Georgia Foreign Registration / Form CD 241
Georgia Form CD 241, item by item
Form CD 241, the Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company, is how a foreign LLC applies to the Georgia Secretary of State for authority to do business, and the fee is $235. It has 8 numbered items and a primary email line at the top. $199 covers preparing it, and the notes below follow the items in order.
Form details
- Form
- Form CD 241, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company
- Fee
- $235: $225 plus a $10 service charge
- Who files
- Any LLC organized outside Georgia
- Items
- 8
- Filed with
- Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division
- Signer
- A person authorized under the law of the LLC's home jurisdiction
- Online
- Generated from your answers when the filing is approved
- A check or money order, posted to the Division
The eight items, in order
| Item | Asks for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Email line | A primary email address for the entity | The form asks you to give one |
| 1 | The LLC name, an optional name reservation number, and the date business commenced or is proposed in Georgia | More than 30 days back adds a penalty |
| 2 | The name, address and email of the filing person | Someone who can answer questions |
| 3 | The LLC name in its home state, the jurisdiction, the date of formation and the period of duration | Match the home record |
| 4 | The address of the principal place of business | Where the LLC is run from |
| 5 | The registered agent and the Georgia registered office street address | A street address only |
| 6 | The name and address of the person with substantial responsibility for managing the business | A real person |
| 7 | The address where the LLC keeps its records | Records stay there until the registration ends |
| 8 | The effective date: upon filing, or a delayed date and time | A delayed effective date must be within 90 days of filing |
The signature block follows. The signer states that the LLC is organized under another jurisdiction's law and that the signer is authorized to sign for it.
Item 1: the name and the start date
The first line takes the LLC's name, and beside it an optional name reservation number from a hold that has not expired. Beneath is the start date, with the note about the penalty: a date more than thirty days before the application's effective date means a statutory penalty of $500 plus fees, which Georgia cannot waive. If the LLC has not begun and has no date, the FAQ allows "upon qualification or upon filing". The date you enter should be true.
Items 2 to 4: filer, home details, principal office
Item 2 names the person submitting the form, with an address and an email, so the Division knows whom to contact. Item 3 repeats the LLC's name as its home state has it, then the home state or country, the formation date and the period of duration. Take these from the home-state record. Item 4 is the principal place of business. It has its own state line, so it can be outside Georgia. Give a street address.
Items 5 and 6: who receives papers, and who runs things
Item 5 is the one filings go wrong on. The form wants the agent's name, and the registered office street address in Georgia with its city, county and zip code, and it states that boxes and mail drops are not acceptable. Item 6 asks for the name and address of the person with substantial responsibility for managing the business activities, which may be a manager, a member or an officer. It is one person's name, and it becomes part of the public record.
Items 7 and 8: records and effective date
Item 7 is a promise as much as a field. The LLC gives the address where its records are kept and undertakes to keep them there until its Georgia registration is cancelled or withdrawn. Item 8 offers two choices. Upon filing is the usual one. A delayed effective date and time is allowed if it falls within 90 days of the filing date. A delayed date can matter to the penalty, since the thirty days are measured to the effective date.
What the signature says
The signer certifies that the application is signed by a person duly authorized by the laws of the jurisdiction under which the LLC is organized, and the LLC undertakes to keep its records at the item 7 address. In the same passage, the LLC puts the Secretary of State down as the recipient of lawsuit papers when no Georgia agent is in place. Sign only after reading every item.
Paying, and the wait
The fee is $235. Online, you pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. By mail, enclose a check or money order and post the form to the Corporations Division. All fees are non-refundable. Expect about 7 business days online and about 15 by mail. Paid review runs $120 for two business days, $275 for the same day and $1,200 for one hour.
Where filings go wrong
These are the places on the form where a filing can slip:
- A start date more than 30 days back, left unexplained, when a penalty then applies.
- A registered office that is a box or a mail drop.
- An agent that is the LLC itself.
- A name that departs from the home-state record.
- No primary email address.
- A signer who is not authorized under the home state's law.
What happens after you order
Order
Tell us the LLC, the start date, the agent and the manager.
We complete the items
Each of the eight is filled in from your answers and shown to you.
Your signer approves
The authorized person confirms the statements.
We submit it with the fee
$235 goes to the state.
We send the certificate and the dates
You receive what Georgia issues and the annual window.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Form CD 241 questions
Do other entities use the same form?
Form CD 241 is the foreign LLC application. Corporations use CD 236 and limited partnerships CD 251.
Do I attach a certificate of existence?
The form does not call for one from an LLC.
Can I file it online without the paper form?
Yes. Online filers answer questions and the application is generated for them.
What if the manager changes later?
According to the FAQ, an LLC's Georgia record lists only its registered agent, and no filing procedure exists for changing members or managers.
Our price, then the Georgia fee
Register in Georgia
Georgia$199
+ $235 Georgia fee
- Form CD 241, prepared from your answers
- The thirty-day clock checked against your start date
- Our office as your Georgia agent, or the one you choose
- Your annual registration window, marked
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Our price and the Georgia fee are separate lines 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.
Georgia Secretary of State sources
- Georgia Secretary of State, Form CD 241, Application for Certificate of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Company (PDF)
- Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division filing fees and expedited processing (PDF)
- Georgia Secretary of State, how to file an annual registration
- Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division business FAQ
- Georgia Secretary of State, how to guide: register a foreign entity
Working in Georgia already?
Tell us the day it started. We file before the penalty window opens, or tell you plainly if it already has.