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Vermont Foreign LLC Registration

Everything you need to register a foreign LLC in Vermont.

State filing fee $155 one-time
Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA
Total, all in $1,040
Vermont data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · sos.vermont.gov Totals include the $155 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Vermont recurring state costs over the selected period.

Foreign Qualification

Filing fee
$155
Form
Application for Certificate of Authority (filed through the Vermont online portal; no paper form is published)
Annual obligation
$170/year
Processing time
Vermont publishes both figures on its foreign registration page: online filing normally takes less than one business day, and postal filings need 7 to 10 business days. There is no expedited service and no extra fee for filing online
Estimated year 1 cost
$325
Visit Vermont Secretary of State ↗
Vermont data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · sos.vermont.gov

Formation in Vermont

Formation fee
$155
Annual cost
$45/year
State income tax
Income tax up to 8.75% (2026 tax year)
Privacy
High

What triggers foreign qualification in Vermont?

  • Physical office or place of business
  • Employees working in the state

Important to know

  • Foreign LLCs pay $170 for the annual report against $45 for domestic.
  • A Vermont LLC taxed as a partnership owes a $250 minimum entity tax. A single-member LLC treated as disregarded does not.

Activities that do NOT require registration in Vermont

The following activities are explicitly carved out by statute. On their own, they do not require a foreign LLC to register in Vermont.

  • Maintaining, defending, or settling any proceeding
  • Holding meetings of members or managers, or carrying on internal company affairs
  • Maintaining bank accounts
  • Maintaining a transfer, exchange, or registration office for the company's own securities
  • Selling through independent contractors
  • Soliciting or taking orders that must be accepted outside the state
  • Creating or acquiring debts, mortgages, or security interests in real or personal property
  • Collecting debts, enforcing security interests, and holding property acquired that way
  • Owning real or personal property
  • A single isolated transaction not one of repeated transactions of a like nature
  • Transacting business in interstate commerce

Under 11 V.S.A. Section 4113. NO time limit on the isolated-transaction carve-out. No tax or service-of-process disclaimer. Subsection (b) defines doing business expansively as "each act, power, or privilege exercised or enjoyed in this State."

Need a registered agent in Vermont?

A registered agent is required for foreign qualification. These services operate in all 50 states.

Get Northwest Registered Agent ↗
Recommended · $125/year · Privacy included

Other options

Registered Agents Inc
$200/year · Report filing included, state fees extra
Visit site ↗
Harbor Compliance
$99 first year, then $149/year · Full-service compliance option
Visit site ↗

More Vermont guides

Check your compliance

Answer 3 questions to find out if your LLC needs to register in other states.

Start free compliance check ↗

Need to change your registered agent?

See the form, fee, and step-by-step process for changing your registered agent in Vermont.

Vermont change of agent guide ↗

What's the penalty for not registering?

Statute-cited guide to the civil penalty, back fees, and court access if you operate in Vermont without a certificate of authority.

Vermont penalty guide ↗

Not sure if you need to register?

Learn what counts as “doing business” and which activities trigger the foreign qualification requirement.

What triggers foreign qualification? ↗

This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify with the Vermont SOS before filing.