Hawaii Foreign Registration/Corporations
Hawaii Form FC-1 for a foreign corporation
Form FC-1 is the Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Corporation. A foreign profit corporation pays $50 to file it, a foreign nonprofit pays $25, and each adds a $1 State Archives fee. The form has 10 numbered items, and the certificate of good standing that travels with it can be at most 60 days old. Our price for preparing and filing it is $199.
Form FC-1 summary
- Filed by
- A corporation, profit or nonprofit, organized outside Hawaii
- Statute
- HRS 414-433 and 414D-273
- Fee, profit corporation
- $50 plus $1 archives fee
- Fee, nonprofit corporation
- $25 plus $1 archives fee
- Attach
- a certificate of good standing or similar record authenticated by the official with custody of corporate records, dated not earlier than 60 days before filing
- Signed by
- at least one officer of the corporation, or the chairperson of the board of directors
- Sent to
- The same Honolulu address as Form FLLC-1
Items 1 to 10
| Item | What it asks | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whether the corporation is profit or nonprofit | Decides the fee |
| 2 | The full name | As on the certificate of good standing |
| 3 | The state, province or country of incorporation | The home jurisdiction |
| 4 | The date of incorporation | Month, day and year |
| 5 | Where the initial principal office gets its mail | Plus its street address if that differs |
| 6 | The registered agent and the agent's Hawaii street address | An entity or an individual |
| 7 | Each director, with a business address | An entity or an individual |
| 8 | Each officer, the office held, with a business address | An entity or an individual |
| 9 | Members or no members | Nonprofits only |
| 10 | A certificate of good standing is attached | Dated within sixty days |
Items 1 to 4: who the corporation is
Item 1 asks for whether the foreign corporation is profit or nonprofit. Item 2 asks for the full name, which must be exactly the same as on the home-state certificate of good standing. Item 3 names the place of incorporation and item 4 asks for the month, day and year of incorporation. The date of Hawaii registration will be the date the application is filed in compliance with Chapter 414 or Chapter 414D, depending on the type.
Items 5 and 6: office and agent
Item 5 is the principal office, by mailing address and by street address if those are different places. Item 6 names the registered agent, whether an entity or a person, with the street address of its Hawaii place of business. The Division's information sheet says the agent needs a business address in Hawaii and must be someone living there or an entity authorized to do business there (HRS 414-437). It also says the corporation cannot be its own agent.
Items 7 to 9: directors, officers and members
Item 7 asks for each director, as an entity or an individual, with a complete business address. Item 8 asks for each officer, as an entity or an individual, with the office held and a complete business address. Item 9 applies to a nonprofit, for a nonprofit only: whether the corporation has members or none, and a profit corporation leaves it blank. Do not check both boxes in item 9.
Item 10: the certificate
Item 10 says the application is accompanied by a certificate of good standing or similar record authenticated by the official with custody of corporate records, dated not earlier than 60 days before filing. The same rule applies as for an LLC: a translation under oath if the certificate is in another language, and an authentication by the proper official. Order it near the end of your preparation.
Who signs
The application must be signed by at least one officer of the corporation, or the chairperson of the board of directors. Signatures are in black ink, and a signature that is hard to read needs the name typed below it. Attachments, if you need them, go on 8.5 by 11 paper in black ink, single-sided.
What it costs and what follows
A profit corporation pays $50 and a nonprofit $25, each with the $1 archives fee, so $51 and $26 in all. After approval the corporation files an annual report, $15 on paper or $12.50 online, under HRS 414-472. If it files nothing for two years the Division may dissolve it involuntarily (HRS 414-461). A change of name needs a certificate within sixty days and costs $25 for a profit corporation.
Leaving Hawaii
A corporation that stops transacting business withdraws on Form FC-4, the Application for Withdrawal of a Foreign Corporation. The fee is $25 for a profit corporation or $10 for a nonprofit, and personal or business checks are not accepted. Registering and withdrawing together therefore cost a profit corporation $76 in filing fees, before any archives fee on the withdrawal.
Filing Form FC-1 through us
Tell us the corporation's details
Name, incorporation date, offices, directors, officers and agent.
We order the certificate
Good standing, dated within 60 days.
We complete the ten items
You review them.
An officer signs
Or the chairperson of the board.
We file and pay
The Hawaii cost is $51 for a profit corporation.
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.
Form FC-1 questions
Does a nonprofit file the same form?
Yes, Form FC-1, with the nonprofit box checked in item 1 and the fee of $25.
Must every director be listed?
Item 7 asks for each director of the corporation, with a business address.
What is item 9?
A question for nonprofits about whether the corporation has members. A profit corporation leaves it blank.
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 filingOur 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.
Where this comes from
- Hawaii DCCA, foreign LLC fees
- Hawaii DCCA, foreign LLC registration
- Hawaii DCCA, State Archives preservation fee
- Hawaii DCCA, foreign corporation registration
- Hawaii Form FLLC-1, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company
- Hawaii Form FC-1, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Corporation
- Hawaii DCCA, foreign profit corporation fees
- Hawaii DCCA, foreign limited partnership fees
- Hawaii DCCA, foreign nonprofit corporation fees
- Hawaii Form FC-1-INSTR, instructions for the foreign corporation application
- Hawaii Form FC-INFO, information for foreign profit corporations
- Hawaii DCCA, annual business reports due (online fees and quarters)
- Hawaii DCCA Business Registration Division, frequently asked questions
- Hawaii Form FC-4, Application for Withdrawal of a Foreign Corporation
Doing business in Hawaii?
Send us your entity and its home state. We write the application and watch the good-standing date.