Foreign LLC guide · Delaware

Delaware Foreign LLC Route (2026): Entry Fees and the 3 Best Registration Services

2026 route for a foreign LLC registration in Delaware: Mainstay Filing ($199), Delaware Registered Agent.ai ($199) and DE Registered Agent.org ($199), ranked first to last. Delaware asks $200 for entry plus $400 at each later report, a three-year toll of 47th of 50.

Surveyed by the Filing Mapper team

Updated November 12, 2026

Delaware route markers

47th

of fifty by foreign LLC tolls

Mile 1 is the lightest toll. Compare the neighbors

Entry fee for outside LLCs: $200; Measured against delcode.delaware.gov, October 2026
Checkpoint report: $400; Annual LLC tax
Home-state clearance: 180 days; Issued no earlier than
State toll, three years: $1,000; Entry, then checkpoints two and three

Route services for Delaware

Five weighted criteria set the stops in order, with three-year cost and steps covered counting most (the method lists them).

1. Mainstay Filing: best for several registrations at once

Our lead pick$199 plus the $200 entry toll, $149/yr after

Begin at Mainstay Filing, since it files the Delaware registration for $199 above the state's entry fee, and the first agent year rides along free.

Delaware Registered Agent.ai is $100 cheaper over three years, yet the coverage criterion points the other direction.

After the free first lap, agent duty costs $149 a year in any state.

The fare covers

The registration drafted and filed by Mainstay
No charge for registered agent duty while year one lasts
Fifty-state service

On the plus side

$199 plus the state toll
Registered agent free for lap one
All fifty states covered

On the minus side

Agent renewal of $149, $50 above Delaware Registered Agent.ai

Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

2. Delaware Registered Agent.ai: best for one extra state

Home-state route$199 plus the $200 entry toll, $99/yr after

Stop 2, Delaware Registered Agent.ai: the Delaware registration for $199 with a free agent lap, then $99 each lap.

The fare covers

Delaware registration drafted and filed
A year of agent service

On the plus side

$199 above the state toll
$99 a lap for the agent afterward
A lap of agent duty is included

On the minus side

Delaware and no farther

Visit Delaware Registered Agent.aiPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

3. DE Registered Agent.org: best for a smaller agent renewal

Home-state route$199 plus the $200 entry toll, $99/yr after

Stop 3, DE Registered Agent.org: the Delaware registration for $199 with a free agent lap, then $99 each lap.

Its fares match Delaware Registered Agent.ai's, so the two stops sit side by side.

The fare covers

Delaware registration drafted and filed
A year of agent service

On the plus side

$199 above the state toll
A lap of agent duty is included
$99 a lap for the agent afterward

On the minus side

Delaware and no farther

Visit DE Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

3 services, side by side

Stop	Provider	Leg one	Later legs	Provider cost, three years
1	Mainstay Filing	$199	$149/yr	$497	Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2	Delaware Registered Agent.ai	$199	$99/yr	$397	Visit Delaware Registered Agent.aiPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3	DE Registered Agent.org	$199	$99/yr	$397	Visit DE Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Each fare was read from the provider's own pages on November 12, 2026. Delaware charges $200 to register, apart from each provider.

Delaware foreign LLC route calculator

The entry fee is $200, followed by the $400 report from year two, and each provider's fares are added.

Delaware and the stops on either side of it

Mile	State	Three-year foreign LLC fees
45th	South Dakota	$860
46th	Tennessee	$900
47th	Delaware	$1,000
48th	Rhode Island	$1,450
49th	Massachusetts	$1,500

The entire route map is at Foreign LLC fees by state, lightest tolls first.

Delaware foreign LLC registration fee and form (official)

Entry costs $200, paid when the Certificate of Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company reaches the Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations. The gate also asks for certificate of existence from the jurisdiction of formation, dated within 180 days.

It then keeps clearing the Annual LLC tax ($400), June 1.

Papers to gather

Certificate of existence from the jurisdiction of formation, issued within 180 days.
Registered home-state name and date of formation.
A registered agent with a street address here; every provider on this route can supply one.
Cash for the $200 registration fee.

Working without registration: the risks

The state's courts turn back a suit from an LLC that has not registered (6 Del. C. 18-907(a)). Agreements it has already signed keep their force (6 Del. C. 18-907(b)).

What put the first stop first

Mainstay Filing won the lead on steps the service takes over, worth 27% of the total; Delaware Registered Agent.ai came next.

Reach across states counted for more than Delaware Registered Agent.ai's smaller renewal.

Delaware FAQ

What does Delaware toll a foreign LLC for entry?

$200 as the official fee. Providers here charge $199 extra.

Which form gets a foreign LLC into Delaware?

Entry is on the Certificate of Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company, which goes to the Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations.

Does the gate ask for clearance from the home state?

It does: certificate of existence from the jurisdiction of formation, dated within 180 days of filing.

Is there a yearly checkpoint for a foreign LLC?

There is: the Annual LLC tax, which costs $400.

What happens when the LLC does business there without registering?

The state's courts turn back a suit from an LLC that has not registered (6 Del. C. 18-907(a)). Agreements it has already signed keep their force (6 Del. C. 18-907(b)).

Does a foreign LLC need to carry a registered agent for Delaware?

Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

Which provider should take my foreign LLC across?

The route begins at Mainstay Filing (the service fee is $199 in any state, with agent duty free for the opening year) and continues with Delaware Registered Agent.ai and DE Registered Agent.org.

Connecting routes

Survey markers for this route

Survey marker

Marker: Delaware yearly filing: Recurring obligation, official source is documented at corp.delaware.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Delaware yearly filing: Recurring obligation, official source is documented at corp.delaware.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Delaware yearly filing: HB 400, official source is documented at legis.delaware.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Delaware report due date is documented at delcode.delaware.gov, logged August 2026.
Marker: 6 Del is documented at delcode.delaware.gov, logged August 2026.
Marker: Delaware registered agent statute is documented at delcode.delaware.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Foreign LLC registration form is documented at corpfiles.delaware.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Delaware Code Title 6, chapter 18, subchapter IX is documented at delcode.delaware.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Division of Corporations fee schedule, August 2026 is documented at corpfiles.delaware.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: South Dakota Secretary of State, business services is documented at sdsos.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Filing fee schedule is documented at sdsos.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Foreign LLC application for Certificate of Authority is documented at sdsos.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: SDCL 47-34A-1003, transacting business is documented at sdlegislature.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: SDCL 47-34A-1008, effect of not registering is documented at sdlegislature.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Tennessee Secretary of State, business forms and fees is documented at sos.tn.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Form SS-4233, Certificate of Authority for a foreign is documented at sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com, logged October 2026.
Marker: Tennessee Secretary of State, business FAQs is documented at sos.tn.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Form SS-4241, withdrawal or cancellation is documented at sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com, logged October 2026.
Marker: Tennessee Revised LLC Act, Public Chapter 286 is documented at publications.tnsosfiles.com, logged October 2026.
Marker: Form 450, Application for Registration is documented at docs.sos.ri.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Business Services fee schedule is documented at docs.sos.ri.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: R.I is documented at webserver.rilegislature.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: R.I is documented at webserver.rilegislature.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Form 452, Certificate of Cancellation is documented at docs.sos.ri.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Rhode Island other cost is documented at tax.ri.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: Massachusetts Corporations Division, foreign LLC page is documented at sec.state.ma.us, logged October 2026.
Marker: Corporations Division fee schedule is documented at sec.state.ma.us, logged October 2026.
Marker: G.L. c. 156C § 48, foreign LLC registration is documented at malegislature.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: G.L. c. 156C § 54, failure to register is documented at malegislature.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: G.L. c. 156D § 15.01, transacting business is documented at malegislature.gov, logged October 2026.
Marker: 950 CMR 112.00, limited liability companies is documented at sec.state.ma.us, logged October 2026.
Mainstay Filing's Delaware service page, as surveyed November 12, 2026
Delaware Registered Agent.ai's pricing page, as surveyed November 12, 2026
DE Registered Agent.org's pricing page, as surveyed November 12, 2026