Everything you need to register a foreign LLC in Kentucky.
State filing fee$90one-time
Registered agent$125/yearbased on Northwest RA
Total, all in$1,035
Kentucky data last reviewed Aug 26, 2026 · sos.ky.govTotals include the $90 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Kentucky recurring state costs over the selected period.
Foreign Qualification
Filing fee
$90
Form
Certificate of Authority FBE (Foreign Business Entity)
Kentucky data last reviewed Aug 26, 2026 · sos.ky.gov
Formation in Kentucky
Formation fee
$40
Annual cost
$15/year + $175/year entity tax
State income tax
Flat 3.5% income tax (2026 tax year)
Privacy
Conditional
Whether your name reaches the public record depends on how you set the LLC up. Kentucky requires no member or manager name on the articles of organization. The annual report then asks for the name and business address of each manager, but only if you chose manager-managed. A member-managed Kentucky LLC names nobody.
What triggers foreign qualification in Kentucky?
Physical office or place of business
Employees working in the state
Important to know
The $175 Limited Liability Entity Tax is owed to the Department of Revenue and is separate from the $15 annual report, with a different deadline and a different agency. A single-member LLC owned by an individual files Form 725 and owes it in its own right.
Activities that do NOT require registration in Kentucky
The following activities are explicitly carved out by statute. On their own, they do not require a foreign LLC to register in Kentucky.
Maintaining, defending, or settling any proceeding
Holding meetings of directors, shareholders, partners, members, managers, beneficial owners, or trustees, or carrying on internal affairs
Maintaining bank accounts
Maintaining offices or agencies for transfer, exchange, and registration of the entity's own securities, or maintaining trustees or depositaries for them
Selling through independent contractors
Soliciting or obtaining orders, by mail or through employees or agents, if the orders require acceptance outside the state
Creating or acquiring indebtedness, mortgages, and security interests in real, personal, or intangible property
Securing or collecting debts, or enforcing mortgages and security interests in the property securing them
Owning real or personal property, and nothing more
Conducting an isolated transaction completed within 30 days that is not one of repeated transactions of a like nature
Transacting business in interstate commerce
Under KRS 14A.9-010(2). The isolated-transaction carve-out carries a 30-day limit. Note subsection (6): a certificate of authority is required for award of a state contract regardless of these safe harbors.
This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify with the Kentucky SOS before filing.