Rhode Island Foreign Registration / Wyoming LLCs
Taking a Wyoming LLC into Rhode Island
A Wyoming LLC pays Rhode Island $150 to register, and Wyoming charges $0 for the online certificate Rhode Island wants. Registration plus Wyoming's $60 annual minimum comes to $210, before Rhode Island's own yearly report and minimum tax.
Wyoming and Rhode Island side by side
| Item | Wyoming | Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly charge | $60 annual minimum | $50 report plus $400 minimum tax |
| Home paper | $0 online certificate | Dated within 60 days |
| Original filing | Already formed | $150 registration |
| In-state presence | Wyoming registered agent | Rhode Island resident agent |
A Wyoming LLC that pays its minimum on time still has Rhode Island's report to file between February 1 and May 1.
Completing Form 450 for a Wyoming LLC
Wyoming is the state of organization, with the formation date from the Wyoming record. The home-state office article takes the Wyoming office the formation papers show, if there is one, and the Rhode Island agent is a different person or firm from the Wyoming one. The management article follows the Wyoming articles.
The certificate costs nothing
Wyoming's online certificate costs $0, so ordering a second copy when the first ages past 60 days costs nothing either.
Rhode Island tax and the Wyoming minimum
Wyoming's annual minimum is $60. Rhode Island's minimum tax is $400 on top, owed each year the LLC is registered whether or not it does any business in the state. Decide before you register whether the Rhode Island activity justifies that cost.
The Rhode Island record
What goes on Form 450, including the Rhode Island agent, the mailing address and the contact email, becomes part of the Department's record, and each annual report adds a principal place of business and a business description.
Year one in numbers
Rhode Island's registration is $150. Wyoming's annual minimum adds $60. Together that is $210. In each later year the LLC pays Wyoming $60, Rhode Island $50 for the report and $400 in minimum tax.
Facts to have on hand
Collect the company name as shown in Wyoming, the formation date, the Wyoming office if any, the Rhode Island agent, the purpose, how the LLC is managed and a contact. Pull the Wyoming certificate last.
The January reminder and the agent
Each January the resident agent receives a reminder letter for the annual report. If it is returned undeliverable, revocation proceedings begin, so a Wyoming company should keep the Rhode Island agent's address current.
Changing the Rhode Island filing
If something on the application changes later, the company files a correction promptly. An amendment to the application is $50, and a new resident agent is $20, both separate from Wyoming's charges.
Series in a Wyoming company
A Wyoming LLC organized with series mentions it where the application asks about purpose and management; the company is registered once, as a single entity.
Closing the Wyoming LLC later
Form 452 cancels the Rhode Island registration after the Division of Taxation steps are complete; leaving it open keeps the bill coming.
Showing the Wyoming LLC is registered
Anyone in Rhode Island who asks can be shown the filed registration, or sold a Rhode Island good standing certificate at $20 if an official document is wanted.
Wyoming corporations and nonprofits
For a Wyoming corporation the filing is Form 150 at $310 with a Wyoming good standing certificate; a Wyoming nonprofit pays $50.
A Wyoming LLC run from Rhode Island
A Wyoming LLC managed from Rhode Island is a Wyoming company doing business here. It registers on Form 450 with its Wyoming facts and owes both states their annual duties.
Staying current at home
Pay the Wyoming annual minimum of $60 on time so that the Wyoming record the certificate describes is the same record Rhode Island sees.
Choosing the Rhode Island agent
Keep the Wyoming agent. For Rhode Island a separate agent is needed: a Rhode Island resident or an entity qualified to do business in the state, with a Rhode Island street address where the agent can be found during normal business hours to accept service of process.
The purpose statement
Form 450 asks what the LLC will do in Rhode Island, and a short plain sentence answers it.
Registering a Wyoming LLC in Rhode Island
Look at the Wyoming record
Confirm Wyoming shows the LLC in good order.
Fetch the certificate
Costs nothing online; fetch it shortly before filing.
Appoint a Rhode Island agent
An in-state resident or qualified firm that has a street address.
Finish Form 450
Name Wyoming as the state of organization.
Sign and file
Pay $150.
Wyoming LLC questions
Does Rhode Island accept a Wyoming certificate?
Yes, one dated within 60 days of the filing.
Can my Wyoming agent serve in Rhode Island?
Only when it is qualified in the state and keeps a street address here.
Does Wyoming's calendar affect Rhode Island's?
No. Each state keeps its own.
Fees
Register in Rhode Island
Rhode Island$199
+ $150 Rhode Island fee
- Form 450 for an LLC, drafted from your answers
- Your home certificate's date tested before anything is filed
- A Rhode Island resident agent, ours or the one you name
- The accepted registration sent back to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$150 is Rhode Island's fee for an LLC and shows apart from our charge; other entity types are on their own pages. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Official sources
- Rhode Island Department of State, business forms fee schedule
- Form 450, application for registration (foreign LLC)
- Rhode Island Department of State, register your business
- Rhode Island online filing system, foreign limited liability company filings
- Rhode Island Department of State, foreign business basics
- Form 150, certificate of authority (foreign business corporation)
- R.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-49, registration of foreign limited liability company
- Rhode Island Department of State, file your annual report
- Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division fee schedule
- Rhode Island Department of State, costs and fees
- R.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-66, annual report of limited liability companies
- R.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-52, amendments to registration
- Rhode Island Department of State, withdraw or cancel a business registration
- R.I. Gen. Laws 7-1.2-1406, filing of application for certificate of authority
Starting work in Rhode Island?
Place the order and we plan the certificate date before anything is filed.