Louisiana Foreign LLC Registration

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

State filing fee $185 one-time

Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA

Estimated total $665

Louisiana data last reviewed Oct 9, 2026 · sos.la.gov Totals include the $185 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Louisiana recurring state costs over the selected period.

Foreign Qualification

Filing fee: $185
Form: Application for Authority to Transact Business in Louisiana (Form SS972)
Annual obligation: $35/year
Processing time: Louisiana publishes no duration for routine processing. What it sells instead is priced: expedite at $35 for 24 hour processing and priority expedite at $60 while you wait, both on top of the filing fee, and expedited documents are processed before others received the same day. Filers in fourteen named parishes must file online through geauxBIZ
Expedite: $35 for expedited 24 hour service and $60 for expedited while you wait service, under Act 921 of 2026 from 1 October 2026. The while you wait tier means attending the counter
Estimated year 1 cost: $220

Visit Louisiana Secretary of State ↗

Need to register your LLC in Louisiana?

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

Have Northwest register your LLC in Louisiana ↗

$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 Louisiana?

Physical office or place of business
Employees working in the state

Important to know

Foreign registration costs $185 against $125 to form domestically.

What does NOT require registration in Louisiana 10 activities

Louisiana carves 10 activities out by statute. On their own, none of them requires a foreign LLC to register.

Maintaining, defending, or settling any proceeding
Holding meetings of managers or members, or carrying on internal company affairs
Maintaining bank accounts
Maintaining offices or agencies for transfer, exchange, and registration of the company's own membership interests, or appointing trustees or depositories for them
Soliciting or procuring orders, by mail or through employees or agents, if the orders require acceptance outside the state, including preliminary steps
Creating evidences of debt, mortgages, or liens
Securing or collecting debts, or enforcing rights in the property securing them
Transacting business in interstate or foreign commerce
Conducting an isolated transaction completed within 30 days that is not one of repeated transactions of like nature
Acquiring or disposing of property or a property interest, outside regular business activity

Under La. R.S. 12:1343. Louisiana has no independent-contractor safe harbor. It has no plain property-ownership item, but item (10) covers acquiring or disposing of property not as part of any regular business activity. The isolated-transaction carve-out carries a 30-day limit. There is no tax or service-of-process disclaimer.

Forming a new LLC in Louisiana instead? $125 to form

Formation fee: $125
Annual cost: $35/year
State income tax: Flat 3% income tax (2026 tax year)
Privacy: Low

Sources 13 pages

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

Fees and costs

static.sos.la.gov/shared/fee_changes_2026.pdf checked Oct 1, 2026
revenue.louisiana.gov/tax-education-and-faq...franchise-tax-repealed checked Oct 9, 2026
legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx/76311 checked Aug 14, 2026
opportunitylouisiana.gov/faqs/do-i-need-a-lice...t-to-start-my-business checked Aug 14, 2026

Deadlines and processing

legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx/76300 checked Aug 19, 2026

When you must register

legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx/76298 checked Sep 28, 2026

Penalties and reinstatement

legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx/76312 checked Sep 26, 2026
sos.la.gov/business-services/forms-fee-schedule checked Sep 28, 2026
sos.la.gov/media/ablp3yv5/972-ap...-liability-company.pdf checked Sep 28, 2026

Forms and filing

legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx/76252 checked Sep 27, 2026
legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx/76255 checked Sep 27, 2026
legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx/76257 checked Aug 15, 2026
sos.la.gov/business-services/file-business-documents checked Sep 27, 2026

More Louisiana guides

Already operating without registering?Civil penalty, back fees and court access in Louisiana, statute-cited ↗ Not sure Louisiana applies to you?What counts as doing business, and what does not ↗ Changing your registered agent?The form, the fee and the steps in Louisiana ↗ 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 Louisiana SOS before filing.