Montana Foreign Registration · The application
The Montana application for a foreign LLC certificate of authority
The Montana application for a foreign LLC is the Application for Certificate of Authority (foreign limited liability company), filed through the Secretary of State's online portal for $70, plus $50 per series. MCA 35-8-1003 says it must set out eight things. The eight are taken in turn below. We prepare the application for $199.
The application at a glance
| Filing | Application for Certificate of Authority (foreign limited liability company) |
|---|---|
| Law | MCA 35-8-1003 |
| Filed through | The online portal at biz.sosmt.gov, under Foreign forms |
| Fee | $70, plus $50 per series |
| Paid by | credit or debit card or e-check |
| Eight things stated | Name, jurisdiction, dates, principal office, agent, managers, compliance, series |
| After filing | Review, then an email with instructions for the approved documents |
| Filed with | Montana Secretary of State, Business Services |
The eight statements, one at a time
| No. | What the application sets out |
|---|---|
| 1 | The LLC's name, or a Montana-acceptable name when its own cannot be used |
| 2 | The state, tribe or country whose law organized the LLC |
| 3 | Its date of organization and period of duration |
| 4 | The business mailing address of its principal office, wherever located |
| 5 | The registered agent information required by the Model Registered Agents Act |
| 6 | The current managers' names and business mailing addresses, if different from the members |
| 7 | A statement that it complied with its home organizational law and exists there |
| 8 | If there are series: each series' name and a copy of its operating agreement |
Those are the eight items in order.
Statements 1 and 2: who the LLC is
The first two statements identify the company. Use the home name unless Montana's naming rule blocks it, in which case the LLC can append limited company, l.l.c. or l.c. for use in Montana, or file an available assumed business name with the Secretary of State. The second statement names whatever state, tribe or country formed the LLC, and that matters later: a change to the name, the duration or the place of organization calls for an amended certificate.
Statements 3 and 4: dates and the principal office
Dates come from the home formation record. The principal office is given as a business mailing address, and because the statute adds wherever located, an office outside Montana is fine. Pick an address where mail is read: if the certificate is ever revoked, the Secretary of State forwards papers served on it to the principal office.
Statement 5: the registered agent
Here the LLC gives its commercial registered agent by name or, with none, a noncommercial agent's name and address. The agent must be located at a street or rural route address in the state, plus a separate mailing address where one exists. Naming the agent confirms that it agreed to serve.
Statement 6: managers
If the LLC is run by managers, and they are not the same people as the members, the application lists the managers' names and business mailing addresses. A member-managed LLC has nothing separate to list.
Statement 7: the compliance statement
This is Montana's stand-in for a good standing certificate. By it the LLC declares that it kept to the organizational law of the place that formed it and is still in existence there. A person with authority makes the declaration, and it should be accurate on the day it is made.
Statement 8: series
An LLC with series of members names each one on the application and includes a copy of each series' operating agreement. Each series costs $50. An LLC with no series skips this statement.
How the filing travels
The portal asks the filer to sign in, open Forms, choose Foreign forms and complete the form. Fields marked with a red asterisk are required, and an incomplete page shows a red x on its step. Payment is by card or e-check at submission. The office reviews the filing and emails instructions for getting the approved documents.
What the filing has to meet
Every required field is answered, the registered agent address is a street or rural route address, the name meets the naming rule or carries an alternative, and a series LLC attaches each operating agreement. Payment is made at submission. We check each of these before we submit.
How we prepare the Montana application
You send the company facts
Name, jurisdiction, dates, principal office and managers.
We settle the name and agent
The naming rule and the agent's agreement.
We complete the form
Every required field, and the series details if any.
An authorized person confirms the statement
The compliance statement stays with them.
We submit it
The state fee is $70, with $50 per series.
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.
Application questions
Where is the form found?
In the online portal, chosen by name under Foreign forms.
Does the application ask for a good standing certificate?
No. It asks for a statement of compliance and existence.
Who confirms the compliance statement?
A person with authority for the LLC, once the home record is in order.
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
- Montana Code 35-8-1003, application for certificate of authority
- Montana Secretary of State help center, register a business
- Montana Secretary of State help center, file an annual report
- Montana Code 35-8-1009, name of a foreign LLC
- MCA 35-8-1007, amended certificate of authority
- MCA 35-7-104, addresses in registered agent filings
- MCA 35-7-105, appointment of a registered agent
- MCA 35-7-102, definitions in the Model Registered Agents Act
Need to be authorized in Montana?
Order now and the application is prepared from your answers.