Kentucky Foreign Registration›Fees
What registering a foreign LLC in Kentucky costs, and what waiting costs
Kentucky charges $90 for the application on Form FBE, $15 for each annual report, $10 to change the registered agent and $40 to withdraw. A company that registers and files its first annual report pays $105. We add $199 for preparing and filing. Kentucky takes no home certificate, so there is nothing to buy from your home state.
The Kentucky fee schedule for a foreign entity
| Filing | Fee | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Application for certificate of authority | $90 | FBE |
| Application for amended certificate of authority | $40 | FCA |
| Application for certificate of withdrawal | $40 | WFE |
| Annual report | $15 | Online or printed |
| Amended annual report | $15 | Online or printed |
| Switching the registered agent or the registered office | $10 | RAC |
| Moving the principal office address | $10 | POC |
| An agent's resignation | No charge | SRA |
Every entity type pays the same $90 for the application, according to the filing instructions. Any other document required or permitted to be filed by a foreign entity costs $15.
Name services, if you need them
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Reserve a name for 120 days, or renew a reservation | $15 |
| Register a name | $36 |
Most foreign LLCs use their home name and never need either. The application has a line for a different Kentucky name, to be used only if the home name is unavailable here.
The daily penalty, in dollars
Working in Kentucky without a certificate costs $2 for each day, and the Secretary of State may collect it. Thirty days comes to $60, ninety days to $180 and a year to $730. The sum is modest compared with the lawsuit bar, but it grows each day and it is owed on top of $90 when you finally register.
Sample totals through three annual reports
| Path | Kentucky total |
|---|---|
| Register only | $90 |
| Register and file the first annual report | $105 |
| Register, then change the agent once | $100 |
| Register, then amend the certificate once | $130 |
| Register, file three annual reports | $135 |
| Register, file three annual reports, then withdraw | $175 |
What our fee covers
Our fee covers the preparation: collecting your answers, drafting the thirteen statements, getting the agent's consent, submitting through FastTrack, preparing the county clerk copy and passing the filed record back to you. Kentucky's fee is its own line at checkout and so is anything else a third party bills.
The county clerk, a separate bill
A copy of the application, and of any later amendment, withdrawal or change of agent or office, also goes to the clerk of the county holding the registered office, and KRS 64.012 sets the clerk's price: $33 while the filing stays within 5 pages, then $3 per extra page and $4 per extra reference to the same instrument. Registering with a copy of the application of up to five pages therefore comes to $123, and $138 once the first annual report is added.
When each fee falls due
The application fee is paid when you file. The $15 annual report is paid inside the January to June window of the calendar year after authorization, and then each year. Agent and address changes are paid when they are filed, and the withdrawal fee when you leave. Nothing is billed in advance and nothing is prorated. Nothing is charged for a home certificate, since Kentucky wants none, or for an agent's resignation.
Corporations and the other entity types
The same schedule applies to a corporation, a nonprofit and a limited partnership: $90 to register, $15 a year. A foreign limited liability partnership is billed $90 for its statement of foreign qualification. If you are not an LLC, the Form FBE page shows which box to tick.
How Kentucky takes payment
The Secretary of State takes cash, check, a prepaid account, or a debit or credit card issued by an approved issuer. A paper filer's check goes to the Kentucky State Treasurer, and an online filer pays on submission.
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.
Fee questions
Is the fee different for a corporation?
No. The instructions give $90 for all business entity types.
Does it cost anything to resign as registered agent?
No. Kentucky charges nothing for the resignation filing.
Is the annual report due the year I register?
No. It falls in the calendar year after authorization, at $15.
Our fee and Kentucky's
Start my Kentucky filing
KY+ $90 Kentucky fee
$199
- Form FBE, the Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity), completed from your answers
- The signed statements Kentucky wants from your agent and your authorized signer, collected for you
- A Kentucky registered office and agent: ours, or the ones you already use
- Online submission through FastTrack, the file-stamped record, and the county clerk copy prepared
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Kentucky's $90 is its own line at checkout. The county clerk bills separately for its copy. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Kentucky Secretary of State, business filing fees
- Kentucky FastTrack, apply for a certificate of authority
- KRS 14A.6-010, annual report
- Kentucky Form FBE, certificate of authority for a foreign business entity
- Kentucky Form WFE, certificate of withdrawal of a foreign business entity
- Kentucky Form RAC, changing a registered agent or registered office
- Kentucky Secretary of State, annual reports
- Kentucky Form FCA, amended certificate of authority
- Kentucky Form POC, moving a principal office address
- KRS 14A.9-020, consequences of transacting business without authority
- KRS 64.012, fees of county clerks
- KRS 14A.2-040, copies filed with the county clerk
Working in Kentucky already?
Every day without a certificate adds to the penalty meter. Start the filing today.