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Iowa Certificate of Authority Order

Iowa Certificate of Authority / LLCs

The Iowa filing an LLC makes in place of a certificate of authority

Iowa's LLC chapter speaks of registration rather than a certificate of authority: the LLC submits the statement numbered Form 635_0010, called the Foreign Registration Statement on the fee list, and the state files it, which gives the same permission to operate. The fee is $100. The Code names four statements the filing must make. We prepare it for $199.

Order Iowa authority

The LLC filing in brief

What it is
Limited Liability Company Foreign Registration Statement
Form no.
Form 635_0010
Fee
$100
Statements
4, listed in Iowa Code 489.903
With it
A certificate of existence dated no earlier than 90 days before Iowa files
Where
Fast Track Filing online, or the Business Services Division by mail

What does the LLC statement actually say?

In the Code's wording, the statement gives the name (and an alternate name if the real one does not comply), the jurisdiction of formation, the street and mailing addresses of the principal office and of any office the home law requires, and the name and street and mailing addresses of the registered agent in Iowa. It is signed on behalf of the company. Nothing in it asks for members, an operating agreement or a financial figure, which keeps the public record short.

LLC against nonprofit, side by side

PointLLCNonprofit corporation
Iowa paperForeign Registration StatementApplication for Certificate of Authority
Fee$100$25
Statements47
Directors and officersNot askedNames and addresses listed
Membership questionNot askedWhether it has members
OnlineYes, through Fast TrackNot marked as online

How should the name appear?

The Code requires an LLC designation: the name of an LLC must contain the phrase "limited liability company" or "limited company" or an abbreviation such as LLC, L.L.C., LC or L.C. A company that cannot meet that rule picks a substitute name for Iowa, entered in the statement, and then trades under the substitute or under its real name plus its home jurisdiction. Compare the name with the state's records, because the name must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of State from names of existing entities, reserved names, registered names and fictitious names.

Which offices go on the statement?

The principal office, by street and mailing address, and any office the home law forces the LLC to keep. Many LLCs have only the first. Give the place from which the company is actually run, since the principal office address on the biennial report is later used for certified mail if the agent cannot be found.

Who can be the agent?

Someone with a place of business in Iowa, who has agreed. The designation itself affirms the agent's consent. The agent's duties are narrow: a registered agent's duties under the LLC chapter are to forward process, notices and demands to the address the company last supplied, to give notice if it resigns, and to keep its own details current in the statement.

What goes with the filing?

The home-state certificate of existence, in the form the statute describes: a certificate of existence or a document of similar import, authenticated by the official having custody of the records in the state or country of formation. Iowa applies the ninety-day test to the date the state files. If you mail the papers, allow for days in transit.

Can it be filed online?

Yes, through Fast Track Filing. The portal starts a filing by searching for the entity by name or number and asks for an account. The fee is $100 either way, and expedited handling adds $50 or $15.

What changes later?

An LLC amends the statement for $100 after a change of name or alternate name, of jurisdiction of formation, of an address required in the statement, or of the registered agent information. The agent can change by a statement that costs nothing.

Why do filings stall?

Causes of a returned filing:

  • The home certificate is older than ninety days by the time Iowa files.
  • The statement spells the name differently from the certificate.
  • The agent has no Iowa business location.
  • An office address lacks its mailing address.
  • The statement is unsigned.

A refusal comes back with a written reason, and the filer has recourse to the Polk County district court.

How we prepare the LLC filing

  1. You send the facts

    Name, home jurisdiction, offices and agent.

  2. We request the certificate

    Timed so its age stays under 90 days.

  3. We draft, you read

    You approve the text before it goes to Iowa.

  4. We send it

    Online, for $100.

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.

LLC questions

Is there an LLC certificate of authority in Iowa?

The LLC chapter speaks of registration. The LLC files a registration statement, and Iowa can print a Certificate of Authorization/Registration afterward.

What does it cost?

$100 to Iowa.

Do I attach the operating agreement?

No. The Code's four statements do not include it.

We prepare the LLC filing

Our fee and Iowa's

We tell you which Iowa fee applies before you pay. An LLC and a nonprofit pay different amounts. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

Get Iowa authority to operate

IA

$199

+ the Iowa fee for your entity type, from $25

  • The Iowa paper that fits your entity type, drafted from what you tell us
  • The certificate of existence from home, ordered so it lands inside Iowa's ninety days
  • An Iowa registered agent or office: ours, or your current one
  • The filing sent and the state's record returned, with your report year marked
  • Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Order Iowa authority

Sources

  1. Iowa Form 635_0106, nonprofit application for certificate of authority
  2. Iowa Form 635_0010, LLC foreign registration statement
  3. Iowa Code 489.903, foreign registration statement
  4. Iowa Code 490.1503, foreign corporation registration statement
  5. Iowa Code 504.1503, application for a certificate of authority
  6. Iowa Form 635_0110a, foreign profit corporation registration statement
  7. Iowa Code 490.122, business corporation fees
  8. Iowa Secretary of State, business entity forms and fees
  9. Iowa Code 489.212, biennial report
  10. Iowa Fast Track Filing help, how to file a biennial report
  11. Iowa Code 489.112, permitted LLC names
  12. Iowa Code 489.906, noncomplying name of a foreign LLC
  13. Iowa Code 489.119, service of process on an LLC
  14. Iowa Code 489.115, registered agent
  15. Iowa Code 489.116, change of registered agent or address
  16. Iowa Fast Track Filing, login and sign-up page
  17. Iowa Secretary of State, preclearance and expedited services
  18. Iowa Code 489.122, LLC fees
  19. Iowa Code 489.904, amendment of a foreign registration statement
  20. Iowa Code 489.210, duty of the Secretary of State to file

Not sure which Iowa paper you need?

Name your entity type and home state and we will say what Iowa asks.

Order Iowa authority