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Illinois Foreign LLC Registration

The fee, the form, what triggers registration in Illinois, and how to file.

State filing fee $150 one-time
Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA
Estimated total $750
Illinois data last reviewed Oct 9, 2026 · ilsos.gov Totals include the $150 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Illinois recurring state costs over the selected period.

Foreign Qualification

Filing fee
$150
Form
Application for Admission to Transact Business (Form LLC-45.5)
Annual obligation
$75/year
Processing time
Illinois publishes no processing time for this filing.
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The $100 expedite gets it done the same day or within 24 hours; ask for it in person at the Springfield or Chicago office

Expedite
$100 on an application for admission, on top of the $150 filing fee, for service the same day or within 24 hours.
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Illinois sets expedite fees by document, so other filings carry their own. Ask in person at the Springfield or Chicago office; the Secretary of State may also accept electronic requests.

Estimated year 1 cost
$225
Visit Illinois Secretary of State ↗

Need to register your LLC in Illinois?

Northwest files the foreign registration and serves as your registered agent in Illinois, which the filing requires. Only need an agent? Northwest's registered agent service alone is $125/year.

Have Northwest register your LLC in Illinois ↗
$225 + the state fee · One year of registered agent included
Other registered agent options 2 alternatives
Registered Agents Inc
$200/year · Report filing included, state fees extra
Visit site ↗
Harbor Compliance
$99 first year, then $159/year · Full-service compliance option
Visit site ↗

What triggers foreign qualification in Illinois?

  • Physical office or place of business
  • Employees working in the state
  • Recurring business transactions

Important to know

  • Operating unregistered for more than 60 days costs a $2,000 penalty plus $100 for each month or fraction of a month, so the penalty compounds faster than in most states.
What does NOT require registration in Illinois 9 activities

Illinois carves 9 activities out by statute. On their own, none of them requires a foreign LLC to register.

  • Maintaining, defending, or settling a lawsuit or other proceeding
  • Holding meetings of members or managers, or carrying on internal company affairs
  • Maintaining bank accounts
  • Maintaining an office or agent to transfer, exchange, or register the company's own securities, or keeping a trustee or depositary for them
  • Selling through independent contractors
  • Soliciting or obtaining orders, by mail or through employees or agents, if orders require acceptance outside the state before becoming contracts
  • Owning real or personal property, and nothing more
  • Conducting an isolated transaction completed within 120 days that is not part of repeated similar transactions
  • Having a member or manager who is a resident of Illinois

Under 805 ILCS 180/45-47, all 9 statutory items. Illinois diverges from the uniform act three ways: the isolated-transaction window is 120 days rather than 30; there is a unique safe harbor for having a member or manager who is an Illinois resident; and the list omits indebtedness, debt collection and interstate commerce entirely. Subsection (b) disclaims service of process only, with no taxation clause.

Forming a new LLC in Illinois instead? $150 to form
Formation fee
$150
Annual cost
$75/year
State income tax
Flat 4.95% income tax, plus a 1.5% replacement tax on LLCs taxed as partnerships (2026 tax year)
Privacy
Low
Sources 16 pages

The official pages behind the figures on this page, with the date we last read each one. How we check.

Fees and costs

Deadlines and processing

When you must register

Penalties and reinstatement

Forms and filing

More Illinois guides

Already operating without registering?Civil penalty, back fees and court access in Illinois, statute-cited ↗ Not sure Illinois applies to you?What counts as doing business, and what does not ↗ Changing your registered agent?The form, the fee and the steps in Illinois ↗ Operating in more than one state?Free 3-question check of where you must register ↗

This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify with the Illinois SOS before filing.