How to Register a Delaware LLC in North Carolina

When forming an LLC, Delaware is often the popular choice because it has the strongest corporate law structure.

Delaware’s legal climate has been ranked No. 1, which contributes to the popularity of forming a Delaware LLC—regardless of the state in which you will be running the business.

When operating a Delaware LLC in North Carolina, your business will be considered domestic to Delaware and foreign to North Carolina. North Carolina has a process called Foreign Qualification which enables a Delaware company to have the authority to operate in North Carolina.

Like most states, North Carolina will have an application process, a state fee, and also require additional documentation from Delaware.

How do you know if this foreign qualification process pertains to you? Typically, business owners register a Delaware LLC in North Carolina as a foreign entity if they have any type of physical presence there. This could mean an office, an employee, a bank account or simply running the business from their home office which is located in North Carolina.

So, what to do? Generally, people look to their Delaware Registered Agent for help with this process. Since 1981, we have been helping clients form Delaware LLCs and operate successfully all over the world.

First, we'll prepare the application and send it you for signature. We also know that North Carolina will require a certificate of good standing from the state of Delaware. We will obtain this from the state and include it in the package. Once we have your signatures, we will then file this application with North Carolina, pay the state fee and send you the Certificate of Authority once it is approved. The process will typically take about a week.

North Carolina will also require that Delaware LLCs have a Registered Agent address in North Carolina. This is for the purpose of receiving any legal documents or service of process from the state.

Once your business is registered as a foreign entity in North Carolina, the state of North Carolina will require an annual report. This report is $202, and is due by April 15 the year after you are registered in North Carolina. Your Registered Agent will send you a reminder about this report. North Carolina does not have a publishing requirement unless it is specifically required by the county of your registered age

For more information on registering your Delaware LLC in North Carolina or having a Registered Agent in North Carolina, please contact us at 1-800-345-2677, Ext. 6130.