How to Operate a Delaware LLC in Hawaii
People call us from all over the world wanting to form Delaware LLCs because Delaware is known for having the strongest corporate law structure in America.
When you form an LLC in Delaware, your business is domestic to Delaware and foreign to every other state, including your home state. If you’d like your LLC to operate in any other state, such as Hawaii, you must register your company as a foreign entity in that state.
This process is called Foreign Qualification, and it is the manner in which the LLC’s home state grants it the authority to do business there with a Delaware LLC.
Hawaii, like many states, has an application process and requires a state fee, as well as a Certificate of Good Standing from Delaware, in order to register your Delaware LLC as a foreign entity.
Hawaii also requires your LLC to retain a Registered Agent in order to accept service of process within the state. Harvard Business Services Inc. can file for Foreign Qualification in Hawaii for you; in order to do so, we will need the following information:
- Name of the LLC’s member or manager
- Business address of the LLC
- Registered Agent’s address
- Nature of the LLC’s business
We can prepare the application, obtain the Certificate of Good Standing from Delaware and email the documents to you for signature. The Certificate of Good Standing must not be dated more than 60 days prior to the filing. The application must be signed by a member or manager of the Delaware LLC.
Once the signed application is received, Harvard Business Services, Inc. will file the documents with the state of Hawaii. The typical turnaround time for approval is five business days.
If you would also like Harvard Business Services, Inc. to act as your Registered Agent in Hawaii, we would be happy to do so. The cost is $99 per year. Once your LLC achieves Foreign Qualification in Hawaii, the LLC will be responsible for filing an annual report.
This annual report is due a year later, no later than the end of the quarter in which you originally filed. (For example, if you registered your business in Hawaii on March 5, 2015, then your first annual report will be due before March 31, 2016.) The Hawaii annual report fee is $15. To remain in good standing in Delaware, you must maintain a Registered Agent as well as pay the annual Delaware Franchise Tax.
If you would like assistance with registering your Delaware LLC for Foreign Qualification in Hawaii, or if you have additional questions about how to operate a Delaware LLC in Hawaii, please call 1-800-345-2677, Ext. 6130 or email devin@delawareinc.com.
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