Kentucky Foreign Registration›Form FBE
Kentucky Form FBE, statement by statement
Form FBE is the Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity), and Kentucky charges $90 to file it for every entity type. It is a one-page form with 13 numbered statements, revised 7/25, and it can be filed online through FastTrack or by mail. We prepare it for $199.
Form FBE in brief
- Title
- Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity)
- Number
- Form FBE
- Statute
- KRS 14A.9-030
- Who files
- Any business entity formed outside Kentucky that is transacting business here
- Fee
- $90, for every entity type
- Revision
- 7/25
- Signs
- an officer, chairman of the board, member, manager, trustee or partner
- Mail to
- Michael Adams, Secretary of State, P.O. Box 718, Frankfort, KY 40602-0718
The thirteen statements
| Item | What it asks | How to answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Entity type | One of eleven boxes, from profit corporation and LLC to limited partnership, statutory trust and other |
| 2 | Name of the entity | Identical to the home-state record |
| 3 | Name to be used in Kentucky | Only if the home name is unavailable here; otherwise blank |
| 4 | State or country of organization | The home jurisdiction |
| 5 | Date of organization and duration | The formation date; blank duration means perpetual |
| 6 | Principal office mailing address | Anywhere; Kentucky mails its correspondence here |
| 7 | Registered office and agent | A Kentucky street address, no PO box, and the agent's name |
| 8 | Representatives | Officers and directors, managers, trustees or general partners with business addresses |
| 9 | Professional service corporation | A qualification statement, for that entity type only |
| 10 | Home-state certification | The signer certifies the entity validly exists under its home law |
| 11 | Limited liability limited partnership | A box for limited partnerships that so elect |
| 12 | Manager-managed LLC | A box for LLCs run by managers |
| 13 | Nicotine vapor retailer | A box for retailers of authorized nicotine vapor products |
Below item 13 the form carries the signature block of the authorized representative and a block for the registered agent's consent.
Items 1 to 5: who the entity is
Pick the entity type that the home state uses, then copy the name from the home record with its ending. The filing instructions say the name must comply with the ending requirements of the Kentucky name statute. Item 3 is a pressure valve for a name Kentucky cannot give you. Item 5 asks for the formation date, taken from the filing with the home office, and a duration, which is perpetual if you leave it blank.
Items 6 and 7: where the entity can be reached
The principal office is the one designated in writing with the Secretary of State, and it can be inside or outside Kentucky. All state correspondence goes there. The registered office must be a Kentucky street address and the registered agent's business address must match it. An individual agent must live in Kentucky, and an entity agent must be authorized here. The company cannot be its own agent.
Item 8: the representatives
List the people who run the entity, with business addresses: officers and directors for a corporation, managers for an LLC that has them, general partners for a limited partnership and trustees for a trust. A street address or PO box is accepted here, unlike the registered office. A member-managed LLC lists no members just because they are members.
Items 9 to 13: the check boxes
Most LLCs only deal with items 10 and 12. Item 10 is the home-state certification. Item 12 asks the LLC to check a box if it is manager-managed. Item 9 is for professional service corporations, item 11 for limited partnerships electing to be limited liability limited partnerships, and item 13 for retailers of authorized nicotine vapor products under KRS 438.305(2).
The agent consent
Unless the registered agent signs the application, the entity delivers the agent's written consent with it. If the agent is a corporation, an officer or the chair signs for it, and if the agent is an LLC, a manager or a member signs, giving title or capacity.
Fee, filing routes and delivery
The fee is $90. FastTrack takes the application online; by mail the filer sends one exact or conformed copy and a check payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer. The document takes effect on filing. A file-stamped postcard goes to the principal office address, or to an alternate address if the filer asks in writing with each document.
The county clerk copy
For the county clerk, the Secretary of State's instructions point filers to the organization search tool, which prints a copy of the filing. Under KRS 64.012 the clerk bills $33 when the copy is 5 pages or fewer.
Why a Form FBE comes back
The instructions point to these causes:
- A name that does not match the home record, or lacks a proper ending.
- A registered office given as a PO box.
- The company named as its own registered agent.
- No registered agent signature or consent.
- No signature from an officer, manager, member or partner.
- Item 8 left empty.
How we prepare Form FBE
You share the details
Name, formation, offices, managers, agent.
We draft and the agent consents
Thirteen statements, with the consent attached.
Your signer approves
Item 10 is a certification, so we send it for review.
We file online
FastTrack, $90.
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.
Form FBE questions
What does Form FBE cost?
$90, for every entity type.
Can I file it online?
Yes. FastTrack takes the application.
Do I attach a home-state certificate?
No. Item 10 is a certification on the form.
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
- KRS 14A.9-030, application for a certificate of authority
- Kentucky Form WFE, certificate of withdrawal of a foreign business entity
- Kentucky Form RAC, changing a registered agent or registered office
- KRS 14A.4-010, the duty to keep a registered office and agent
- KRS 64.012, fees of county clerks
- KRS 14A.2-040, copies filed with the county clerk
Working in Kentucky already?
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