Related: Get a Connecticut Registered Agent
If your company was not incorporated in Connecticut, but you wish to do business there, you need to register as a foreign entity with the state by applying for a Connecticut Certificate of Authority.
Acquiring Foreign Qualification in Connecticut, allows a company formed in Delaware or any other state to legally transact business in Connecticut.
Please note: information on this page is accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, requirements and costs can be changed by states at any time and Harvard Business Services cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
To obtain Connecticut Foreign Qualification, the Connecticut Secretary of State, Commercial Recording Division requires different forms and fees depending on what type of entity you are operating.
Requirements for LLCs:
Requirements for Corporations:
You must also appoint and list a Connecticut Registered Agent. The Registered Agent must be maintained at all times. We can provide this service at a cost of just $99/year.
Harvard Business Services can assist with your application so you don’t have to deal with the Connecticut Secretary of State directly. We do charge our own fee for this service, in addition to state fees. The exact fee can vary based upon whether your company is already filed and whether you need us to obtain additional documents to meet the state’s requirements. Please contact us for an exact quote.
On the Connecticut General Assembly website (https://www.cga.ct.gov/) you can view the state’s business regulations, which state the following do not constitute transacting business within Connecticut:
(1) Maintaining, defending or settling any proceeding;
(2) holding meetings of the board of directors or shareholders or carrying on other activities concerning internal corporate affairs;
(3) maintaining bank accounts;
(4) maintaining offices or agencies for the transfer, exchange and registration of the corporation's own securities or maintaining trustees or depositaries with respect to those securities;
(5) selling through independent contractors;
(6) soliciting or obtaining orders, whether by mail or through employees or agents or otherwise, if the orders require acceptance outside this state before they become contracts;
(7) creating or acquiring indebtedness, mortgages and security interests in real or personal property;
(8) securing or collecting debts or enforcing mortgages and security interests in property securing the debts;
(9) owning, without more, real or personal property;
(10) conducting an isolated transaction that is completed within thirty days and that is not one in the course of repeated transactions of a like nature;
(11) transacting business in interstate commerce.
[source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_601.htm#sec_33-920]
This is not an exhaustive list and there may be additional activities that do not constitute doing business.
Keep in mind that even if a Connecticut Certificate of Authority is not required for a specific activity, a bank, vendor or another party can still require one in order to establish a relationship.
Once you've acquired Connecticut Foreign Qualification, state law requires annual report to be filed by all corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships.
The fee for LLCs and LPs is $80 per year (effective July 1, 2020). The fee for corporations is $435, which is high relative to many other states. The report and accompanying fee are due between January 1st and March 31st every year, beginning in the calendar year after the company is first registered with the state.
Please note that this annual requirement is independent from requirements you may have in Delaware or other states.
Since 1981, Harvard Business Services, Inc. has helped form 424,007 Delaware corporations and LLCs for people all over the world.
Harvard Business Services, Inc. guarantees your annual Delaware Registered Agent Fee will remain fixed at $50 per company, per year, for the life of your company.
Harvard can provide assistance throughout the life of your company. These custom services are the most popular with our clients: