Michigan Foreign Registration · Delaware route
A Delaware LLC and the Michigan certificate of authority
Year one for a Delaware LLC that obtains a Michigan certificate of authority comes to $525: $50 to LARA, $25 for the first annual statement, $50 for the short Delaware certificate and Delaware's $400 annual tax. Michigan counts the certificate's age back 30 days from receipt.
Comparing Delaware and Michigan
| Point | Delaware | Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly charge | $400 tax | $25 statement |
| Due | June 1 | February 15 |
| If late | $200 penalty | $50 penalty |
| Home proof | $50 short, $175 long | Dated within 30 days of receipt |
Short or long certificate
Delaware prices two certificates, and the long one lists the LLC's filings. Michigan's form asks for a certificate that the LLC is in good standing, which the short one gives, so the short one is the normal choice. What matters is the date, which must fall inside 30 days before the Division receives the application.
Delaware tax before certificate
An unpaid Delaware annual tax blocks a good standing certificate and every other Delaware filing for the LLC. The $400 tax falls due June 1. Michigan's short window leaves little room to learn of an unpaid tax after the certificate is ordered, so confirm Delaware is current first.
Delaware facts on Form 760
Item 1 takes the Delaware name exactly as the certificate shows it. Item 3 takes Delaware as the state of organization, the formation date and, if the LLC has a fixed term, its duration. Item 4 takes the office Delaware requires the LLC to keep. Item 7 takes the Michigan business in specific words.
Two agents, two states
The Delaware agent stays in Delaware. Michigan needs its own resident agent at a Michigan registered office, and a second person to receive copies of process who is not the agent. A Delaware LLC can name a service company as agent and one of its managers as the process contact.
Putting year one together
Delaware's tax ($400), the short certificate ($50), Michigan's filing ($50) and the first Michigan statement ($25) make $525 together. Our fee, a speed tier and any outside agent come on top. Delaware's $200 applies if the tax is paid late.
The numbers behind year one
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Michigan certificate of authority | $50 |
| Delaware annual tax | $400 |
| First Michigan annual statement | $25 |
| Short Delaware certificate | $50 |
| Year one in all | $525 |
Speed and the 30-day window together
A 24-hour tier costs $50 and a same-day tier $100, both on top of the $50. Fast review makes the 30-day window easier to meet, since the certificate spends fewer days in a queue. A mailed package still counts from the day the Division receives it.
Two dates months apart
Michigan wants its statement by February 15, while Delaware wants its tax by June 1. The dates sit months apart, so neither prompts the other. Enter both on a calendar when the Michigan certificate issues.
If the Delaware record changes
A Delaware rename or a change of the Michigan business makes the Michigan application stale. Michigan wants Form 762 within 30 days after the change takes effect, for $25.
Example: a Delaware LLC in Ann Arbor
A Delaware LLC that makes educational software rents office space in Ann Arbor and hires four developers, which is well beyond the safe list. It pays its Delaware tax in May, names an Ann Arbor service company as agent, lists its founder as the process contact, and orders a short Delaware certificate when the form is done. It mails Form 760 with $50 and pays the $50 tier to be authorized before the lease starts.
From Delaware to a Michigan certificate
Clear Delaware first
The $400 tax comes due June 1.
Appoint the Michigan agent and process contact
Two different people.
Complete Form 760
Seven items, one legible original.
Order the short certificate
$50, within 30 days of receipt.
Sign and file
$50 to the Corporations Division.
Who signs for a Delaware LLC
A person with authority under Delaware law signs and gives a name and a title. A manager who lives anywhere may sign.
And if the LLC were Wyoming?
Michigan charges a Wyoming LLC the same $50 and $25. The difference is at home, where Wyoming's costs are lighter. The Wyoming page adds them up.
Managers who live elsewhere
Form 760 does not ask for a manager list, but it does ask for a process contact, and that person can be a member or manager anywhere in the world. The signer needs authority under Delaware law, not residence in Michigan. That is why a founder in another state can sign and be the contact without any Michigan address of their own.
Delaware-to-Michigan questions
Does Michigan take a short Delaware certificate?
Michigan asks for a certificate that the LLC is in good standing, which the short one states.
Does the Michigan certificate change my Delaware tax?
Not at all; Delaware's bill stays at $400.
Can my Delaware agent act in Michigan?
Only if that same entity also satisfies the Michigan agent rules.
Our fee and LARA's
Get my Michigan certificate
+ $50 LARA fee
- Form CSCL/CD 760 completed from your answers, in the order the form uses
- Your home-state good standing certificate checked against Michigan's 30-day limit
- A Michigan resident agent and registered office, either ours or the one you name
- The package delivered to the Corporations Division and the certificate returned to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
Michigan
Get my Michigan certificateLARA's $50 and any expedite fee are itemized separately at checkout. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Michigan LARA filing fees, limited liability companies
- Michigan LARA limited liability company filing information
- Michigan Form CSCL/CD 760, application for certificate of authority (foreign LLC)
- Michigan LARA filing fees, foreign profit and nonprofit corporations
- Delaware Division of Corporations, LLC/LP/GP annual tax
- Michigan LARA, annual reports and annual statements
- Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule (PDF)
- Division of Corporations, certificates of status and entity status online
- MCL 450.4207, registered office, resident agent and annual statement
- Delaware Code Title 6, chapter 18, subchapter XI (fees and annual tax)
- Michigan Limited Liability Company Act, MCL 450.5002
- MCL 450.4103, signing documents
Doing business in Michigan?
Tell us about the LLC and Form 760 is ours to prepare.