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Hawaii Foreign Registration Start in Hawaii

Foreign LLC registration in Hawaii

Register your out-of-state company to do business in Hawaii

A short filing with a few small extras. We handle the form, the good-standing paper and the agent.

Start my Hawaii filingOur price, then the Hawaii cost

Hawaii filing

Sample order
  1. ReceivedOrder in
  2. PaperCertificate ordered
  3. FiledWith the DCCA
  4. ApprovedAuthority granted
Our price
$199
Hawaii cost (LLC)
$51
Registered agent
Included, first year; $149/yr after
  • Every small Hawaii charge listed
  • Good-standing paper handled
  • Hawaii agent available

Every line shows at checkout before you pay.

Hawaii registers a foreign LLC on Form FLLC-1, the Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company. The Business Registration Division charges $50 for it and adds $1 for the State Archives, so the LLC pays $51 to the state. We prepare and file the application for $199.

The application travels with proof of good standing from the home state, and Hawaii will not take proof dated more than 60 days before filing.

Your order covers

  • The Hawaii form

    Included

    An LLC uses Form FLLC-1. We fill it in from your answers.

  • A fresh certificate

    Included

    The home-state paper must carry a date no more than 60 days before filing. We order it close to the time.

  • Speed

    Included

    If a deadline matters, tell us when you order. We confirm the current handling when we prepare your filing.

  • Agent with a Hawaii address

    Included

    Pick us as your Hawaii agent, or keep the one you have.

  • The one dollar extra

    Included

    Hawaii adds a $1 State Archives fee, which is why an LLC pays $51.

  • Your report quarter

    Included

    Annual reports follow the quarter you registered in. We note it for you.

From order to filing

  1. Describe the company

    Its name letter for letter as the home state records it, where it was formed, its principal office and who manages it.

  2. We order the good-standing paper

    A fresh certificate of existence, issued by the home state's records office and dated within 60 days of the filing.

  3. Choose your Hawaii agent

    Pick ours, or give us the name and Hawaii street address of the one you use.

  4. We complete and file the application

    Form FLLC-1 goes to the Business Registration Division with the $51 Hawaii cost.

  5. You receive the approved record

    We send what the DCCA returns and note the quarter your annual report falls in.

The Hawaii filing in one table

Form
Form FLLC-1, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company
Agency
Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division
Application fee
$50
State Archives fee
$1
Total to the state
$51
Where to file
Online, or on paper by mail, email, fax or at the Honolulu counter
Home-state proof
A certificate of existence dated within 60 days of filing
Yearly filing
Annual report, $12.50 online or $15 on paper
Handling
We confirm the current handling when we file

What the main Hawaii filings cost

FilingFormHawaii amount
Register a foreign LLCForm FLLC-1$50 plus $1 archives fee
Register a foreign profit corporationForm FC-1$50 plus $1 archives fee
Register a foreign nonprofit corporationForm FC-1$25 plus $1 archives fee
Cancel a foreign LLC registrationForm FLLC-2$25
Withdraw a foreign profit corporationForm FC-4$25
Change the registered agentStatement of change$25
Annual report, filed onlineHawaii Business Express$12.50

The costs page adds the optional and occasional charges, with worked totals for the first year and for five.

Do you have to register?

A company that transacts business in Hawaii needs a certificate of authority, and one that does not has no need of it. The statute draws that line, and a list of activities that fall on the safe side, but we do not reproduce that list here. The page on doing business in Hawaii covers the test, and a close case is for a Hawaii attorney.

The good-standing certificate

Every application goes in with proof that the company is alive and in good order at home, in the form of a certificate from the official who holds its records. Hawaii counts days: a certificate more than 60 days old at the time of filing will not do, and one in another language comes with a sworn English translation. The company's name on the application then has to match it character for character. Our step-by-step guide covers how to order it and what to check on it.

Speed

The fee schedule has an expedited column that reads $25 for the LLC application. We confirm whether expedited review is offered when we file, and any added charge shows before you pay. If a deadline matters to you, say so when you order.

The registered agent

Every registered foreign LLC needs an agent who can be found at a business address in Hawaii. That agent is either a person who lives here or an entity that is allowed to do business here. A company may not name itself. The agent page covers resignations and changes, which cost $25 to file.

The annual report

Nothing is owed in the year of registration. From the following year, the report falls due at the end of the quarter in which the LLC registered, so there are four possible dates and your own never moves. Online it costs $12.50. The annual report page lists the four dates, the fees and what a missed report leads to.

Paying Hawaii

The Division accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diners Club or JCB, and a check is made out to the DCCA for the exact amount. When paying by check, each filing gets a check of its own, so one problem cannot hold up several filings. Fees are not refundable, and a dishonored check costs $25. An optional certified copy of the filing is $10.

What the annual report shows

The annual report is a snapshot of the company as of the state of the company's affairs on the first day of the quarter in which the report is filed. It does not collect a tax, and the late fee of $10 for each year delinquent applies only to a report filed online. Filing online also saves $2.50 a year against paper.

Changes you may need to file

A new registered agent, or a change in the agent's own details, needs a statement of change at $25. A change in the company's name needs a certificate of the change within 60 days, for $25. A statutory merger involving the foreign entity needs a certificate within the same sixty days, for $25.

If an entity skips registration

An unregistered foreign LLC that transacts business cannot bring a lawsuit in Hawaii courts while it is unregistered, and owes what registering would have cost it, penalties included; its contracts stay valid. For the detail, see the penalty page, which covers the consequences of waiting in more detail than this summary.

Corporations and other entities

A foreign profit corporation files Form FC-1 for $50 plus the archives fee, a foreign nonprofit pays $25 plus the archives fee, and a foreign limited partnership pays $50 plus the archives fee. Limited liability partnerships take two filings, so we handle those by hand: write to us through the contact page.

Leaving Hawaii

An LLC that has stopped transacting business files Form FLLC-2 to cancel its certificate, and the Division charges $25 for that. A corporation uses Form FC-4. Both forms hand service of process to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for claims from the time the entity was registered.

Delaware and Wyoming

Each home state has its own arithmetic. See the pages for a Delaware LLC in Hawaii and a Wyoming LLC in Hawaii.

Information to gather first

  • The company's exact name, as shown on its home-state certificate.
  • The home state, and the principal office's mailing address.
  • Whether managers or members run the company, and their names and addresses.
  • Whether the term is at-will or fixed.
  • The name and Hawaii street address of the registered agent.
  • How the members' liability for company debts is set up.
  • The person who will sign.

Filing from the mainland

Nothing in the Hawaii process requires a trip. The portal, email, fax and mail are all open to out-of-state filers. A filing sent from outside Hawaii is treated like any other, and the registered agent is the only part of the structure that has to be on the islands.

What to budget in the first two years

The state's charges in the registration year are $51. Add the first online annual report in the following year and the total is $63.50. On top of that you pay the home state for its certificate, a registered agent if you hire one, and our fee of $199 for the filing.

Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year

$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

Start my Hawaii filing

Our price, then the Hawaii cost

Start your Hawaii filing

  • Form FLLC-1, the Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company, completed from your answers
  • The original certificate of existence from the jurisdiction of formation, requested and checked for its date
  • A Hawaii registered agent: ours, or the one already working for you
  • Filing with the DCCA and the approved record returned to you
  • Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year

$199

+ $51 Hawaii cost for an LLC

Start my Hawaii filing

Our price and the Hawaii cost are two separate lines at checkout. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

Hawaii registration questions

What does an LLC pay Hawaii to register?

$51: $50 for Form FLLC-1 and $1 for the State Archives. Our service price is separate.

How recent must the proof of good standing be?

The cutoff is 60 days between its date and the filing. See the guide for how to order it.

Can I pay for faster handling?

The fee schedule shows $25 for expedited review, but the DCCA's portal notice says expedited processing is not available at present. Ask the Division before you rely on it.

When is the first annual report due?

Not in the year of registration. After that it is due once a year, at the end of the registration quarter.

Can the company be its own registered agent?

No. The form instructions rule that out. The agent has to be a person living in Hawaii or an entity that is allowed to do business here.

Do I need a lawyer?

No form requires one. We prepare the application from your answers.

How do I pay Hawaii?

The Division accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diners Club or JCB, cash at the counter, and checks made out to the DCCA. Fees are not refundable.

What happens when we stop working in Hawaii?

File Form FLLC-2 to cancel the registration. It costs $25, and personal or business checks are not accepted for it.

Where this comes from

  1. Hawaii DCCA, foreign LLC fees
  2. Hawaii DCCA, foreign LLC registration
  3. Hawaii DCCA, State Archives preservation fee
  4. Hawaii DCCA, foreign corporation registration
  5. Hawaii Form FLLC-1, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company
  6. Hawaii Form FC-1, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Corporation
  7. Hawaii DCCA, foreign profit corporation fees
  8. Hawaii DCCA, foreign limited partnership fees
  9. Hawaii DCCA, foreign nonprofit corporation fees
  10. Hawaii DCCA, annual business reports due (online fees and quarters)
  11. Hawaii Form FLLC-2, Application for Certificate of Cancellation for a Foreign Limited Liability Company
  12. Hawaii Form FLLC-INFO, information for foreign limited liability companies
  13. Hawaii Form FC-4, Application for Withdrawal of a Foreign Corporation
  14. Hawaii Form FLLC-1-INSTR, instructions for the foreign LLC application
  15. Hawaii DCCA Business Registration Division, frequently asked questions
  16. Hawaii DCCA, business registration forms, fees and information

Doing business in Hawaii?

Send us your entity and its home state. We write the application and watch the good-standing date.

Start my Hawaii filing