Georgia Certificate of Authority / Wyoming entities
A Wyoming corporation or LLC seeking Georgia authority
For $235 a Wyoming LLC files Form CD 241 and gets a Georgia certificate of authority, enclosing no Wyoming certificate. A Wyoming corporation pays $235 and sends an original Wyoming certificate of good standing, which Wyoming provides free online. After either, Wyoming's $60 minimum and Georgia's $60 registration recur, $120 a year.
Wyoming corporations and LLCs in Georgia
| Topic | Wyoming corporation | Wyoming LLC |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia application | Form CD 236 | Form CD 241 |
| Georgia fee | $235 | $235 |
| Wyoming certificate | Original, issued within 90 days; free online | Not required |
| Georgia annual registration | $60 | $60 |
| Wyoming yearly charge | $60 minimum | $60 minimum |
The corporation route
A Wyoming corporation needs an original certificate from Wyoming, issued within the last 90 days. Because Wyoming provides the certificate of good standing free online, the cost is a few minutes, and the clock is the only hazard: print or order the original so that it arrives with time to spare before Georgia files. The corporation names its CEO, CFO and secretary, and a Georgia agent.
The LLC route
A Wyoming LLC sends nothing from Wyoming. Form CD 241 takes the LLC's Wyoming name, the formation date, the principal place of business, which may be in neither state, a Georgia agent, a managing person and the records address. The form's state line lets the LLC be managed from another state.
What the yearly cost looks like
Georgia's $60 registration and Wyoming's $60 minimum come to $120 a year. In the opening year an LLC pays $295: the Georgia certificate of authority and the Wyoming minimum. Add agents in both states, any paid review and our filing fee for the full cost.
Privacy and the Georgia filing
The Georgia LLC application wants a name and address for one person substantially responsible for managing the business, together with a filing person and an email address. Georgia's FAQ says an LLC's public listing is limited to the registered agent. Decide who to name before signing.
Two calendars
Georgia's window runs January 1 to April 1. Wyoming's charge follows its own schedule and is separate from anything Georgia collects. A late Georgia filing adds $25 and risks revocation, and there is no reinstatement for a foreign entity once the certificate is revoked.
A Wyoming entity applies in Georgia
Choose the form
Form CD 236 if a corporation; Form CD 241 if an LLC.
Print the Wyoming certificate if a corporation
An original, within 90 days of the filing.
Name the Georgia agent
At a physical Georgia address.
File with Georgia
$235 for a corporation, $235 for an LLC.
Calendar the spring filing
January 1 to April 1 each year.
A year in two states, for a Wyoming entity
| When | Georgia | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 to April 1 | Annual registration, $60 | On Wyoming's schedule |
| Past April 1 | Georgia adds $25 | Wyoming sets its own consequence |
| Any time | Notices to agent and principal office | $60 minimum on its own cycle |
Papers Georgia leaves out for a Wyoming LLC
The LLC application does not ask for the Wyoming articles of organization, an operating agreement or a Wyoming officer list. Its asks are modest: name, formation date and duration, addresses, agent and a single managing person. Hold on to the Wyoming papers for your bank; they support the entity and are not part of this filing.
Using the free Wyoming certificate well
Wyoming's good standing certificate costs nothing online, so a Wyoming corporation can generate a fresh one on demand. That removes the cost of the ninety-day rule but not its timing: the certificate is only useful if it was issued within the 90 days before Georgia files. Print or save it on the day you are ready, check the date, and file at once. An LLC can still use the certificate for a bank, though Georgia does not ask for it.
Where Wyoming entities meet Georgia
A Wyoming entity gets the same thirty days as any other foreign entity, running from the day Georgia work began. Whether its activity counts as transacting business is covered on the page on whether you need a certificate. Applying brings a yearly filing, so set the numbers side by side before you decide. A Georgia filing after April 1 adds $25, and online approval generally takes about 7 business days.
Wyoming entity questions
Does a Wyoming LLC need the free certificate?
Not for Georgia. It remains available for a bank.
Can the Wyoming agent serve in Georgia?
Only if it meets Georgia's rules, including a Georgia street address.
More on Wyoming entities
Does Wyoming charge for the certificate?
Wyoming's fee schedule shows its good standing certificate as free online.
Must the Wyoming certificate be printed on paper?
For a corporation Georgia wants an original with the home jurisdiction's certification. The Wyoming certificate is checked against that when the filing is prepared.
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
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)
- Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division fee schedule
- Georgia Secretary of State, how to file an annual registration
- Georgia Secretary of State, how to guide: register a foreign entity
Need Georgia authority for a company?
Send us the entity type and the date it started in Georgia. We assemble the papers and file.