Step-by-step foreign qualification requirements, fees, and filing instructions for Florida LLCs expanding into Delaware.
Before filing, verify that your LLC name (or a distinguishable variation) is available in Delaware. If your exact name is already taken, you may need to register under a fictitious or assumed name.
Search the business name register on the Delaware Secretary of State website before you file.
Delaware requires a Certificate of Status from Florida to prove your LLC is in good standing. The fee is $5. Available to order online. When Delaware is the destination for a foreign qualification, the home-state certificate of existence must be dated within six months prior to filing.
Order from Florida ↗Submit your application along with the Certificate of Status and the $200 filing fee. See the processing time under Ongoing compliance below. Expedited processing is available, priced under Ongoing compliance below. Online filing is available.
Delaware filing portal ↗You must designate a registered agent with a physical address in Delaware to accept legal documents on behalf of your LLC. This is required as part of the foreign qualification application.
Northwest files the foreign registration and serves as your registered agent in Delaware, which the filing requires. Only need an agent? Northwest's registered agent service alone is $125/year.
Have Northwest register your LLC in Delaware ↗Not sure which service fits? Our full Northwest Registered Agent review and Harbor Compliance review cover pricing, renewal terms, and where each one fits.
The only durations it publishes are the four paid tiers, from next day at $50 to one hour at $1,000.
Next day is $50 to $100, same day is $100 to $200 and must be received by 2pm, two hour service is $500 with a 7pm cut-off, and one hour service is $1,000 with a 9pm cut-off.
Already operating in Delaware without registering? Our guide to what Delaware charges unregistered LLCs covers fines, back fees, and court access.
Delaware carves 12 activities out by statute. On their own, none of them requires a foreign LLC to register.
Under 6 Del. C. Section 18-912, all 12 items. Delaware puts NO time limit on the isolated-transaction carve-out, unlike the 30 days used by most states. Delaware also has NO standalone safe harbor for simply owning property. Unique items: an equipment-installation carve-out and an insurance-company carve-out. Subsection (b) protects a person who is merely a member or manager. Subsection (c) disclaims service of process, taxation and regulation under other Delaware law.
If the business operates in Florida, a Delaware LLC still has to register in Florida as a foreign LLC. Here is what each route costs in state fees plus one Northwest registered agent per state at $125 a year.
Its address on the filing, first year of registered agent included
A virtual mailbox gives your LLC a separate address in Delaware for business mail. Confirm whether the state accepts it for the specific filing field. For banking, ask your bank before buying; it may require your actual operating address.
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Use our free tool to check if you need to register in additional states.
This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify all fees and requirements with the Delaware Secretary of State before filing.