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

Class 3 · Minnesota

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

If you want help registering an LLC from another state in Minnesota in 2026, the top grades go to MN Registered Agent.org ($199), Minnesota Registered Agent.co ($199) and Mainstay Filing ($199), in that order. Registering takes 4 assignments and a $185 state fee.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

Need-to-know facts

Fee at the state office$185sos.mn.gov, last read in October 2026
Annual reportNoneAnnual renewal
State cost, years 1 to 3$185Without any service fee
Assignments4Each one explained

Class objectives

  • Whether Minnesota registration applies to your LLC
  • The filing, its price and its office
  • What staying registered costs
  • Which services we recommend and why

If you want someone else to file

Tuition over three years leads, then homework done, year-two tuition, Minnesota fit and readable fees (grading page).
Best overall

1. MN Registered Agent.org: best for adding just Minnesota

$199 plus fees; renewal $99 yearly

In Minnesota, MN Registered Agent.org sits at the top of the class: $199 above the state fee, first agent year covered, and $99 a year afterward.

Its three-year bill is lower than Mainstay Filing's, which wins first place because tuition counts 30%.

Covered by the tuition

  • The Minnesota registration, prepared and sent
  • One year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • First year of agent service costs nothing extra
  • A $199 service charge
  • The agent renews at $99

Weak spots

  • A single-state service
Minnesota specialist

2. Minnesota Registered Agent.co: best for a small agent renewal

$199 plus fees; renewal $99 yearly

Minnesota Registered Agent.co makes a respectable second: $199 above the state fee, first agent year covered, and $99 a year afterward.

It lists the same prices as MN Registered Agent.org.

Covered by the tuition

  • The Minnesota registration, prepared and sent
  • One year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • The agent renews at $99
  • First year of agent service costs nothing extra
  • A $199 service charge

Weak spots

  • A single-state service
Does most of the work

3. Mainstay Filing: best for a string of registrations

$199 plus fees; renewal $149 yearly

Mainstay Filing makes a respectable third: $199 over the state fee, the registered agent free in year one and $149 a year after that.

Add up three years: it comes to $100 more than MN Registered Agent.org.

The agent renews at $149 a year in every state.

Covered by the tuition

  • The registration filing
  • The registered agent costs nothing in year one
  • The same price in each state

Strengths

  • $199 to register
  • All fifty states covered
  • First year of the agent is included

Weak spots

  • MN Registered Agent.org charges $50 less for the agent

The Minnesota grades compared

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1MN Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit MN Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Minnesota Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Minnesota Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Each company's posted price on November 13, 2026. Each row still needs Minnesota's $185 registration fee.

The class, assignment by assignment

  1. Assignment
    1

    Find out whether you have to register

    An LLC formed in another state has to register with Minnesota before it does business there. What happens when an LLC operates unregistered: Its own lawsuits have to wait until it registers (Minn. Stat. 322C.0808, subd. 1). Its contracts can still be enforced (Minn. Stat. 322C.0808, subd. 2).

    Textbook page: revisor.mn.gov, last read in October 2026

  2. Assignment
    2

    Name a registered agent for Minnesota

    A Minnesota LLC must keep a registered office in Minnesota; naming an agent there is optional. Every Minnesota LLC keeps a registered office at an actual office location in Minnesota; a P.O. box by itself is not accepted.

    The services above supply one.

    Textbook page: revisor.mn.gov, last read in October 2026

  3. Assignment
    3

    Complete, sign and file the Foreign Limited Liability Company Certificate of Authority to Transact Business in Minnesota

    The form and the $185 fee go to the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services together.

    Textbook page: sos.mn.gov, last read in October 2026

  4. Assignment
    4

    Look ahead to the recurring filing

    Next on the schedule is the annual renewal, December 31.

Costs, assignment by assignment

EntryGoes toPrice
Registration feeState office$185
Service, if you hire oneService$199 at the start
Three years of state feesState office$185
The state's fees come from official pages, listed below. Added up over three years they are the filing, two reports and, in a few states, a minimum tax.

The reasoning behind the grades

Tuition across three years makes up 30% of the grade, and that is where got ahead in Minnesota.

MN Registered Agent.org wins the cost criterion with $397 over three years, against $100 more at Mainstay Filing.

What students ask

What will it cost to register a foreign LLC in Minnesota?

$185 as the official fee. The services here charge $199 extra.

Which form do I file to register?

The Foreign Limited Liability Company Certificate of Authority to Transact Business in Minnesota is the one to track down, and it goes to the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services.

What if the LLC does business there without registering?

Its own lawsuits have to wait until it registers (Minn. Stat. 322C.0808, subd. 1). Its contracts can still be enforced (Minn. Stat. 322C.0808, subd. 2).

What is due after registering?

Assignment 4 has it: the annual renewal.

Which services are in this lesson?

This class grades MN Registered Agent.org, Minnesota Registered Agent.co and Mainstay Filing.

Which service should handle the registration?

MN Registered Agent.org, because the Minnesota registration is filed for $199 with a year of agent service, and the plan renews at $99. Behind it come Minnesota Registered Agent.co and Mainstay Filing.

See also

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source with revisor.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  2. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source with revisor.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  3. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota report due date with sos.state.mn.us, last read August 2026.
  4. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minn with revisor.mn.gov, last read August 2026.
  5. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota formation fee: Filing fee, official source with sos.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  6. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota registered agent statute with revisor.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  7. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota Secretary of State, foreign LLC forms with sos.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  8. Extra credit: compare what we say about Foreign LLC certificate of authority form with sos.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  9. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota Statutes § 322C.0802, certificate of authority with revisor.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  10. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota Statutes § 322C.0803, activities that are not with revisor.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  11. Extra credit: compare what we say about Minnesota Statutes § 322C.0808, consequences with revisor.mn.gov, last read October 2026.
  12. MN Registered Agent.org's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026
  13. Minnesota Registered Agent.co's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026
  14. Mainstay Filing's Minnesota service page, read on November 13, 2026