How to Qualify a Non-Arizona LLC to Do Business in Arizona

by Richard Keyt, Arizona LLC, corporate and business attorney

Arizona law requires that every company and limited liability company that transacts business in Arizona must obtain authority to do so from the Arizona Corporation Commission. This process is commonly referred to as “qualifying to do business in Arizona” or “registering to do business in Arizona.”

Registering a Foreign Limited Liability Company in Arizona

A limited liability company formed outside Arizona may qualify to do business in Arizona by:

  1. Filing the following documents with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC): (i) an Application for Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company, and (ii) an ACC coversheet.
  2. Naming a statutory agent for the company who has an address in Arizona that is not a post office box. If your LLC does not have anybody with an address in Arizona who can be its statutory agent, KEYTLaw, LLC, provides that service for $99 a year.
  3. Submitting with the Application for Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company a copy of a Certificate of Good Standing (or equivalent document) issued by the appropriate government agency of the state of formation of the applicant company within 60 days of the date of filing the Application.
  4. Paying the Arizona Corporation Commission a $150 filing fee. We recommend that applicants pay an additional $35 for expedited filing to avoid unnecessary delay.

LLC Name Must Not Conflict with an Arizona Name

The Arizona Corporation Commission will not approve the Application for Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company unless the company’s name is distinguishable from all of the following:

  1. The corporate name of a company incorporated in Arizona or a foreign company authorized to transact business in Arizona.
  2. A corporate name reserved under A.R.S. Section 10-402 or registered under A.R.S. Section 10-403.
  3. A fictitious name adopted by a foreign company under A.R.S. Section 10-1506.
  4. The corporate name of a nonprofit company incorporated in Arizona or a foreign nonprofit or not for profit company authorized to conduct affairs in Arizona.
  5. The partnership name of a limited partnership organized and registered under the laws of Arizona or of a foreign limited partnership authorized to transact business in Arizona.
  6. The name of a limited liability company formed in Arizona or a foreign limited liability company authorized to transact business in Arizona.
  7. A trade name registered with the Arizona Secretary of State.
  8. The name of a registered limited liability partnership registered in Arizona or a foreign registered limited liability partnership authorized to transact business in Arizona.

If your company’s name conflicts with an existing Arizona company name or tradename, you may still register the LLC to do business in Arizona as a foreign limited liability company, but the company will have to adopt a fictitious name in Arizona that does not conflict with any other Arizona entity names or tradenames.

Check the ACC’s Name Availability Database to determine if your limited liability company’s exact name is used by an Arizona entity or registered as a tradename with the Arizona Secretary of State. On the ACC’s database page click on the text Name – Forms for entity name reservation.  Next click on Check Entity Name Availability.  Enter your LLC’s name in the field called Name and include the ending LLC, L.L.C., etc.  In the Entity Type field select LLC.  Click on check name.

If the exact name of your limited liability company is used in Arizona by another entity or is registered as a tradename with the Arizona Secretary of State, your limited liability company cannot register to do business or conduct affairs in Arizona under its actual name. Instead, the limited liability company must use a fictitious name in Arizona and deliver to the ACC a copy of a resolution of the members of the limited liability company authorizing the limited liability company to transact business in Arizona using the fictitious name.  When hired to prepare an application to register a foreign LLC to do business in Arizona we will prepare a resolution of the members that authorizes the LLC to do business in Arizona under the fictitious name for $195.

Application For Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company Document Preparation Service

For a fixed legal fee of $347 plus the $185 Arizona Corporation Commission expedited filing fee, Arizona business attorney Richard Keyt will prepare all of the documents necessary to qualify your non-Arizona limited liability company to register to do business in Arizona. Our services include:

  1. preparation of the Application For Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company,
  2. preparation of the ACC coversheet,
  3. correspondence to send the documents to you for review,
  4. unlimited phone calls to discuss registering your LLC in Arizona and filing the necessary documents,
  5. filing the documents with the Arizona Corporation Commission, and
  6. sending you the Arizona Corporation Commission’s approval letter and approved application with the ACC’s filed stamp on it.

How to Hire Richard Keyt to Prepare Your Application For Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company

To hire Arizona business attorney Richard to qualify your foreign company to transact business in Arizona, complete our online Service Agreement, sign it and send it to us with your check and a Certificate of Good Standing from the state in which the LLC was formed. If you have questions about registering your company to transact business in Arizona, call Richard Keyt at 480-664-7478 or his son Arizona LLC attorney Richard C. Keyt at 480-664-7472. See Arizona LLC attorney Richard Keyt’s resume.