and address of its agent. Anyone can look it up, so keep the agent entry current.
Where we fit
Some owners handle Form 617 on their own, and the do-it-yourself page serves them. For everyone else we do the typing and the agent paperwork: we turn your answers into the form, test the name against Ohio's rule, gather the agent's signed acceptance and send the filing in. Our price is $199, Ohio's is $99, and checkout shows both.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Our fee and Ohio's
Register in Ohio
- Form 617 typed from what you tell us
- The statutory agent paperwork finished, whether the agent is ours or yours
- The name checked against Ohio's naming rule before the form goes in
- The approved registration handed back to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
+ $99 Ohio fee
Ohio's fee is $99. It is listed apart from our own. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Ohio foreign LLC registration questions
How much does Ohio charge a foreign LLC to register?
$99 to the state, plus $199 from us.
Is a good standing certificate from home needed?
Not for an LLC. Ohio's statute lists what the registration states and a certificate is not on the list. A corporation does need one.
Does Ohio require a yearly report?
Not of an LLC. The upkeep is the statutory agent.
What is a statutory agent?
Ohio's name for a registered agent: the person or business in Ohio that accepts legal papers for the company.
Can I use a post office box for the agent?
No. The form bars post office boxes and businesses that rent out mailboxes.
What if my home name does not meet Ohio's rule?
You adopt an assumed name that does and register under it. No separate name filing is needed.
What happens if the agent stops serving?
Ohio sends notice and cancels the registration unless it is fixed within 30 days.
How do I leave?
File Form 618 for $50.
Sources
- Ohio Secretary of State, filing forms and fee schedule
- Form 617, Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company
- R.C. 111.16, fees of the Secretary of State
- Form 530A, Foreign For-Profit Corporation Application for License
- R.C. 1703.27, foreign nonprofit corporations
- R.C. 1706.511, foreign limited liability company registration
- R.C. 1706.515, collection of debts without registration
- Form 618, Certificate of Cancellation of Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company
- R.C. 1706.512, actions that are not transacting business
- Ohio Secretary of State filing cover sheet with service levels
- Ohio Admin. Code 111:1-2-01, expedited service
- Form 612, Certificate of Correction for a Limited Liability Company
- R.C. 1706.07, naming of a limited liability company
- R.C. 1706.513, complying name for registration
- R.C. 1706.09, agents of limited liability companies
- Ohio Secretary of State, maintaining active business status
- Ohio Secretary of State, starting a limited liability company
- R.C. 1706.514, cancellation of registration
- R.C. 1703.04, application for license
Ready to register in Ohio?
Order now and the form is typed from your answers.