When business owners decide to incorporate, Delaware is often the popular choice. For many years Delaware has been known for having the strongest corporate law structure.
In other words, Delaware erects the biggest wall between a business and the owners behind the business.
This strong corporate veil is an advantage of both the Delaware LLC and the Delaware corporation. When incorporating in Delaware, your business is domestic to Delaware and foreign to every other state.
The process by which your home state gives your business the authority to operate in that state using a Delaware company is called Foreign Qualification. If you would like to operate a Delaware company in South Carolina, you must complete the process of Foreign Qualification in order to register your business as a foreign entity there.
South Carolina, like many other states, has an application process and a fee, and also requires a Delaware Certificate of Good Standing in order to prove that your company is in compliance. The Certificate can be no older than 30 days.
South Carolina also compels the business to have a Registered Agent with a physical address within the state of South Carolina in order to receive any service of process or annual notices. Many times, Delaware business owners work with their Delaware Registered Agent in order to facilitate this process.
We can help you foreign qualify in South Carolina and act as your South Carolina Registered Agent. Our Foreign Qualification filing department will ensure your documents are filed correctly and quickly.
South Carolina requires that a director sign the paperwork (for a Delaware corporation) and a manager or member signs (for a Delaware LLC). The state also requests the physical business address on the application. We can prepare the documents, obtain your company’s Delaware Certificate of Good Standing and send the forms to you for your signature.
Once the forms are signed and returned to us, we will file with South Carolina and send you a Certificate of Authority once the application is approved.
Once corporation or LLC is registered as a foreign entity in South Carolina, please keep in mind that your business will be responsible for maintaining both Delaware’s and South Carolina’s compliance and annual reports. The notices are typically sent to the Registered Agent’s address.
Since South Carolina’s corporate compliance report is generally similar to a tax return, many business owners tend to work with their accountant.
For more information on registering your Delaware business so it may operate as a foreign entity in South Carolina, please call us at 1-800-345-2677, Ext. 6130 or email us.
*Disclaimer*: Harvard Business Services, Inc. is neither a law firm nor an accounting firm and, even in cases where the author is an attorney, or a tax professional, nothing in this article constitutes legal or tax advice. This article provides general commentary on, and analysis of, the subject addressed. We strongly advise that you consult an attorney or tax professional to receive legal or tax guidance tailored to your specific circumstances. Any action taken or not taken based on this article is at your own risk. If an article cites or provides a link to third-party sources or websites, Harvard Business Services, Inc. is not responsible for and makes no representations regarding such source’s content or accuracy. Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Harvard Business Services, Inc.
There is 1 comment left for How to Operate a Delaware Company in South Carolina
Kaveh Saffari said: Wednesday, November 1, 2017I incorporated using your services.I am dissolving the LLC ,name is Audiologic llc .Wanted to let you know this in advance so no fees are charged for being my agent. Thanks Kaveh Saffari
HBS Staff replied: Thursday, November 2, 2017Hello Kaveh,
Thank you for your email. Once your cancellation filing has been approved by the state of Delaware, they will inform our office. At that time, we will update our records for the entity’s current status.
Feel free to contact us with any other questions.