How to register a foreign LLC in south carolina [Up To Date]

Last updated : Aug 12, 2022

What qualifies as a foreign business in South Carolina?

For South Carolina purposes, if your LLC is formed in another state, then it is known as a foreign LLC in South Carolina. In other words, foreign doesn't mean from another country. Instead, it means your business was organized under the laws of another state.

How do I transfer my LLC to South Carolina?

Register for a Certificate of Authority with the Secretary of State. Reach them by phone at 803-734-2158. D) You're ready to relocate the LLC, Corporation, or LLP from your current state to SC. Find more info on "domesticating" your business by contacting Secretary of State at 803-734-2158.

How much does it cost to register an LLC in SC?

How much does it cost to form an LLC in South Carolina? The South Carolina Secretary of State charges a $110 fee to file the Articles of Organization. You can reserve your LLC name with the South Carolina Secretary of State for $25.

What are the requirements for an LLC in South Carolina?

• Select a name for your South Carolina LLC. Follow naming requirements.
• Designate a registered agent.
• File Articles of Organization.
• Draft an operating agreement.
• Obtain an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Fulfill your South Carolina LLC's additional legal obligations.

How long does it take to get an LLC approved in SC?

The online filing process is usually completed within 24 hours. If the filing is mailed, the Secretary of State's Office will usually complete the process within two to three business days after it is received, though longer filing times may be experienced depending on workload volume.

Do you have to renew LLC Every year in SC?

Unlike most other states, South Carolina does not require LLCs to file an annual report.

Does LLC have to be in the name in SC?

Step 1: Business Name You must come up with a name for your LLC. You'll need to conduct some research to ensure that the name is not previously taken. Other guidelines, rules, and tips include the following: The name must include LLC, L.L.C., or Limited Liability Company at the end of the business name.

Can you domesticate an LLC in South Carolina?

Does South Carolina allow for LLC domestication? No. Unfortunately, South Carolina state statutes only allows foreign corporations to domesticate in SC. (Domestication is the state-assisted process of moving a company from one state to another—it's often the easiest and most cost-effective option.)

Can you be your own registered agent for an LLC in SC?

Can I Be My Own Registered Agent In South Carolina? Yes, any owner or employee of a business can be its registered agent in South Carolina as long as they are over the age of 18, and have a street address in South Carolina.

How much does an EIN cost in South Carolina?

Applying for an EIN for your South Carolina LLC is completely free. The IRS doesn't charge anything for applying for an EIN.

Do I need a business license if I have an LLC?

In most states, forming an LLC doesn't require a business license, but you'll need to follow your state's procedures. An LLC requires registering with the state and filing the appropriate forms. But even though you don't need a business license to form an LLC, you probably need one to operate the LLC as a business.

Do I need a business license in SC?

Nearly all cities in SC and nine of 46 counties in SC require businesses either located in or doing business in their jurisdiction to have a business license.

How are LLCs taxed in South Carolina?

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) Like S corporations, standard LLCs are pass-through entities and, generally speaking, are not required to pay income tax to either the federal government or the State of South Carolina. Instead, an individual LLC member will owe tax on his or her share of the company's income.

How do I register a business name in SC?

You can register your business online with the SC Secretary of State's Office at sos.sc.gov. You will need to create a username and password to begin.

How do I get an EIN number in South Carolina?

The Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) is obtained from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You can register for one online, or by completing an SS-4 and mailing it in. The IRS requires a business to have an FEIN if the business: Already has employees.

How do I get a certificate of authority in South Carolina?

To obtain your South Carolina Certificate of Authority, you will submit an Application for Certificate of Authority, along with required certificates or certified copies from your home state. You will need to appoint a registered agent in order for your filing to be approved.

How long does it take to get a business license in South Carolina?

Generally, the application process may take seven to 10 business days, but the process depends on the business activity.

What is a South Carolina certificate of authority?

A South Carolina certificate of authority is a document required by companies that are not registered in South Carolina but intend to operate in the state. Before companies can do business in South Carolina, they must register with the South Carolina Secretary of State.

Can I run a business out of my home in South Carolina?

South Carolina regulates not only traditional businesses but also home-based businesses that operate out of residences. Depending on the jurisdiction in which you live, you must obtain a general business license or permit and register your business with the county or city in order to operate.

What if your LLC does not make money?

If an LLC elects to be treated as a partnership for tax purposes, and the business did not generate any income during the taxable year, it is generally not necessary to file a tax return, unless there are business expenses to be treated as credits or deductions.

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hello everyone and welcome to another episode of coffee with carl i'm your host carl zellner one of the attorneys here with anderson business advisors and i'm happy that you joined me today uh today we're going to talk a little bit about foreign filing specifically foreign filing your business entity so let's hop into some of the basics and i don't think this will be a very long video even in from coffee to carl standards but it has been a question that's been coming up more frequently so foreign filing what is it so if i have an entity in a state or that was formed in a state and that entity is doing business in another state and to know if you're doing business generally you have to look at the state law to see what the definition of doing business is that entity would then need to if it is doing business then file or foreign file into that state to put the state on notice that you are conducting business as an out-of-state entity in that state so this isn't necessary for um your parent companies like your wyoming holding company not important there because that llc or that holding company owns llc's in those states already so those llc's in those states are fine the parent doesn't need to register because it owns local llc's what you look at though is say if it was before you came to anderson uh you've maybe set up a business entity um say you're in texas maybe you own a property in florida and you said well i need to set something up so you ended up setting up a texas llc okay well really that should be a florida llc so what you can do is if you're looking to do business in the appropriate manner would be to foreign file that texas llc in florida so now it has the ability to do business in both texas and florida so foreign filing the word foreign can seem a little odd to folks because we think when we think of foreign we think of out of country however in this regard or related to these entities uh the word foreign filing means in a different state so i think there's some good uses of foreign filing it comes up from time to time it's not super frequent a lot of times it'll come up with folks who set up their own entity structure before coming to anderson or are moving states or having some you know making some significant changes in their entity structure but wanted to take a moment to talk about it because it has been coming up more frequently so foreign filing like i said it's basically just putting another state on notice that you're doing business in their state and just to reiterate like i said if you have that wyoming holding company or even if you have an out of state corporation that owns an llc or is the member of the llc that's located in the state then you're fine so there's no need to file those foreign or those parent companies in those other states even though banks may tell you that you have to that's a misunderstanding of the law or some sort of internal restriction it's not required so like i said this is going to be a short episode so one of that's that's it that's foreign filing for you in a nutshell if you have additional questions on foreign filing i'd encourage you if you're an anderson client to reach out to your business advisor if not or if you're considering or just saw this pop up and would like to more information we always encourage you to reach out and get a free consultation and we can give you our general opinion on what your entity structure should look like moving forward from about a business or asset protection standpoint as well as from a tax perspective so until next time everybody please keep taking advantage of all the free content we put out there love to see you on an online seminar um so if you need anything just look at or you can find all of our information at andersonadvisors.com so until next time it was great chatting with you and great having a coffee with you thanks

Thanks for your comment Anton Venable, have a nice day.
- Farrah Wantz, Staff Member

do you want to create an llc in south carolina this year but are unsure where to begin today you will learn about the most common ways to start your business including the correct forms you'll need how to register your llc critical naming requirements and all other vital tips and tricks then as a bonus later on in the video i will reveal to you a trustworthy registered agent who will help set up your llc for free so make sure to stick with me until the end the state of south carolina like other states has several specific llc requirements there are three main ways you can start an llc in south carolina first is the diy or do-it-yourself process where you mostly depend on south carolina state's website the second way is hiring a professional service that practically offers more efficiency and security in the process of creating your llc while the third one is hiring an attorney we will skip the attorney hiring portion because that's expensive and most business owners won't need that service first let's take a look at the steps required for starting an llc on your own step one name your business before anything else you will have to think of the llc's legal business name each llc in south carolina must have a distinct llc name that is not currently in use you must include the terms limited liability company or an abbreviation such as llc you cannot include phrases such as a corporation which would lead people to believe you are a different business organization knowing if your business name is taken or not is very easy just go to google and type in the words business entity records south carolina secretary of state and click the first search result i also have the link in the description below for your convenience it will lead you to a landing page of business entity records in south carolina scroll down a little and you will see some search options which make checking the availability of your business name easier generally you can click the first option entity name and type in your business name for example i am typing a very common business name here laundry mart which will give you a list of existing business names a unique business name will say no matches found just like this random name i typed in keep in mind that the division of revenue doesn't check names for trademark compliance it's ultimately up to you and your business attorney to ensure that your llc's name doesn't infringe on any other company's rights step 2 south carolina requires llc to have a registered agent an agent has a physical address a po box is not allowed and is available during business hours this agent will serve as the llc's primary point of contact for receiving key legal papers tax warnings summons subpoenas and so on you can register yourself or someone in your company but i highly recommend getting a professional registered agent as they have more knowledge by protecting your company in cases of possible cracks while i agree that family members or friends are reliable enough to be trusted as your llc's agent you are more comfortable sleeping at night knowing that your agent is professional and trained to manage legal documents to avoid problems concerning court schedules filing reports with the secretary of state etc besides hiring a professional registered agent is not expensive in fact there are companies that offer a free registered agent as part of your package when you form your llc through them inc file is a company i recommend which has this free service inc file offers a free registered agent on your first year of signing up for their service during that free year you can already take advantage of a professional and trained agent to receive legal documents on your behalf a dashboard where you can always access the correspondence that your agent has received as well as email notifications and automatic forwarding whenever your registered agent receives documents step 3 filing the south carolina llc certificate of formation after that you must file the certificate of formation with the south carolina secretary of state's business entities division and the office of the judge of probate to officially incorporate a domestic south carolina limited liability company the total south carolina state filing cost for llcs is one hundred and ten dollars for both domestic llc's and foreign llcs basically a domestic llc means that you are already a resident of south carolina and you want to build a business in south carolina foreign llc on the other hand is for people living outside south carolina but wanting to start a business or a franchise of their business in south carolina with that said most businesses would be applying for a domestic llc you can file the certificate of formation online or by mailing it to the secretary of state expect the llc certification process to take approximately two weeks step four prepare an operating agreement now an operating agreement is a good idea to have in place with the other members if your llc has more than one member although a limited liability company operating agreement is not necessary for south carolina your operating agreement should clarify how your company or business will handle big picture issues such as allocating earnings and losses and dissolving the company your operating agreement should also cover the transfer of membership interest profits or losses and distributions initial investments decision making powers voting rights and management and lastly dissolving the business step 5 obtain an ein an ein or employer identification number is a federal tax id issued by the irs your ein is used by them to readily identify your firm and tax filings all south carolina firms pay a business privilege tax and the state requires you to have an ein to file you may also be required to provide your ein when opening a bank account or applying for municipal permits or licenses obtaining an ein is a slightly longer process compared to their previous steps i'm sure you know anything to do with the irs is confusing first you have to have complete knowledge of your llc such as your company information managing member information business address business information company details and even critical information regarding vehicular assets and federal excise taxes this is another reason why getting a professional registered agent is way more convenient as they can do this for you as part of their service now let's talk about the second option to form an llc and that is hiring a professional formation service professional formation services do all the steps you should be doing on your own from filing necessary forms to acting as your registered agent you usually have to allocate a specific budget for this option as i already mentioned earlier inkfile is one of the best companies out there to help you form your llc you can click on the link in the description to get access to this deal inc file is one of a kind as it offers a free package with services such as preparing and filing your articles of organization well you still have to pay 237 dollars for the state fees which you would have to do anyway if you chose the diy

Thanks amity4v your participation is very much appreciated
- Farrah Wantz

About the author

Farrah Wantz

I've studied regulation at Stonehill College in Easton and I am an expert in vaccination policy. I usually feel numb. My previous job was instructor, police-canine services I held this position for 28 years, I love talking about unicycling and sketching. Huge fan of Alex Choi I practice still rings and collect comic books.