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Register Your South Carolina LLC in Georgia

Step-by-step foreign qualification requirements, fees, and filing instructions for South Carolina LLCs expanding into Georgia.

Cost Summary

Georgia filing fee
$235
South Carolina Certificate of Existence
$10
Annual obligation in Georgia
$60/year
Estimated year 1 total
$305
Note: Year 1 total includes the $235 filing fee in Georgia, the $10 Certificate of Existence fee from South Carolina, and $60 in first-year Georgia state charges. Registered agent fees (typically $100-$200/year) are not included.
South Carolina data last reviewed Aug 15, 2026 · sos.sc.gov
Georgia data last reviewed Aug 15, 2026 · ecorp.sos.ga.gov

How to register your South Carolina LLC in Georgia

1

Check name availability in Georgia

Before filing, verify that your LLC name (or a distinguishable variation) is available in Georgia. If your exact name is already taken, you may need to register under a fictitious or assumed name.

Search Georgia business names ↗
2

Get a Certificate of Existence from South Carolina

Georgia requires a Certificate of Existence from South Carolina to prove your LLC is in good standing. The fee is $10. Available to order online. No expiration printed; foreign-state applications typically require dating within 30-90 days.

Order from South Carolina ↗
3

File the Application for Certificate of Authority in Georgia

Submit your application along with the Certificate of Existence and the $235 filing fee. Processing time is 7-10 business days. Expedited processing available for $100. Online filing is available.

Georgia filing portal ↗
4

Appoint a registered agent in Georgia

You must designate a registered agent with a physical address in Georgia to accept legal documents on behalf of your LLC. This is required as part of the foreign qualification application.

Ongoing compliance in Georgia

Annual report
$60/year
Report due
April 1
Processing time
7-10 business days
Expedite
$100

Important to know about Georgia

  • The annual registration is $60, being a $50 filing fee plus a compulsory $10 service charge. Guides quoting $50 or $55 are using stale figures.
  • Operating unregistered triggers a single $500 penalty rather than an annually recurring one, plus the accumulated fees.

Already operating in Georgia without registering? Our guide to what Georgia charges unregistered LLCs covers fines, back fees, and court access.

Activities that do NOT require registration in Georgia

  • Maintaining or defending a lawsuit, administrative proceeding, or arbitration, or settling claims or disputes
  • Holding meetings of managers, members, or other owners, or carrying on internal company affairs
  • Maintaining bank accounts, savings and loan share accounts, custodial or agency arrangements, or brokerage accounts
  • Maintaining offices or agencies for the transfer, exchange, and registration of membership interests, or appointing trustees or depositaries for them
  • Effecting sales through independent contractors
  • Soliciting or procuring orders, by mail or through employees or agents, where the orders require acceptance outside Georgia before becoming binding and the contracts involve no local performance other than delivery and installation
  • Making loans, or creating or acquiring evidences of debt, mortgages, or liens on property, or recording them
  • Securing or collecting debts, or enforcing rights in property securing them
  • Owning real or personal property, and nothing more
  • Conducting an isolated transaction not in the course of repeated transactions of a like nature
  • Effecting transactions in interstate or foreign commerce
  • Serving as trustee, executor, administrator, or guardian, or in a like fiduciary capacity where Georgia law permits
  • Owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, an interest in another person organized under Georgia law or transacting business in Georgia

Under O.C.G.A. Section 14-11-702(b), all 13 statutory items. Georgia's isolated-transaction carve-out has NO time limit. Subsection (d) states this Code section does not establish a standard for taxation or service of process.

Need a registered agent in Georgia?

A registered agent is required for foreign qualification. These services operate in all 50 states.

Get Northwest Registered Agent ↗
Recommended · $125/year · Privacy included
Registered Agents Inc
$200/year · Report filing included, state fees extra
Visit site ↗
Harbor Compliance
$99 first year, then $149/year · Full-service compliance option
Visit site ↗

Not sure which service fits? Our full Northwest Registered Agent review and Harbor Compliance review cover pricing, renewal terms, and where each one fits.

Check your full compliance

Use our free tool to check if you need to register in additional states.

Start free compliance check ↗

This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify all fees and requirements with the Georgia Secretary of State before filing.