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Filing MapperRoutes through every state's LLC paperwork, priced leg by leg.

Foreign LLC guide · Tennessee

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

For a foreign LLC registration in Tennessee, our 2026 routing puts TN Registered Agent.org ($199), Tennessee Registered Agent.co ($199) and Mainstay Filing ($199) in that order. On the three-year map, Tennessee stands 46th of 50 for foreign LLCs, with $300 to get in and $300 per report.

Surveyed by the Filing Mapper team

Tennessee survey figures

46th

of fifty by foreign LLC tolls

Mile 1 is the lightest toll. Open the 50-state route map

Entry fee for outside LLCs
$300
sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com (surveyed October 2026)
Checkpoint report
$300
Annual report
Home-state clearance
60 days
Oldest clearance accepted
State toll, three years
$900
Entry fee and two later checkpoints

The Tennessee stops, ranked

The order rests on five criteria set out in the method: three-year provider cost (35%), steps covered (27%), renewal fare, fit with Tennessee rules and fee labeling.

1. TN Registered Agent.org: best for a small yearly agent fare

Start here$199 for lap one, $99 for each lap after

The route starts with TN Registered Agent.org, where registration for $199 plus state tolls, agent duty free for the first lap.

Cost decides this stop: three years here come in under three years with Mainstay Filing.

The fare covers

  • The paperwork that admits the LLC
  • A year of agent service

On the plus side

  • A fare of $199
  • Agent covered in lap one
  • Then $99 per lap

On the minus side

  • The home state needs a separate agent
Visit TN Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

2. Tennessee Registered Agent.co: best for crossing into Tennessee alone

Home-state route$199 for lap one, $99 for each lap after

The next stop, number 2, is Tennessee Registered Agent.co: registration for $199 plus state tolls, agent duty free for the first lap.

Compared with TN Registered Agent.org, the fares come out level.

The fare covers

  • The paperwork that admits the LLC
  • A year of agent service

On the plus side

  • A fare of $199
  • Then $99 per lap
  • Agent covered in lap one

On the minus side

  • The home state needs a separate agent
Visit Tennessee Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

3. Mainstay Filing: best for one fare wherever the next state is

Every state$199 for lap one, $149 for each lap after

Continuing, Mainstay Filing is the third alternative, since registering costs $199 plus state tolls, and the registered agent costs nothing in year one.

TN Registered Agent.org is $100 cheaper over three years, which accounts for its higher placement.

From lap two the agent fare is $149 a year, whichever state it is.

The fare covers

  • The registration drafted and filed by Mainstay
  • No charge for registered agent duty while year one lasts
  • Runs in all fifty states

On the plus side

  • The same fare anywhere
  • $199 plus the state toll
  • The first agent lap is covered

On the minus side

  • A bigger agent renewal ($149)
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

The route as numbers

StopProviderLeg oneLater legsProvider cost, three years
1TN Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit TN Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Tennessee Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Tennessee Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Fares as listed on November 12, 2026. Every row still needs Tennessee's $300 registration toll.

Tennessee foreign LLC route calculator

The entry fee is $300, followed by the $300 report from year two, and each provider's fares are added.

With TN Registered Agent.org, 3 years come to $1,297 ($900 state, $397 provider).

Tennessee and the stops on either side of it

MileStateThree-year foreign LLC fees
44thOregon$825
45thSouth Dakota$860
46thTennessee$900
47thDelaware$1,000
48thRhode Island$1,450

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

Tennessee foreign registration: fee, form, office

The gate is the Application for Certificate of Authority, Foreign Limited Liability Company (SS-4233), delivered to the Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations along with $300. Alongside it, the state wants certificate of existence or good standing, issued no more than 60 days.

It then keeps clearing the annual report ($300), first day of the fourth month after fiscal year end (April 1 for a calendar year).

Before sending the filing

  • Certificate of existence or good standing, no older than 60 days.
  • Name and formation date as the home state lists them.
  • A registered agent with a street address here; every provider on this route can supply one.
  • Payment of the $300 state fee.

The price of not registering

A suit filed before registration is held up until the entry filing is made (Tenn. Code Ann. 48-249-913(a)). Its contracts stay valid (Tenn. Code Ann. 48-249-913(f)).

Reasoning for the order

TN Registered Agent.org pulled ahead of Tennessee Registered Agent.co on three-year charge on the route, weighted 35%.

Riding with TN Registered Agent.org means $397 in provider fares over three years, $100 below Mainstay Filing.

Tennessee foreign registration service questions

What does Tennessee toll a foreign LLC for entry?

$300 at the state office. Our picks add $199.

Which form gets a foreign LLC into Tennessee?

Entry is on the Application for Certificate of Authority, Foreign Limited Liability Company (SS-4233), which goes to the Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations.

Does the gate ask for clearance from the home state?

It does: certificate of existence or good standing, dated within 60 days of filing.

Is there a yearly checkpoint for a foreign LLC?

There is: the annual report, which costs $300.

What happens when the LLC does business there without registering?

A suit filed before registration is held up until the entry filing is made (Tenn. Code Ann. 48-249-913(a)). Its contracts stay valid (Tenn. Code Ann. 48-249-913(f)).

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

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

Which provider should take my foreign LLC across?

Take TN Registered Agent.org first and Tennessee Registered Agent.co and Mainstay Filing after it; what separates TN Registered Agent.org is three-year charge on the route.

More from this state

Survey markers for this route

Survey marker
  1. Marker tnbear.tn.gov, covering Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business Services, logged August 2026.
  2. Marker sos.tn.gov, covering Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business Services, logged August 2026.
  3. Marker sos.tn.gov, covering Tennessee yearly filing: Annual report: fee, official source, logged October 2026.
  4. Marker law.justia.com, covering Tennessee report due date, logged August 2026.
  5. Marker sos.tn.gov, covering Tennessee formation fee: Filing fee, official source, logged October 2026.
  6. Marker sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com, covering Tennessee registered agent statute, logged October 2026.
  7. Marker sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com, covering Form SS-4233, Certificate of Authority for a foreign, logged October 2026.
  8. Marker sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com, covering Form SS-4241, withdrawal or cancellation, logged October 2026.
  9. Marker publications.tnsosfiles.com, covering Tennessee Revised LLC Act, Public Chapter 286, logged October 2026.
  10. Marker capitol.tn.gov, covering Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act, foreign LLC, logged November 2026.
  11. Marker sos.oregon.gov, covering Oregon Secretary of State, foreign LLC forms, logged October 2026.
  12. Marker sos.oregon.gov, covering Application for Authority, form instructions, logged October 2026.
  13. Marker sos.oregon.gov, covering Business Registry fee schedule, logged October 2026.
  14. Marker sos.oregon.gov, covering Registered agents and service of process, logged October 2026.
  15. Marker oregonlegislature.gov, covering Oregon Revised Statutes, chapter 63, logged October 2026.
  16. Marker sdsos.gov, covering South Dakota Secretary of State, business services, logged October 2026.
  17. Marker sdsos.gov, covering Filing fee schedule, logged October 2026.
  18. Marker sdsos.gov, covering Foreign LLC application for Certificate of Authority, logged October 2026.
  19. Marker sdlegislature.gov, covering SDCL 47-34A-1003, transacting business, logged October 2026.
  20. Marker sdlegislature.gov, covering SDCL 47-34A-1008, effect of not registering, logged October 2026.
  21. Marker corpfiles.delaware.gov, covering Foreign LLC registration form, logged October 2026.
  22. Marker delcode.delaware.gov, covering Delaware Code Title 6, chapter 18, subchapter IX, logged October 2026.
  23. Marker delcode.delaware.gov, covering Delaware Code Title 6, chapter 18, subchapter XI, logged October 2026.
  24. Marker corpfiles.delaware.gov, covering Division of Corporations fee schedule, August 2026, logged October 2026.
  25. Marker corp.delaware.gov, covering Alternative entity annual tax instructions, logged October 2026.
  26. Marker docs.sos.ri.gov, covering Form 450, Application for Registration, logged October 2026.
  27. Marker docs.sos.ri.gov, covering Business Services fee schedule, logged October 2026.
  28. Marker webserver.rilegislature.gov, covering R.I, logged October 2026.
  29. Marker webserver.rilegislature.gov, covering R.I, logged October 2026.
  30. Marker docs.sos.ri.gov, covering Form 452, Certificate of Cancellation, logged October 2026.
  31. Marker tax.ri.gov, covering Rhode Island other cost, logged October 2026.
  32. TN Registered Agent.org: pricing page, surveyed on the company site November 12, 2026
  33. Tennessee Registered Agent.co: pricing page, surveyed on the company site November 12, 2026
  34. Mainstay Filing: Tennessee service page, surveyed on the company site November 12, 2026