Montana Foreign Registration · From Delaware
Montana registration for a Delaware-formed LLC
Montana charges a Delaware LLC $70 for its certificate of authority, and Delaware's $400 tax stays due as well, so the first year comes to $470. The application carries the LLC's own declaration about Delaware compliance in place of a Delaware certificate, which makes the Delaware record the thing to check before anyone signs.
Delaware and Montana side by side
| Item | Delaware | Montana |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly demand | $400 tax | Annual report, $0 by April 15 |
| Due | June 1 | April 15 |
| Late result | $200 penalty plus interest | $35 for a late report; revocation after 140 days |
| Proof of standing | $50 short, $175 long; neither is part of the application | A compliance statement in the application |
| Original filing | Already formed | $70 plus $50 per series |
The Delaware record behind the statement
The Montana application has the LLC declare that it observed its home organizational law and still exists. For a Delaware LLC that means the yearly tax is paid and the LLC is alive on Delaware's records. Unpaid tax blocks other Delaware filings, which is a warning that standing is in question. Pay first and sign second.
Skip the certificate
A Delaware good standing certificate costs $50 in short form and $175 in long form. The application's eight items include a compliance statement and no home certificate, so this filing does not need one.
Delaware series LLCs
A Delaware LLC may have series, and Montana handles them directly. The application names each series and attaches each series' operating agreement, and every series adds $50. A Delaware LLC with three series would pay $70 plus three times $50. If the Delaware LLC is not a series LLC, there is nothing extra to file.
Filling in the Montana form
The name is the exact Delaware name, and the jurisdiction is Delaware. The date of organization and the duration come from the Delaware formation record. The principal office is the mailing address where the business operates, not the Delaware agent's office. The Montana registered agent needs a street or rural route address in Montana, separate from the Delaware agent.
Two different deadlines
The Delaware tax is due June 1; a later payment adds $200 and interest of 1.5 percent monthly. Montana's annual report is due April 15 and is free before then. The two fall on opposite sides of the year, so a Delaware LLC in Montana files one in the spring and pays the other in early summer.
First-year cost
Montana's $70 plus Delaware's $400 make $470. The Montana annual report adds nothing if filed by April 15. Our fee of $199 and any agent charge are extra.
Registering a Delaware LLC in Montana
Confirm Delaware standing
Delaware's $400 tax falls due June 1.
Choose the Montana agent
A street or rural route address in Montana.
Prepare the portal form
Delaware name and jurisdiction, dates, principal office, managers, any series.
Sign the compliance statement
After the Delaware record is in order.
Pay and submit
$70 plus $50 per series.
Example: a Delaware LLC with a Billings office
A Delaware LLC rents an office in Billings for two sales staff. It confirms its Delaware tax is paid, engages a Billings firm as commercial agent, and signs in to the portal. It enters the Delaware name and jurisdiction, its formation date, its principal office address, and its managers. It pays $70. Afterwards, Delaware keeps charging $400 by June 1 and Montana's annual report is filed each spring.
If the Delaware LLC dissolves
Montana may start revocation if it receives a duly authenticated certificate from Delaware stating that the LLC has dissolved or merged away. An LLC that is closing should therefore apply for a certificate of withdrawal first, with the Department of Revenue certificate attached, so the Montana record shows an orderly exit.
Where Delaware sends its notice
The tax statement goes out in care of the Delaware registered agent at least 60 days ahead of June 1. A Delaware LLC whose Delaware agent has changed should keep Delaware's record current so the statement still arrives, because an unpaid tax undermines the standing that Montana's compliance statement relies on.
Manager-managed Delaware LLCs
A Delaware LLC may be run by managers. If the managers are not the same people as the members, Montana wants their names and business mailing addresses on the application. A manager-managed LLC whose managers are also its only members has nothing separate to list. Whichever applies, the list should match the Delaware record.
A Delaware agent that also serves here
If the same company is the LLC's Delaware agent and wants to serve in Montana, it needs a Montana street or rural route address and has to be willing to serve there. Confirm that in writing before naming the company on the application.
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.
Delaware questions
Does Montana want a Delaware certificate of good standing?
No. The application states compliance and existence instead.
Does a Montana registration alter the Delaware bill?
Delaware's $400 tax is unaffected and remains payable by June 1.
Do Delaware series LLCs pay extra?
Yes, $50 for each series named.
Our fee and Montana's
Get authority in Montana
+ $70 Montana fee
- The Montana certificate of authority application, written from your replies
- A compliance statement about your home-state law, ready to sign
- A registered agent in Montana, whether ours or one you pick
- Montana's issued certificate, forwarded to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
Montana
Get Montana authorityMontana charges $70, and $50 more for each series named in a series LLC. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Montana Secretary of State, business filing fees
- Montana Secretary of State, filing fee schedule (PDF)
- Montana Code 35-8-1002, consequences of transacting business without authority
- Delaware Division of Corporations, LLC/LP/GP annual tax
- Montana Secretary of State, annual report fee waiver announcement
- Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule (PDF)
- Division of Corporations, certificates of status and entity status online
- Montana Code 35-8-1003, application for certificate of authority
- Delaware Code Title 6, chapter 18, subchapter XI (fees and annual tax)
- MCA 35-7-104, addresses in registered agent filings
- Division of Corporations, pay taxes and file annual reports
- MCA 35-8-1011, grounds for revocation
- MCA 35-8-1010, withdrawal of a foreign LLC
Need to be authorized in Montana?
Order now and the application is prepared from your answers.