Pennsylvania Certificate of Authority · Yearly duties
Yearly duties of a registered foreign entity in Pennsylvania
A foreign entity that holds Pennsylvania authority files an annual report each year: $7 for a for-profit LLC, corporation or partnership and $0 for a nonprofit, with the due date set by the kind of entity. Some entities also file a certificate of annual registration.
Due dates by kind of entity
| Entity | Annual report due | Fee | Second filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLC | September 30 | $7 | Restricted professional LLCs only |
| Business corporation | June 30 | $7 | None |
| Nonprofit corporation | June 30 | $0 | None |
| Limited partnership | December 31 | $7 | None |
| Limited liability partnership | December 31 | $7 | Certificate of annual registration, April 15 |
The filing period for the reports opens on January 1 of each year.
What the report asks
The entity name, the registered office address, the principal office address and the name of at least one governor. An LLC names a manager, or a member with material management responsibility, as its governor. Details must be accurate on the day of filing, and the Department shows them with the entity's compliance status on its public search.
How it is filed
Reports go in online. Open a portal account if you have none, sign in, search for the entity and open its annual report form. No PIN is required. Approval is automatic, the form and acknowledgement letter can be downloaded at once, and there is no expedited option because none is needed.
The certificate of annual registration
A separate yearly filing, the certificate of annual registration, falls on LLPs, LLLPs and restricted professional companies; the report does not stand in for it. It is due by April 15 for the previous year, filed online one year at a time starting with the oldest. A partnership pays $470 per general partner who lived or was organized in Pennsylvania on December 31, and a restricted professional company pays $700 per licensed member living in Pennsylvania.
Notices and where they go
A postcard notice is mailed to a street-address registered office at least two months before the annual report deadline, and a registered office provider receives none. Keep the registered office current, because that is where a termination notice goes too.
If a report is missed
| Time after the due date | Position |
|---|---|
| Any point before six months | The report can still be filed |
| Six months | The Department may terminate the foreign registration |
| Termination notice | Effective no sooner than 60 days after delivery |
| After termination | The entity registers again; its name may have been taken |
The Department has said a transition period precedes any dissolution, termination or cancellation for missed reports.
A year in the calendar, by entity
An LLC puts September 30 in the diary and opens the portal that summer. A corporation or nonprofit does the same for June 30. A limited partnership files by December 31. An LLP or a restricted professional company adds its certificate of annual registration for April 15. Every entity should also check its registered office before the postcard season.
Checklist before filing
Confirm the entity name matches the record, the registered office is current, the principal office is wherever the business actually runs, and the governor named is someone with real management responsibility. Then file online and download the acknowledgement letter for the records.
Who can file
Any person authorized by the entity may file the report in the portal. An officer, a manager or a trusted adviser can do it.
What a clean year looks like
The postcard arrives or the calendar pings, the report is filed online in a few minutes, the acknowledgement letter is downloaded, and the entity's public status shows it as compliant. Nothing else is owed to the Department for the year, apart from the extra certificate some entities file.
When the entity changes its name
A name change on the home record calls for an amended registration in Pennsylvania at $250. File it before the next annual report so the report carries the right name.
Related federal report
The state report goes to Harrisburg. The federal beneficial ownership report, where it applies, goes to FinCEN. Neither takes the place of the other.
Yearly duty questions
Do nonprofits file an annual report?
Yes, for $0.
When does a corporation file?
By June 30.
Do limited liability partnerships owe more?
Yes. They file a certificate of annual registration as well.
Can I pay for faster handling?
No. Online reports are approved on submission.
Fees at a glance
Get Pennsylvania authority
+ $250 state fee
- Your Foreign Registration Statement, drafted from a short questionnaire
- The docketing statement filed alongside it
- A Pennsylvania registered office entry, ours or one you hold
- The filed copy sent back to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
Pennsylvania
Get authority to operateThe $250 goes to the Department of State and appears on its own line. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Official sources
- Pennsylvania Department of State, fees and payments
- DSCB:15-412, Foreign Registration Statement, with instructions
- Pennsylvania Department of State, foreign associations
- Pennsylvania Department of State, annual reports
- Pennsylvania Department of State, commercial registered office providers
- Pennsylvania Department of State, certificates of annual registration
- 15 Pa.C.S. 419, termination of registration
Need to operate in Pennsylvania?
Tell us the entity type and we prepare the filing.