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How to Get a Certificate of Good Standing in Minnesota

Minnesota calls it the Certificate of Good Standing and charges $15. Here is how to order it and what must be current first.

At a glance

Document name
Certificate of Good Standing
State fee
$15
Online ordering
Yes
Typical turnaround
Online: $5 for the certificate plus a $10 online transaction fee, $15 in total, and Minnesota states that certificates are issued immediately upon payment and returned to the online account. By post: $5, with no turnaround published. The $10 is a transaction fee rather than an expedite
Issuing office
Minnesota SOS ↗

How to order it

  1. Clear any past-due filings first. The Minnesota SOS will not issue a certificate while you have unpaid tax or an unfiled report. The state-specific requirements are in the points below.
  2. Order it online. Search your LLC in the Minnesota portal, request the certificate, and download it. Link in the table above.
  3. Pay the $15 fee. Pay by card at checkout. A small card surcharge usually applies.
  4. Use it inside the recipient's window. The certificate has no state expiration, but banks and other states usually want one dated within the last 30 to 90 days. Order it close to when you need it.

Would rather not deal with the agency yourself?

CorpNet orders the certificate for you
$69 service fee, plus the Minnesota state fee shown above · A filing service, not a registered agent. Ordering it yourself is cheaper and the steps above are the whole process.
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Full ordering details for Minnesota

Minnesota charges $15 online, being $5 for the certificate plus a $10 online transaction fee, against $5 by post. The $10 is a transaction fee, not an expedite: the statutory expedited-service surcharge is $20 and applies to filings. Order through the Minnesota Business Services Portal at mblsportal.sos.mn.gov - search for the entity, click Details, then Order Certificate. Payment by Visa/Mastercard/Discover/Amex. Certificate delivered by email link within 90 days of order. Mail requests go to Minnesota Secretary of State - Business Services, First National Bank Building, 332 Minnesota Street, Suite N201, Saint Paul MN 55101 with the Business Certificate/Copy Request Form. The agency does not take in-person certificate requests at all. The Annual Renewal (FREE to file but must be filed by December 31 each year) must be current.

Processing and expedited tiers: Online: $5 for the certificate plus a $10 online transaction fee, $15 in total, and Minnesota states that certificates are issued immediately upon payment and returned to the online account. By post: $5, with no turnaround published. The $10 is a transaction fee rather than an expedite; Minnesota's expedited-service surcharge under Minn. Stat. 5.14 is $20 and applies to filings

Important to know about Minnesota

  • The certificate is $5 either way. Ordering online adds a $10 transaction fee, so it costs $15 in total, and the certificate is issued immediately to the online account. By post it is $5 with no published turnaround. The $10 is a transaction fee, not expedited service: Minnesota's expedite surcharge is $20 and applies to filings, not to certificate orders.
  • Minnesota LLC Annual Renewal is FREE to file but REQUIRED by December 31 each year. Missing December 31 administratively dissolves the LLC - no grace period. Reinstatement is available by filing the current year renewal and paying the reinstatement fee.
  • The online certificate download link expires after 90 days. Download immediately and save the PDF; re-ordering costs $15 again.
  • Minnesota charges no late fee on the annual renewal, but missing December 31 is not free. The LLC is administratively terminated, and getting it back costs $65 by mail or $85 online on top of filing the renewal. Reinstatement is retroactive to the termination date, and an entity inactive for more than six years cannot reinstate online at all.
  • The mail-in form is "Business Certificate/Copy Request Form" - downloadable from sos.mn.gov. Using the wrong form causes rejection.

Ordering this to register in another state?

A certificate of good standing from Minnesota is what the new state asks for when your Minnesota LLC registers to do business there. Pick the state you are expanding into to see its exact filing, fee, and process.

Find your state-to-state guide · Registering an out-of-state LLC into Minnesota instead?

Related guides

This page provides general information based on publicly available Minnesota Secretary of State requirements. It is not legal advice. Names, fees, and procedures can change. Verify with the Minnesota SOS before ordering.