North Carolina Certificate of Authority/Wyoming LLC in North Carolina
A Wyoming LLC applying for a North Carolina certificate of authority
A Wyoming LLC doing business in North Carolina files Form L-09 with a $250 fee and an original Wyoming certificate dated within the last 6 months. Wyoming's minimum of $60 a year does not shrink the North Carolina bill, which includes a $200 annual report due April 15. Our fixed fee covers preparing the North Carolina filing, on top of the state fee.
Wyoming and North Carolina side by side
| Wyoming (home) | North Carolina (authority) | |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | Formation already done | Form L-09, $250 |
| Recurring cost | Report plus license tax, $60 at the least, payable first day of your anniversary month | $200 report payable by April 15 |
| Agent | A Wyoming registered agent | A North Carolina agent with a North Carolina registered office |
| Certificate | Wyoming issues a good standing certificate online at no charge | Authenticated original, under 6 months old; no photocopy |
Free in Wyoming, but it must still be an original
Wyoming's online certificate costs nothing, which makes it the lowest-cost attachment in this filing. The catch is the wording of Form L-09: the certificate of existence has to be authenticated by the home-state official, less than six months old, and a photocopy of the certification cannot be accepted. We order the Wyoming certificate for you, so it meets the original-and-authenticated wording.
Completing Form L-09 for a Wyoming LLC
Item 1 is the Wyoming name with its ending, and item 2 is Wyoming. Item 3 describes the principal office or says there is none; the office can be anywhere, so give the address where the company is actually run from. Items 4, 5 and 6 cover the North Carolina agent, registered office and its mailing address, and item 7 lists the company officials, one of whom signs. Item 8 confirms the certificate, and items 9 to 11 cover a fictitious name resolution, the optional email and the effective date.
A Wyoming name in North Carolina
The Wyoming name must carry an ending that satisfies North Carolina's name rules, such as "limited liability company", "L.L.C.", "LLC". If North Carolina will not take it as it stands, the managers adopt another for use here by resolution, and the application states it. A Wyoming LLC that later changes its name or its jurisdiction of organization files Form L-10 for $50, with a new certificate of existence under 6 months old.
What the certificate gives a Wyoming LLC
A foreign LLC with a valid certificate has the same, but no greater, rights and privileges than a North Carolina LLC of like character, and the same duties and penalties (G.S. 57D-7-05(c)). The main practical gain is access to the state's courts as a plaintiff. The certificate also brings the maintenance duties the Secretary of State lists: payments within 60 days, changes reported within 60 days and interrogatories answered in 30 days.
Counting the real yearly cost
Wyoming's report and license tax carries a $60 minimum, payable first day of your anniversary month. Here the same LLC pays a one-time $250 and then $200 every April 15, plus a registered agent in the state. The Wyoming saving stays in Wyoming, because North Carolina charges according to where the company operates, not where it was formed.
A yearly calendar for a Wyoming LLC in North Carolina
| Date | Obligation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| April 15 | North Carolina LLC annual report due | $200 |
| Anniversary month | Wyoming annual report, payable first day of your anniversary month | $60 |
| Within 60 days of a change | Report a change of registered agent, registered office or principal office to North Carolina | $5 |
| After a request | Answer any interrogatories from the Secretary of State | Within 30 days |
What an unregistered Wyoming LLC risks
The consequences match those for any foreign LLC. It cannot keep a lawsuit alive past trial unless it obtains the certificate first, and it owes back fees and taxes plus a civil penalty of $10 per day, capped at $1,000 each year. The penalty page sets out the statute and the numbers.
Applying for a Wyoming LLC in North Carolina
Bring Wyoming current
File its annual report so the certificate shows the LLC in existence.
Line up the agent
A North Carolina street address for the registered office.
Get the authenticated Wyoming certificate
Under 6 months old on the filing date.
Send Form L-09
Fee $250, with the signature of a listed official.
Diary April 15
The North Carolina report, $200, every year.
Wyoming LLC in North Carolina questions
Is North Carolina cheaper for a Wyoming LLC?
No. The fees are the same for every foreign LLC: $250 to apply and $200 a year.
How does a Wyoming LLC end its North Carolina certificate?
It files Form L-14, the Application for Certificate of Withdrawal, for $10.
Can my Wyoming agent also serve here?
Only if the same company is authorized in North Carolina and keeps its office at a North Carolina street address; if not, a separate agent is named.
Simple pricing
We file your certificate of authority
- Form L-09 for LLCs, Form B-09 for corporations
- The certificate of existence, ordered from the state where you formed
- Submission to the Business Registration Division
- Our North Carolina registered agent, or one you name
- Your issued certificate of authority, sent to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
, plus the $250 state fee
Apply for my certificateState fees are charged at cost and listed on their own line at checkout. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Where these facts come from
- North Carolina Secretary of State, LLC fee schedule
- Form L-09, Application for Certificate of Authority (LLC)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration forms
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division (turn-around times)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration fees (nonprofit, LLP, expedite, payment fees)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration forms list (nonprofit, LP and LLP forms)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, annual report due dates
- Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division fee schedule
- Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division
- Wyoming Secretary of State, foreign LLC application for certificate of authority and instructions
- Wyoming Secretary of State, business questions and answers
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 55D-20 (name requirements)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 57D-7-05 (effect of certificate of authority)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Register a Foreign Business: maintaining registration
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 57D-7-30 (grounds for revocation)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 57D-7-02 (transacting business without authority)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 57D-7-20 (withdrawal of a foreign LLC)
Doing business in North Carolina?
Apply online today and we will prepare, submit and track your certificate of authority.