‹ All States

Montana Foreign LLC Registration

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

State filing fee $70 one-time
Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA
Total, all in $445
Montana data last reviewed Aug 19, 2026 · sosmt.gov Totals include the $70 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Montana recurring state costs over the selected period.

Foreign Qualification

Filing fee
$70
Form
Certificate of Authority (filed through the Montana SOS portal; no paper form is published)
Annual obligation
$0/year if filed on time, $35 if late
Processing time
Montana publishes no processing time for this filing.
More

Filing is online only, Montana having moved off paper forms, and the fee schedule sells 24 hour priority handling at $20 and one hour expedite at $100, both worded as applying to all documents

Expedite
$20 for 24 hour priority handling, $100 for one hour expedite. Both are sold for all documents, so both reach this filing
Estimated year 1 cost
$70
Visit Montana Secretary of State ↗

Need to register your LLC in Montana?

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

Have Northwest register your LLC in Montana ↗
$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 Montana?

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

Important to know

  • The annual report costs nothing when filed on or before April 15 and $35 after that date. Montana is one of the few states where filing on time costs nothing at all.
What does NOT require registration in Montana 11 activities

Montana 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 managers, or carrying on other internal company affairs
  • Maintaining bank accounts
  • Maintaining transfer, exchange, or registration offices for the company's own securities, or trustees or depositaries for them
  • Selling through independent contractors
  • Soliciting or obtaining orders, if the orders require acceptance outside Montana to become contracts
  • Creating or acquiring debts, mortgages, and security interests in real or personal property
  • Securing or collecting debts, or enforcing mortgages and security interests in the property securing them
  • Owning property acquired through debt collection, if it is sold within 5 years, produces no income, or is not used in company operations
  • Conducting an isolated transaction completed within 30 days that is not one of a series of similar transactions
  • Transacting business in interstate commerce

Under MCA Section 35-8-1001(2). Montana has NO plain property-ownership safe harbor: item (i) protects only property acquired incident to debt collection and disposed of within 5 years, producing no income, or not used in operations. No tax disclaimer. Subsection (4): entering a contract with the State of Montana or a political subdivision IS transacting business and requires a certificate of authority first.

Forming a new LLC in Montana instead? $35 to form
Formation fee
$35
Annual cost
$0/year if filed on time, $35 if late
State income tax
Income tax up to 5.65% (2026 tax year)
Privacy
Low
Montana requires the names and business mailing addresses of the initial members, or of the managers if the company is manager-managed, on the Articles of Organization (Mont. Code Ann. 35-8-202(1)(e)). Montana accepts no paper forms. The filing is made through the Secretary of State's online portal.
Sources 1 link

More Montana guides

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