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Michigan Foreign LLC Registration

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

State filing fee $50 one-time
Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA
Total, all in $500
Michigan data last reviewed Sep 11, 2026 · michigan.gov Totals include the $50 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Michigan recurring state costs over the selected period.

Foreign Qualification

Filing fee
$50
Form
Application for Certificate of Authority (Form CSCL/CD-760)
Annual obligation
$25/year
Processing time
Michigan publishes no turnaround for ordinary processing. LARA states only the times it sells: 24 hours, same day, two hours and one hour, each at its own price.
More

Paper annual statements no longer exist; all annual reports and statements must be filed online.

Expedite
$50 for 24 hour service on a formation or foreign qualification, $100 for 24 hours on an existing entity.
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Above that, $100 same day for a formation or qualification and $200 same day for an existing entity, both to a 1pm cut-off; $500 for two hours to a 3pm cut-off; $1,000 for one hour to a 4pm cut-off.

Estimated year 1 cost
$75
Visit Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs ↗

Need to register your LLC in Michigan?

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

Have Northwest register your LLC in Michigan ↗
$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 $149/year · Full-service compliance option
Visit site ↗

What triggers foreign qualification in Michigan?

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

Important to know

  • The annual report is due February 15 on a fixed calendar rather than the registration anniversary.
  • Penalties accrue per calendar month and Michigan looks back up to five years.
What does NOT require registration in Michigan 11 activities

Michigan carves 11 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 members, or carrying on other activities concerning internal affairs
  • Maintaining bank accounts
  • Maintaining securities transfer, exchange, or registration offices, or trustees or depositaries for those securities
  • Selling through independent contractors
  • Soliciting or obtaining orders, if the orders require acceptance outside Michigan to become contracts
  • Creating or acquiring indebtedness, mortgages, and security interests in real or personal property
  • Securing or collecting debts, or enforcing mortgages and security interests securing those debts
  • Owning real or personal property, and nothing more
  • Conducting an isolated transaction completed within 30 days that is not one of repeated transactions of a like nature
  • Transacting business in interstate commerce

Under MCL 450.5008. Michigan tracks the MBCA list exactly, 11 items, with a 30-day isolated-transaction cap. Note MCL 450.5009 separately permits FHA and VA loan activity without authority to transact business.

Forming a new LLC in Michigan instead? $50 to form
Formation fee
$50
Annual cost
$25/year
State income tax
Flat 4.25% income tax (2026 tax year)
Privacy
High
A professional LLC is the exception: its annual report lists every member and manager.
Sources 1 link

More Michigan guides

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