Everything you need to register a foreign LLC in Iowa.
State filing fee$100one-time
Registered agent$125/yearbased on Northwest RA
Total, all in$535
Iowa data last reviewed Aug 26, 2026 · sos.iowa.govTotals include the $100 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Iowa recurring state costs over the selected period. The report fee is biennial and counted per filing due.
Foreign Qualification
Filing fee
$100
Form
Foreign Registration Statement - Limited Liability Company (Form 635_0010)
Annual obligation
$30 biennial
Processing time
Iowa publishes no standard processing time for this filing. It is filable through Fast Track Filing, which Iowa describes as taking just minutes against several weeks on paper. Expedited service is $15 for five business days, $50 for two business days, $125 for same business day and $200 for one hour, charged per document on top of the filing fee, and it cannot be bought by post
Expedite
$15 for five business days, $50 for two business days, $125 for same business day, $200 for one hour. The surcharge is per document and sits on top of the filing fee. Requests must be made in person or through the Fast Track Filing upload, not by post
Iowa data last reviewed Aug 26, 2026 · sos.iowa.gov
Formation in Iowa
Formation fee
$50
Annual cost
$30 biennial
State income tax
Flat 3.8% income tax (2026 tax year)
Privacy
High
What triggers foreign qualification in Iowa?
Physical office or place of business
Employees working in the state
Important to know
Iowa's report is biennial, not annual, so the compliance calendar runs on a two-year cycle.
Activities that do NOT require registration in Iowa
The following activities are explicitly carved out by statute. On their own, they do not require a foreign LLC to register in Iowa.
Maintaining, defending, mediating, arbitrating, or settling a proceeding
Carrying on the company's internal affairs, including holding meetings of members or managers
Maintaining accounts in financial institutions
Maintaining offices or agents to transfer, exchange, or register the company's securities, or maintaining trustees or depositories for them
Selling through independent contractors
Soliciting or taking orders by any means, if the orders must be accepted outside Iowa before they become contracts
Creating or acquiring debt, mortgages, or security interests in property
Securing or collecting debts, enforcing security interests, and holding or maintaining property acquired that way
Conducting an isolated transaction that is not one of a series of similar transactions
Owning, protecting, and maintaining property
Doing business in interstate commerce
Under Iowa Code Section 489.905, enacted 2023 Acts ch 152 effective 2024-01-01. NO time limit on the isolated-transaction carve-out. NUMBERING TRAP: the old Section 489.1005 was repealed effective 2024-01-01 and now reads "Reference to external facts"; any citation to 489.1005 for this list is stale.