Certificate of authority for Georgia
Georgia certificate of authority for a company formed elsewhere
The application for your entity type, the papers it needs, a Georgia agent, and the yearly registration that keeps the certificate valid.
Georgia certificate of authority
Sample orderPapers- ReceivedOrder in
- PapersHome state ordered
- FiledWith the Division
- IssuedCertificate
- Our filing fee
- $199
- Georgia fee
- $235
- Registered agent
- Included, first year; $149/yr after
- Corporation papers checked first
- Annual registration window marked
- Georgia registered agent available
Each line shows before payment.
A Georgia certificate of authority is the paper that permits an entity organized in another state to transact business in Georgia; applying for it costs $235 for a corporation, an LLC, a limited partnership or an LLLP, made up of $225 to file plus $10 in service charge. Corporations add one more item: a home-state certificate of existence, original copy, dated within the preceding 90 days. What we charge to assemble and file it is $199.
Georgia calls the filing an application for a certificate of authority, and the approved result carries the same name. Keeping the certificate alive matters, because annual registrations that stop can lead the Secretary of State to revoke it, and no reinstatement exists for a foreign entity, only a fresh registration.
Included in the order
- Included
Papers assembled
We list what your entity type must send and what it must leave out, then collect it.
- Included
The right form
A profit or nonprofit corporation, a professional corporation, a benefit corporation, an LLC and a partnership each have their own.
- Included
Certificate dates tracked
A corporation's home-state certificate must have been issued in the last 90 days when Georgia files. We order it with that in mind.
- Included
Agent at a street address
Appoint us as your Georgia agent, or keep the one you already use.
- Included
Costs shown
The Georgia fee of $235 is a separate line, with any paid review you choose.
- Included
Plain answers
Send a question about the form, the papers or the dates, before or after you order.
From order to certificate
Identify the entity type
It decides the form, the papers and who must be named.
Gather the papers
A corporation needs the home-state certificate and its three officers. An LLC needs the home details and a managing person.
Name the Georgia agent
Our office, a Georgia resident or a qualifying company.
We complete and file
Everything goes to the Corporations Division together with payment of $235.
Receive the certificate
Georgia issues it after review, and we pass it on.
Keep it valid
File the annual registration every year between January 1 and April 1.
Georgia certificate of authority at a glance
- Issued by
- Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division
- Georgia fee
- $235 for a corporation, LLC, LP or LLLP; the LLP fee is confirmed at filing
- Corporation sends
- An original home-state certificate of existence from the last 90 days
- LLC sends
- No home-state certificate
- Keeps it valid
- An annual registration of $60, from January 1 to April 1
- Agent
- A registered agent with a Georgia street address
- Waiting time
- about 7 business days online, about 15 business days from receipt by mail
- Filed late
- $500 penalty plus the fees due
The application for each entity type
| Entity | Application | Georgia fee |
|---|---|---|
| Profit or nonprofit corporation | Form CD 236 | $235 |
| Registered LLP | The LLP form, listed on the fee page | Fee confirmed at filing |
| LLC | Form CD 241 | $235 |
| LP or LLLP | Form CD 251 | $235 |
Professional corporations use Form CD 238 and benefit corporations Form CD 239. The corporation page and the LLC page take the two most common applications step by step.
What a corporation sends
A foreign corporation has the heaviest paper requirement. The Division asks for an original certificate of existence or good standing, certified by the home state or country, not more than 90 days old. Three officers go on the application, the CEO, the CFO and the secretary, each with an address, and the home-state articles stay out of the envelope. The certificate matters more than any other item, because it expires: once 90 days have passed since the home state issued it, it no longer qualifies. The corporation page explains the order of work.
What an LLC sends
An LLC sends less. Georgia's administrative rule for foreign LLCs does not call for a certified certificate of existence (Rule 590-7-21). The application, Form CD 241, asks for the home name and the date of formation, the principal place of business, the Georgia agent, one person with substantial responsibility for the business, and the address where records are kept. The LLC page covers each item.
When the application is due
In the FAQ's words, an entity that concludes it must file has 30 days from the start of its Georgia business. Whether an entity must file at all is, in the FAQ's words, a complicated question: statutes list activities that do not count, and the burden is on the entity. The page on whether you need one has the detail.
What waiting costs
Starting without authority is penalized at $500 plus the fees due for an LLC, LP or LLLP, at a flat $500 for a profit corporation and at $500 per year or part-year for an LLP. The entity may also be unable to sue in Georgia. The late filing page sets out each case.
Speed and what it costs
The Division's estimate is about 7 business days online and about 15 for paper, counted from receipt and varying with workload. Speed can be bought: $120 for two business days, $275 for same-day service on a request received before noon, $1,200 for one hour. Review speed does nothing for the home state's own certificate, which a corporation must have in hand before the Georgia filing can go.
Keeping the certificate valid
A certificate of authority stays good while the entity files its annual registration between January 1 and April 1, for $60. The first is due in the year after the initial filing. Skip it and the Division may revoke the certificate; after a revocation a foreign entity must file a new application and pay a new fee. The annual registration page gives the options, including filings for several years at once.
Delaware and Wyoming entities
A Delaware corporation must obtain a Delaware certificate of status, priced by Delaware at $50 for the short form, while a Delaware LLC goes on paying Delaware's $400 yearly tax. A Wyoming entity's certificate is free online. Details sit on the pages for Delaware entities and Wyoming entities. To apply without us, the page on applying yourself follows the Division's route.
Paying the state
The Division accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover online. Mailed filings go with a check or money order; cash is refused. A check needs a complete pre-printed address, and every filing has a payment of its own. Every fee is non-refundable, and a bounced check or declined card costs $30.
Ending the authority
Form CD 555 is the filing for an entity that has stopped working in Georgia and wants to give up its certificate. The filing is free online and $10 on paper. See the withdrawal page. Withdrawal ends only the Georgia authority; the entity carries on in its home state.
The first three years of a certificate, in state charges
| Moment | Charge | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $235 | $235 |
| First annual registration, the next spring | $60 | $295 |
| Second annual registration | $60 | $355 |
The totals use the corporation, LLC, LP and LLLP fee. A nonprofit pays less each spring; the fee page has the figures. Paid review, agents and the home-state certificate are extra.
Why a corporation and an LLC differ
A corporation sends an original home-state certificate of existence with its application. An LLC is covered by an administrative rule that does not call for the certificate, so its application carries the home details, signed by someone the home state's law authorizes. The result is two routes to the same document, one paper-heavy and one light.
What happens between filing and certificate
After submission the Division reviews the filing for conformity, and the certificate of authority issues on approval. Online filers see nothing until then; mailed filings get the updated record by post. The review can be shortened for a fee but not skipped, and authority exists from approval, not from payment.
Pages by question
| The question | Where it is answered |
|---|---|
| What a corporation files | Corporation application |
| What an LLC files | LLC application |
| Every Georgia charge | The fee page |
| Whether the entity must apply | Do I need one? |
| What late filing costs | Late filing penalty |
| Who may be the agent | Registered agent |
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.
Our filing fee, then the Georgia fee
Checkout lists what we charge and what Georgia charges on separate lines. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Get a Georgia certificate of authority
$199
+ $235 Georgia fee
- The Georgia application that fits your entity type, filled in from your answers
- The home-state certificate requested, where your entity type needs one
- A Georgia registered agent: our office, or the one you name
- A note of the annual registration window that follows
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
More on the Georgia certificate
Do I need an LLC attorney to apply?
No. The application can be filed by the entity. An attorney is the person to ask whether the entity must file at all.
Does the certificate show who owns the company?
No. An LLC application lists a managing person, and a corporation lists three officers. Owners are not asked for.
Georgia certificate of authority questions
How much is a Georgia certificate of authority?
$235 for a corporation, LLC, LP or LLLP; the LLP fee is confirmed at filing. The first group pays $225 to file and $10 as the service charge.
What does a corporation have to send?
A certificate of existence in its original form, dated within the preceding 90 days, along with the names and addresses of the CEO, CFO and secretary.
Does an LLC send a home-state certificate?
No. LLCs are not asked for one.
How long does it take?
About 7 business days for an online filing and 15 for a mailed one, according to the Division, with paid review available.
What keeps the certificate valid?
An annual registration for $60 between January 1 and April 1.
What happens if the certificate is revoked?
There is no reinstatement for foreign entities, so a new application and a new fee follow.
Can the entity be its own registered agent?
No. Another person or company has to serve, at a Georgia street address.
Is there a penalty for filing late?
Yes. An LLC, LP or LLLP owes $500 plus the fees due; a profit corporation owes $500.
Georgia sources
- Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division filing fees and expedited processing (PDF)
- Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division business FAQ
- Georgia Secretary of State, Form CD 241, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company (PDF)
- Georgia Secretary of State, how to file an annual registration
- Georgia Secretary of State, how to guide: register a foreign entity
- Georgia Rules, 590-7-21-.07, foreign limited liability companies
- Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule (PDF)
- Delaware Division of Corporations, LLC/LP/GP annual tax
Need Georgia authority for a company?
Send us the entity type and the date it started in Georgia. We assemble the papers and file.