Vermont Foreign Registration / The application

The Vermont foreign LLC application, one point at a time

Vermont's Application for Certificate of Authority costs $155 and travels with a certificate of existence or a document of similar import, authenticated by the official who keeps company records where the company was formed, dated not earlier than 90 days before the application is filed. By statute it states 4 things. We prepare it for $199.

The filing at a glance

Details

Title: Application for Certificate of Authority
Fee: $155
Attached: A certificate of existence or a document of similar import, authenticated by the official who keeps company records where the company was formed, dated not earlier than 90 days before the application is filed
Filed with: Vermont Secretary of State, Business Services Division
Where: Online in the Online Business Service Center, or by mail
What comes back: A certificate of authority

The four points the statute lists

The application gives the name of the company (and an alternate name if its own is unavailable in Vermont); the state or country whose law governs it; the address of its initial designated office; and the name, email and address of its agent for service of process in Vermont.

Point one: the name

Enter the name the company bears at home. If Vermont cannot take it, enter an alternate name instead, and the company then trades here under that name. The state rejects a name that is too similar to an already registered name, such that it would confuse the public as to whom they are dealing with.

Point two: the governing law

Say which state or country's law the company is organized under. The rule that follows: the law of the state or country where the company is organized governs its organization, its internal affairs and the liability of its members and managers, and Vermont may not deny a certificate because that law differs from its own.

Point three: the designated office

Give the address of the company's initial designated office. Moving it later is a statement of change at $35.

Point four: the agent for service of process

Give the agent's name, email and address. The agent is an individual resident of Vermont or a business organization that has a place of business in Vermont and is authorized to conduct business there, and whoever designates the agent attests to its consent.

What may be added

The company may also set out provisions that may go in an operating agreement; names, emails and addresses of owners, officers or other principals; and other matters not inconsistent with law. The state files the application without any of it.

The paper that goes with it

Alongside the application goes a certificate of existence or a document of similar import, authenticated by the official who keeps company records where the company was formed, dated not earlier than 90 days before the application is filed. Online, it is an upload in .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .tif and .pdf.

Fee, route and speed

The fee is $155 on every route. Online filing is preferred by the Secretary of State and costs nothing extra. Its timing: less than one business day online, seven to ten business days by mail.

What the filing produces

When the application meets the filing requirements of the chapter and every filing fee has been paid, the Secretary of State files it and issues a certificate of authority to the company or its representative.

What the state looks at

Three checks apply. The name must not be too close to one already registered, the certificate has to fall inside its window, and the fees must be paid before the application is filed.

If the name changes later

A foreign LLC that changes its name to one that does not comply may not transact business in Vermont until it adopts an alternate name and obtains an amended certificate of authority. The amended certificate is $35. Choosing a name that clears Vermont on the first application avoids the second filing.

Filing the application through us

Give us the company's details and the agent you prefer; we write the application, order the home certificate and file it online. Our fee is $199; Vermont's is $155.

Filing the Vermont application through us

Answer the questionnaire
Name, home state, designated office and agent.
Read the draft
Check the four points against your records.
We time the certificate
Dated inside 90 days.
We file online
The application and the $155 fee.

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

How many items must it contain?

4, as the statute lists them.

Is anything attached?

Yes, a home-state certificate up to 90 days old.

Is there a numbered form?

No. Vermont files the Application for Certificate of Authority online.

Who signs it?

A person authorized to act for the company.

May it go in on paper?

Yes, to the Business Services Division in Montpelier, though the state prefers online.

What does the state charge?

$155.

What you pay

Register in Vermont

Your Vermont application, drafted from a short questionnaire
Your home certificate, ordered so its date is still good on filing day
A Vermont agent for service of process, from us or of your own choosing
The certificate of authority Vermont issues, sent on to you
Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year

Vermont

$199

+ $155 Vermont fee

$155 is Vermont's fee for an LLC. Other entity types pay different amounts; the cost page lists them. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

Sources

Working in Vermont already?

Order today and the filing goes in before more days pile up on the penalty meter.