Out-of-State LLC

Out-of-State LLC › Iowa

An out-of-state LLC in Iowa

If your out-of-state LLC does business in Iowa, it registers with the Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services for a fee of $100.

Do you need to register?

That depends on what the LLC does in Iowa, and Iowa’s statute is the authority. The law behind it, from the state’s own sources: Iowa Code 489.902, registration requirement; Iowa Code 489.905, activities that do not count; Iowa Code 489.212, biennial report. If the answer is not clear, a Iowa attorney can say.

If you register: what to bring

  • The application: Form 635_0010, Limited Liability Company Foreign Registration Statement
  • Filed with: Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services
  • Fee: $100
  • Paper from your formation state: Certificate of existence (good standing) from the state or country of formation, no older than 90 days
  • A local agent: A registered agent in Iowa

Best 3 Foreign Registration Services in Iowa (2026)

Handing the Iowa registration to a service? In order of our preference.

  1. 1. Mainstay Filing $199 + the $100 state fee = $299; registered agent free for the first year, then $149 a year.
  2. 2. IA Registered Agent.org $199 + the $100 state fee = $299; registered agent included for the first year, then $99 a year.
  3. 3. Iowa Registered Agent.co $199 + the $100 state fee = $299; registered agent included for the first year, then $99 a year.

Service prices from each provider’s Iowa page, read October 29, 2026. The state fee is the official figure below and is paid to the Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services.

Where Iowa sits

9th cheapest of 50 at $100, in the band $100 to $149. It is one of 36 states that want paper from the formation state.

Iowa questions

Does an out-of-state LLC have to register in Iowa?

Iowa registers foreign LLCs through the Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services. Whether your activity requires it is set by Iowa’s statute, linked below; we do not offer one test for every state. If it does, the fee is $100.

What does an out-of-state LLC file in Iowa?

Form 635_0010, Limited Liability Company Foreign Registration Statement, with Certificate of existence (good standing) from the state or country of formation, no older than 90 days.

What does it keep up afterward?

Biennial report (Iowa Secretary of State), $30 (due: january 1 to April 1 of each odd-numbered year), and a registered agent in the state.

Sources