Registering a foreign LLC in New Hampshire from the first decision to the first report

Start with the activity, not the form. The statute requires registration before doing business in New Hampshire and lists what is not doing business. A company whose only link is an account, a meeting or a court case is outside the rule. One that runs a shop or earns income here is inside it. The doing-business page has the full list and common cases. If the answer is close, register, because the cost of guessing wrong is described on the penalties page.

Article sixth names the agent and the registered office. The agent must live in New Hampshire, and the office is the agent's street address in the state, where the agent can be found for hand delivery of legal papers. The permitted agents are a resident individual, a corporation organized or authorized under RSA 292, 293-A or 294-A, an LLC formed or authorized under RSA 304-C, or an LLP under RSA 304-A:44, in each case with a business office identical to the registered office. The agent page compares the choices.

Article fifth asks for a brief description of the business to be conducted here, with the NAICS code and sub code if you know them. Keep to what the LLC will do in New Hampshire, in plain words such as property rental or consulting. The instructions give examples at that level of detail.

Someone with authority to sign under the law of the state of formation signs the form. If the LLC is in the hands of a court-appointed fiduciary, that fiduciary signs. The statute separately wants a name and address for whichever manager or member signs.

The state says processing times vary by filing type and time of year. Its QuickStart page announced, as of October 13, 2026, a wait of up to 5 business days. An in-person expedite exists for $25 for filings pending on hold. Build that range into any plan that depends on the approval.

A change of name or of home state obliges the LLC to amend its application on Form FLLC-2, at $35. Swapping the registered agent or office takes Form 10 and $15, and the statement spells out the details of the old and new arrangement.

A report that is two months late lets the Secretary of State begin revocation. The office sends written notice, allows 60 days to fix the problem, and may then revoke by mailing a notice to the principal office on file. From the date printed on that notice the LLC may no longer do business. The report page covers reinstatement.

A preparer saves the back-and-forth over the articles and checks the agent and signer against the instructions. We prepare Form FLLC-1 for $199, and the state fee is paid separately.

RSA 304-C:177 requires the name to include the words limited liability company or an abbreviation such as L.L.C. or LLC, be a name a domestic LLC could register, avoid implying a purpose the act does not permit, and be distinguishable from the names of entities already on the state records. That covers two checks you can do yourself: the ending, and a search of the state's names.

A professional LLC files Form FPLLC-1 for the same $100. A foreign LLC merger that does not involve a New Hampshire LLC is filed by submitting a certified copy for $35. Neither changes the steps above.

The report restates the LLC name and home jurisdiction, the registered office and agent, the principal office, the names and business addresses of its managers or at least one member, and a brief description of the business. It goes in through the QuickStart dashboard, and an LLC with nothing to change can use the One Click option. Check each entry against the company's current records before filing, since the report states them as of January 1 of the year the report is due, and an agent or manager who changed during the year belongs in this report. A report missing required information is returned, and a fixed copy sent back inside 30 days of the notice is treated as on time.

Naming a new agent or office is Form 10, at $15. Amending the application is Form FLLC-2, at $35. A late report adds $50, and a trade name application is $50. Closing it is Form FLLC-3 for $35, plus the $30 tax statement.

A revoked LLC reinstates by form and pays the fees in arrears. Past 120 days, it adds the yearly fees for the time since revocation, if it did business here, and a Department of Revenue Administration statement that no taxes are due.

Registration is $100. The first annual report, when it falls due, is another $100, which makes $200 across the two filings. If the LLC leaves, the exit adds $65, bringing the three filings to $165 in state charges. The fee page sets out each combination.

Three things follow. The report goes on a calendar. The agent's contact details go in the company's records. And any bank or lender that asked for proof of registration gets a copy of the filed form.

The form attaches nothing from the home state, so a slow home office does not hold up this filing. What you need from it is the exact name and the formation date.

$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.