Doing Business in Missouri with a Delaware Company

When it comes to incorporating a business, Delaware has been the popular choice for many years. This is because Delaware is known for having the strongest corporate law structure, one that protects the Members or Directors of a company.

When incorporating in Delaware, your business is domestic to Delaware and foreign to every other state. If you operate in Missouri, for example, and incorporate in Delaware, you can operate all over the world, and your company requires Foreign Qualification, a process in which one state gives you the authority to operate there using a company that was incorporated in another state.

This blog focuses on Delaware LLCs and Corporations that operate in Missouri.

Major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, printing/publishing, electrical equipment, and light manufacturing. Regardless of the nature of your business in Missouri, if you incorporate in Delaware, you must foreign qualify to do business in Missouri using the Delaware law structure.

Missouri, like most states, has an application process, a state fee, and requires a Certificate of Good Standing from Delaware in order to foreign qualify in Missouri. They also require a physical address for the Registered Agent in Missouri to receive any legal documents or service of process. Often clients use their Delaware Registered Agent for help with the foreign qualification in their state of operation. Harvard Business Services, the home of the $50 Registered Agent, helps many clients to register their Delaware Company to do business in Missouri. We prepare the documents, obtain the Certificate of Good Standing from Delaware and file the appropriate documents with Missouri in order to get a Certificate of Authority to do business in Missouri. Harvard Business Services can also act as the Registered Agent in Missouri for $99/year.

Once registered as a foreign entity in Missouri, please keep in mind that the company still needs to keep up with Delaware’s compliance matters in order to remain in good standing. There are typically two items that are required to keep in compliance with Delaware: the Registered Agent Fee and the Franchise Tax. Harvard Business Services’ Registered Agent fee is $50/year and is guaranteed never to go up. The Delaware LLC Franchise Tax is $300/year and the minimum stock Corporation Franchise Tax is $225.

For more information on operating in Missouri with a Delaware LLC or Corporation, or if you need our assistance with the process, please reach out to Harvard Business Services at 1-800-345-2677. You can also email devin@delawareinc.com