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Montana Foreign Registration Get authority

Montana Foreign Registration  ·  From Wyoming

Montana registration for a Wyoming-formed LLC

Montana charges a Wyoming LLC $70 for its certificate of authority, while Wyoming keeps its $60 annual report minimum, making $130 for the first year. Wyoming's own good standing certificate runs $0 online, and the Montana application does not include it.

Get Montana authority

Wyoming and Montana side by side

ItemWyomingMontana
Yearly filingAnnual report, $60 minimumAnnual report, $0 by April 15
Proof of standing$0 onlineNot required
Original filingAlready formed$70 plus $50 per series
Registered agentA Wyoming agent on fileA Montana agent with a Montana street or rural route address

A separate Montana agent

The Wyoming agent does not travel with the LLC. Montana wants a street or rural route address inside the state, with a Montana mailing address too if it differs. A commercial agent listed with the Secretary of State is one option.

The privacy trade

Owners who chose Wyoming for privacy should think about what Montana's filing reveals. The application gives the principal office's business mailing address and, where the LLC is manager-managed, the managers' names and business mailing addresses. The annual report later asks for the principals of record. Choose the addresses and the signer deliberately.

The compliance statement

Whoever signs for the LLC states that it has complied with the organizational laws of Wyoming and exists there. A Wyoming certificate of good standing, at $0 online, is a convenient way to confirm the LLC is in order before signing, even though Montana does not ask for the document itself.

Filling in the Montana form

Use the exact Wyoming name and Wyoming as the jurisdiction. The date of organization and duration come from the Wyoming record. The principal office is the business mailing address wherever the company works. List managers separately only if they are not the members. A series LLC names each series and attaches each operating agreement.

First-year cost

Montana's $70 plus Wyoming's $60 minimum make $130. The Montana annual report is free if filed by April 15. Add $199 for preparation and any agent charge.

Two yearly obligations

Wyoming's annual report is a Wyoming duty on Wyoming's own date. Montana's is due April 15, and a report more than 140 days late can start revocation. Keep the two on one calendar.

Registering a Wyoming LLC in Montana

  1. Check the Wyoming record

    Proof of standing can be had online for $0 if you want it.

  2. Choose the Montana agent

    Someone with a street or rural route address in Montana.

  3. Prepare the portal form

    Wyoming name and jurisdiction, dates, principal office, managers.

  4. Sign the compliance statement

    After confirming the Wyoming record.

  5. Pay and submit

    $70, by card or e-check.

Case study: a Bozeman workshop

A Wyoming LLC leases a Bozeman workshop where it builds products. It checks its Wyoming record, engages a Bozeman firm as commercial agent, and files through the portal with the Wyoming name and jurisdiction, its formation date, the workshop as principal office, and its managers. It pays $70. Wyoming keeps its $60 annual report minimum, and Montana's annual report is filed each spring at no fee.

If the Wyoming LLC dissolves

Montana may start revocation if it receives an authenticated certificate from Wyoming saying the LLC has dissolved or merged away. A Wyoming LLC that is closing should file for withdrawal first, with the Department of Revenue certificate attached, so that its Montana record shows an orderly exit and its service address is on file.

Records for two states

File the Montana approval and its annual report confirmations next to Wyoming's, and the Montana agent's agreement next to the Wyoming agent's. The Montana certificate of authority shows the right to operate here, and the Wyoming certificate ($0 online) shows standing at home.

Series and Wyoming

A Wyoming LLC with series follows the same Montana rule as any other: each series is named, each operating agreement is attached, and each adds $50. Whether a particular Wyoming series structure fits Montana's statute is a legal question, and a Montana attorney can answer it.

Single-member Wyoming LLCs

A Wyoming LLC may have a single member. Montana asks for managers only where they differ from the members, so a single-member LLC run by its owner has no separate manager list. The application still needs the principal office address, the agent and the compliance statement, and the owner or an authorized person signs the statement.

If the Wyoming LLC changes its name

A change of name at home, a change in duration, or a move of the LLC's formation to another state, tribe or country requires an amended certificate in Montana at $15. Plan the Montana amendment alongside the Wyoming filing so that the two records match.

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.

Wyoming questions

Does Montana want a Wyoming certificate of good standing?

No. The application states compliance and existence instead.

Can my Wyoming agent act in Montana?

Only if it is also set up with a Montana street or rural route address and is willing to serve.

Will my details be public?

Yes. The application and annual report give business mailing addresses and principals.

Begin Montana registration for my Wyoming LLC

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 authority

Montana 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

  1. Montana Secretary of State, business filing fees
  2. Montana Secretary of State, filing fee schedule (PDF)
  3. Montana Code 35-8-1002, consequences of transacting business without authority
  4. Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division fee schedule
  5. Montana Secretary of State, annual report fee waiver announcement
  6. MCA 35-7-104, addresses in registered agent filings
  7. MCA 35-7-105, appointment of a registered agent
  8. MCA 35-7-102, definitions in the Model Registered Agents Act
  9. Montana Code 35-8-1003, application for certificate of authority
  10. Montana Secretary of State help center, file an annual report
  11. MCA 35-8-1011, grounds for revocation
  12. MCA 35-8-1010, withdrawal of a foreign LLC
  13. MCA 35-8-1007, amended certificate of authority

Need to be authorized in Montana?

Order now and the application is prepared from your answers.

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