Everything you need to register a foreign LLC in Ohio.
State filing fee$99one-time
Registered agent$125/yearbased on Northwest RA
Total, all in$474
Ohio data last reviewed Aug 26, 2026 · ohiosos.govTotals include the $99 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Ohio recurring state costs over the selected period.
Foreign Qualification
Filing fee
$99
Form
Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form 617)
Annual obligation
No annual report required
Processing time
Ohio prints the answer on Form 617 itself: regular service is 3 to 7 business days at no extra fee. Above that, $100 buys 2 business days, $200 buys 1 business day, and $300 with in-person delivery buys 4 hours if the document arrives by 1pm. A $50 preclearance filing is a different product and buys no speed: it reviews a document BEFORE you file it, taking 1 to 2 business days, and you still have to file afterwards. The form warns that failing to include the expedite fee or tick a service level results in regular service
Expedite
$100 for 2 business days, $200 for 1 business day, or $300 for 4 hours if delivered in person by 1pm. Regular service is 3 to 7 business days at no extra fee, and the form warns that omitting the expedite fee results in regular service
Ohio data last reviewed Aug 26, 2026 · ohiosos.gov
Formation in Ohio
Formation fee
$99
Annual cost
No annual report
State income tax
Flat 3% tax on pass-through business income, and up to 2.75% on other income above $26,050. Commercial activity tax applies only above $6 million in Ohio taxable gross receipts (2026 tax year)
Privacy
High
Ohio requires no member or manager names on the Articles of Organization (Ohio Rev. Code 1706.16) and has no periodic report for LLCs. The public filing shows the company name, the statutory agent's name and street address, and the signature of the person who filed it.
What triggers foreign qualification in Ohio?
Physical office or place of business
Employees working in the state
Important to know
Ohio LLCs file no annual report.
Activities that do NOT require registration in Ohio
The following activities are explicitly carved out by statute. On their own, they do not require a foreign LLC to register in Ohio.
Maintaining, defending, or settling in its own behalf any proceeding or dispute
Holding meetings or carrying on any other activities concerning its internal affairs
Maintaining accounts in financial institutions
Maintaining offices or agencies for the assignment, exchange, and registration of the company's own securities or interests, or maintaining trustees or depositories for them
Selling through independent contractors
Soliciting or obtaining orders, by mail or electronic means or through employees or agents, if the orders require acceptance outside Ohio before they become contracts
Creating, as borrower or lender, or acquiring indebtedness, mortgages, or security interests in real or personal property
Securing or collecting debts in its own behalf, enforcing mortgages or security interests securing those debts, and holding, protecting, and maintaining property so acquired
Owning real or personal property
Conducting an isolated transaction that is not one in the course of repeated transactions of a like nature
Transacting business in interstate commerce
Under R.C. Section 1706.512. Ohio puts NO time limit on the isolated-transaction carve-out. Subsection (B) adds status-based exclusions for controlling interests, limited partner status and LLC membership. Subsection (C) disclaims service of process, taxation and regulation under other Ohio law.