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Formation ClassClass is in session: LLC paperwork, state by state.

Session 3 · Kentucky

Foreign LLC Registration Class, Kentucky (2026): 4 Assignments and the 3 Best Services

For registering an LLC from another state in Kentucky in 2026, the class favorites are Mainstay Filing ($199), Kentucky Registered Agent.co ($199) and KY Registered Agent.org ($199), graded from first to last. The class's 4 assignments cover the filing, the $90 fee and what you owe afterward.

The quick version

Cost to register$90Source for this: apps.legislature.ky.gov, October 2026
Maintenance filing$15Annual report
State fees over three years$645Registration and reports
Assignment count4One by one

You will leave able to

  • Which LLCs must register
  • How the filing gets made
  • What staying registered costs
  • How the picks stack up

Kentucky: the graded services

The teacher's five criteria are on how we grade, and they decide the order.
Highest grade

1. Mainstay Filing: best for companies adding a second state

$199 plus fees; renewal $149 yearly

In Kentucky, Mainstay Filing sits at the top of the class: a $199 service fee plus Kentucky's own fee, then $149 a year for the agent.

Three years of tuition run $100 above Kentucky Registered Agent.co's, but this service does more of the homework, and the grade rewards that.

When the free year is over, the agent costs $149 a year in any state.

Covered by the tuition

  • Registration is filed for you
  • The registered agent costs nothing in year one
  • The same price in each state

Strengths

  • A $199 service charge
  • Ready for the next state too
  • The agent costs nothing in year one

Weak spots

  • Kentucky Registered Agent.co charges $50 less for the agent
Local choice

2. Kentucky Registered Agent.co: best for adding just Kentucky

$199 plus fees; renewal $99 yearly

Kentucky Registered Agent.co lands in second place: registration costs $199 plus state fees, and the first agent year is already paid.

Covered by the tuition

  • The registration filing
  • One year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • $199 plus the state fee
  • $99 a year for the agent after that
  • First year of agent service costs nothing extra

Weak spots

  • No help in other states
Local choice

3. KY Registered Agent.org: best for another Kentucky option

$199 plus fees; renewal $99 yearly

KY Registered Agent.org lands in third place: registration costs $199 plus state fees, and the first agent year is already paid.

Kentucky Registered Agent.co and this service cost the same.

Covered by the tuition

  • The registration filing
  • One year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • $99 a year for the agent after that
  • First year of agent service costs nothing extra
  • $199 plus the state fee

Weak spots

  • No help in other states

All the tuition in one table

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Kentucky Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Kentucky Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3KY Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit KY Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Company prices as listed on November 13, 2026. Each row still needs Kentucky's $90 registration fee.

The assignments

  1. Assignment
    1

    See if your LLC must register in Kentucky

    Vocabulary word: a foreign LLC is one formed in a different state. It registers before it does business in Kentucky. The cost of not registering: Its own lawsuits have to wait until it registers (KRS 14A.9-020(1)). Every day of delay can add $2.

    Textbook page: Source for this: sos.ky.gov, October 2026

  2. Assignment
    2

    Find a registered agent with an address in Kentucky

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. The address has to be a physical registered office in Kentucky that matches the agent's business address. A P.O. box is not enough.

    The grade list covers this role.

    Textbook page: Source for this: apps.legislature.ky.gov, October 2026

  3. Assignment
    3

    Prepare, sign and send the Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity)

    Finish the Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity) (Form FBE), tuck in $90, and send everything to the Kentucky Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings.

    Textbook page: Source for this: apps.legislature.ky.gov, October 2026

  4. Assignment
    4

    Keep the registration alive

    Pencil in the annual report and its $15 fee (between January 1 and June 30 each year). On taxes: Limited Liability Entity Tax: a $175 minimum each year to the Department of Revenue.

The bill

What forReceiverCost
Registration feeState agency$90
Annual reportState agency$15
Minimum taxState agency$175 a year
Service, if you hire oneThe service company$199 to start
State total across three yearsState agency$645
Here is how the three-year state row works: filing fee, plus the report in each of years two and three, plus any yearly minimum tax. Service fees get their own rows.

How the grades came out

On homework the price does (34% of the grade) came out on top, with close behind.

Two states are involved in registering, and a provider that covers both finished ahead of Kentucky Registered Agent.co.

What students ask

Which fees does Kentucky take from a foreign LLC?

$90 in state fees. A service adds $199.

Which form do I file to register?

The Kentucky Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings takes this form from foreign LLCs.

What if the LLC does business there without registering?

Its own lawsuits have to wait until it registers (KRS 14A.9-020(1)). Every day of delay can add $2.

What is due after registering?

Once you are registered, the LLC owes the annual report, billed at $15 each time.

Which services are in this lesson?

We grade three: Mainstay Filing ($199), Kentucky Registered Agent.co ($199) and KY Registered Agent.org ($199).

Which service should handle the registration?

Pick Mainstay Filing: registering costs $199 plus state fees, and year one of the registered agent costs nothing. Then Kentucky Registered Agent.co and KY Registered Agent.org.

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. If you want proof of the Kentucky Secretary of State facts, sos.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in August 2026.
  2. If you want proof of the Kentucky Secretary of State facts, sos.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in August 2026.
  3. If you want proof of the Kentucky report due date facts, apps.legislature.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in August 2026.
  4. If you want proof of the KRS 275.025 facts, apps.legislature.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in August 2026.
  5. If you want proof of the Kentucky formation fee: Filing fee, official source facts, sos.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in October 2026.
  6. If you want proof of the Kentucky registered agent statute facts, apps.legislature.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in October 2026.
  7. If you want proof of the Kentucky Secretary of State, business filings facts, sos.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in October 2026.
  8. If you want proof of the Form FBE, Certificate of Authority facts, web.sos.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in October 2026.
  9. If you want proof of the KRS 14A.9-020, consequences of transacting business without authority facts, apps.legislature.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in October 2026.
  10. If you want proof of the KRS 14A.9-010, authority to transact business required facts, apps.legislature.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in October 2026.
  11. If you want proof of the Kentucky other cost: Limited Liability Entity Tax, official facts, revenue.ky.gov is the page to read, and we last read it in October 2026.
  12. Pulled November 13, 2026: Kentucky service page from Mainstay Filing
  13. Pulled November 13, 2026: pricing page from Kentucky Registered Agent.co
  14. Pulled November 13, 2026: pricing page from KY Registered Agent.org