Guides / Multi-state LLCs

Foreign LLC Annual Reports: Do You File in Every State Where You're Registered?

Generally, yes. An LLC formed in one state and registered ("foreign qualified") in others owes a recurring report or tax in each state where it is on the register. The part that trips people up is not whether, but when: in several states a foreign LLC's due date follows the month it registered there, not the month it was formed at home.

Last reviewed: October 2, 2026 · General information, not legal advice

One LLC, several clocks

"Foreign" here means out-of-state, not non-U.S.: a Delaware LLC registered to do business in Florida is a foreign LLC in Florida. Registering does not move the company. It adds a second entry on a second state's register, and that state then expects its own recurring filing, while the home state keeps expecting its own.

Take a Delaware LLC registered in Florida and Pennsylvania. As of October 2026 it has three recurring obligations: Delaware's annual tax by June 1, a Florida annual report between January 1 and May 1, and a Pennsylvania annual report between January 1 and September 30. One company, three dates, three state offices (sources in the table below).

Which date applies to a foreign LLC

In the ten states we checked, the rules fall into two groups.

• Fixed-date states give a foreign LLC the same calendar date as a domestic one.
• Month-based states count from the month the LLC registered in that state. If you formed in Delaware in March and registered in Washington in October, Washington's date is tied to October.

All figures are as of October 2026. Other states differ and have to be checked one by one; we left out every state where we could not confirm the foreign-LLC rule on an official page.

What the official sources say

Fixed-date states

• Delaware. The Division of Corporations says all domestic and foreign LLCs "formed or registered in Delaware" pay an annual tax of $400, due on or before June 1, with no annual report. Non-payment adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month. The amount is set in 6 Del. C. § 18-1107; older references may still show $300.
• Florida. Section 605.0212 requires an annual report from "a limited liability company or a registered foreign limited liability company," delivered between January 1 and May 1. A foreign LLC that fails to file cannot maintain or defend an action in a Florida court until the report is filed and the fees and penalties are paid, and its certificate of authority can be cancelled.
• Texas. The Comptroller describes the franchise tax as imposed on each taxable entity "formed or organized in Texas or doing business in Texas." The annual report is due May 15, and each report filed late carries a $50 penalty.
• Pennsylvania. The Department of State lists all "registered foreign associations" among the filers and gives domestic and foreign LLCs the same window, January 1 to September 30, at $7.

Month-based states

• California. Under Corporations Code § 17702.09, a registered foreign LLC files a Statement of Information within 90 days of registering and every two years after that. The filing period is "the month during which its application for registration was filed, and the immediately preceding five calendar months." Separately, the Franchise Tax Board says an LLC that is doing business in California or registered with the Secretary of State pays the $800 annual tax, and notes a $250 penalty for not filing the Statement of Information.
• New York. The Department of State requires a Biennial Statement from domestic and foreign LLCs. The filing period is the calendar month in which the "Application for Authority was filed," and the fee is $9. An LLC that does not file is shown as past due on any Certificate of Status.
• Wyoming. The Secretary of State's FAQ says each entity, "domestic and foreign," files an annual report, and gives this example: a business that "registers or qualifies on January 15th" is due January 1 each year. The license tax is $60 or two-tenths of one mill on assets located and employed in Wyoming, whichever is greater. An entity is deemed delinquent on the second day of the following month and administratively dissolved if the report is not filed within 60 days of the due date.
• Washington. The Secretary of State says all domestic and foreign entities file yearly, "by the last day of the month in which the business was originally formed or registered," and can file up to 180 days early.
• Virginia. Section 13.1-1062 charges every foreign LLC registered in Virginia $50 a year, due by the last day of the anniversary month of its registration. Paying late adds a $25 penalty under § 13.1-1064, which also provides for a notice of impending cancellation of the registration.

A state with nothing to file

The Arizona Corporation Commission states that LLCs are not required to file annual reports; only corporations are. Other obligations may still apply.

Three things that differ for a foreign registration

1. The first year is special. In Florida the first report is due in the year after the foreign LLC obtained its certificate of authority. Delaware's tax is due on the June 1 "following the close of the calendar year." California wants its first statement within 90 days of registering.
2. A lapsed registration is not always reinstated. Pennsylvania's page says that a foreign association terminated for not filing "may not cure retroactively by reinstating, but instead must reregister" with a new Foreign Registration Statement, and that its name becomes available to others in the meantime. Pennsylvania applies this to annual reports due in 2027 and later, six months after the due date. A domestic entity, by contrast, can reinstate.
3. A missing notice is not an excuse. Washington quotes its statute: failure to send a notice "does not relieve a domestic entity or registered foreign entity from its obligations to file." Pennsylvania's page says the same about its own notices.

For the general escalation path, see what happens if you miss an annual report.

Keeping a multi-state LLC on one list

1. List every state where the LLC is on the register: the home state and each foreign registration.
2. For each foreign state, write down the month and year of registration there, from the registration paperwork that state sent back.
3. Note whether the state uses a fixed date or a month-based one, using the official links above or our deadlines-by-state reference.
4. When you stop doing business in a state, ask your attorney about withdrawing the registration. Until it is withdrawn, the filings generally keep coming due.

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