Register a Foreign LLC in Nevada (NRS 86.544)

The registration itself is the smallest line item. The state's fee for registering a foreign LLC is $75 (NRS 86.561). But Nevada does not accept the registration alone. The same filing must include an initial list of managers or members, at $150 under NRS 86.5461, and a State Business License at $200 under NRS 76.100. The Secretary of State's packet is blunt about it: attaching the list and the license form is required. Together, the state collects $425 at filing, which is the figure our checkout passes through.

Only a narrow group escapes the license, namely governmental entities, insurance licensees of the Division of Insurance, and LLCs with 501(c) status, and they pay the list fee alone. Nobody else gets a pass. If you have seen Nevada described as a state with no income tax, that is true (there is no state corporate income, franchise or personal income tax), but the filing fees above are separate from taxes and are not optional.

NRS 86.544 says a foreign LLC must register before transacting business in Nevada. The definition is by exclusion. NRS 86.5483 lists thirteen activities that are not transacting business: maintaining or defending a lawsuit, member or manager meetings and other internal affairs, bank or credit union accounts, running a transfer office for your own securities, sales through independent contractors, taking orders outside Nevada by letter, catalog or other advertising and then shipping goods in, creating debt and security interests, collecting debts, owning real or personal property "without more," isolated transactions completed within 30 days, making motion pictures, acting as an out-of-state depository institution, and interstate commerce.

That list is expressly not exhaustive. The same section adds that someone who falls outside it still does not need to qualify unless they keep an office in Nevada for the transaction of business, or fall into certain deposit and mortgage-lending categories. An office is the clearest trigger. A separate test applies to the state business license, which treats having an office or other base of operations here, a Nevada registered agent, or paying wages to a person who does the work in Nevada as conducting a business. A remote employee on your payroll, then, can matter. A borderline case deserves a Nevada attorney's advice.

Nevada has no separate form number. The foreign application is submitted on the state's LLC formation form by checking the box for NRS 86.544, registration of a foreign limited-liability company, and the form ends with a reminder that the initial list must accompany it. A manager signs, or a member if the LLC has no manager. When the filing is approved, the office issues a certificate of registration (NRS 86.545).

The application asks for the name being registered in Nevada and the name in your home jurisdiction, the jurisdiction and date of formation, your Nevada registered agent, a statement that the Secretary of State is appointed agent for service when the registered agent cannot be found or has resigned, where the company keeps its home-state or principal office, the names and addresses of each manager or, if none, each member, and the address where the member list and capital contributions are kept. Since the 2025 legislative session the managers' addresses may be residential or business addresses, but the list is public once filed, so choose accordingly.

The state's packet describes filing online at the Secretary of State's site, by mail, or in person, with checks payable to the Nevada Secretary of State. Paper filings paid by card add a 2.5% processing charge. ORION, the business portal that replaced SilverFlume on September 14, 2026, is where the state's online filings now go. Nevada does not publish a processing time for foreign registrations, so we do not offer one.

Nothing from your home state needs to be attached. NRS 86.544(2)(c) asks for a declaration that the company exists and is in good standing where it was formed, and the form handles that with a checkbox. Neither the statute, the form nor the instructions call for a certificate of good standing or a certified copy of the formation document, so there is no age limit to worry about. The one caution is that the box is a sworn statement, so confirm your good standing in your home state first, and a lapsed LLC should fix that before registering.

A Nevada name must include a designator such as Limited-Liability Company, Limited, Ltd., LLC, L.L.C., L.C. or LC (NRS 86.171), and it has to be distinguishable from the names already on file. Different lettering, a trademark or a trade name does not make a name distinguishable. Under NRS 86.546 a foreign LLC can register under any name that meets those rules, whether or not it matches its home-state name, and the form has separate lines for each. You can also reserve a name for 90 days at $25. Doing-business-as names are handled at the county level rather than by the Secretary of State.

Nevada requires a registered agent who resides or is located in the state (NRS 14.020). The application carries the NRS 77.310 information, either the name of a commercial registered agent or the details of a noncommercial one, and the appointment comes with a certificate of acceptance.

Who may serve is wider than in many states, with limits. An individual must be at least 18, and an entity must be authorized to do business in Nevada. Anyone serving ten or more entities has to register as a commercial registered agent with the Secretary of State. An LLC that keeps a physical Nevada address may even serve as its own agent by naming an office or position, such as president or owner. The agent needs an actual street address in Nevada, with a P.O. box allowed only for mailing. Unless that address is the agent's home, it must be staffed during normal business hours, and a violation carries a fine of $100 to $500 per day (NRS 14.020).

Nevada has one of the stiffer penalty provisions. Under NRS 86.548, a foreign LLC that willfully fails or neglects to register faces a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, recovered in court. Until it registers, the company is shut out of Nevada courts as a plaintiff. The Secretary of State can refer a case to the district attorney or the Attorney General, who can recover costs and attorney's fees if they prevail, and the Attorney General can also seek an order restraining the company from operating here (NRS 86.549).

Your contracts survive the lapse. By the statute's terms, a missing registration leaves every contract and act valid, and the LLC may still defend itself when sued. Transacting business without registering also appoints the Secretary of State as the company's agent for suits arising from that business. Separately, failing to get the state business license before conducting business adds a $100 penalty for each year, and willful failure is a $1,000 to $10,000 fine under NRS 76.180. The statutes set no flat late-registration fee.

After registration, the LLC files an annual list of managers or members and renews its business license together, which costs $350 a year: $150 for the list and $200 for the license. The due date is the last day of the month of the anniversary of your qualification (NRS 86.5461), and the state sends a notice about 90 days ahead, though missing it is no excuse. Lists are filed in ORION.

Late is expensive. The list carries a $75 penalty and the license a $100 one, and unless the amounts are paid by the deadline the LLC forfeits its right to transact business in Nevada. Getting back in means filing every missed list and paying the fees and penalties for each year, plus a $300 reinstatement fee. After five consecutive years of default the right cannot be reinstated.

Ending the registration takes a certificate of cancellation, $100, which can take effect up to 90 days after filing. Whether you also owe a tax registration depends on what the business does.

Hand us the details of your home-state company through the checkout. From those we assemble the application, the initial list and the license form as one package and lodge it with the state office in Carson City. Your first twelve months of Nevada agent service cost nothing, and renewals are $149 a year. If the company is served, the paperwork is scanned and uploaded the day it arrives, at no cost.

Today's payment buys the registration and twelve months of the agent. Preparing the annual list is outside it, as are tax filings. Think of us as a filing service rather than a law practice. A corporation registering through our checkout sees an identical state fee, with $624 due today.