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Founder Mentor Guide

Mentor notes 3 · Pennsylvania

Foreign LLC Registration Walkthrough, Pennsylvania (2026): 4 Stages and the 3 Best Services

For bringing an LLC into a second state in Pennsylvania in 2026, our mentors would send you to Mainstay Filing ($199), PA Registered Agent.org ($199) and Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co ($199), in that order. You will pass through 4 stages, pay $250 to the state and plan for what comes afterward.

Advice from the Founder Mentor Guide mentors

Read this first

Cost to register
$250
Verify it at pa.gov, which we opened in October 2026
Yearly filing
$7
Annual report
Three years of state fees
$264
Registration, reports and any minimum tax
How many stages
4
One at a time

By the end you will know

  • When registration is required
  • The filing, its price and its office
  • What comes after registration
  • Which services we recommend and why

Pennsylvania: our recommended services

Cost over three years leads, then work taken off your desk, year-two price, Pennsylvania fit and honest pricing (scoring page).

Our call

1. Mainstay Filing: best for one provider for both states

Start with this one$199 to register, $149 a year after

Mainstay Filing takes first place, and the reason is that you pay $199 on top of the state fee, the registered agent costs nothing in year one, and after that it is $149 a year.

Compared with PA Registered Agent.org, you spend $100 more over three years and file less yourself.

Once the free agent year is over, it is $149 a year.

What you get

  • Registration paperwork handled
  • Covers all fifty states

What works

  • $199 above the state fee
  • One price anywhere

What to watch

  • Renewal $50 above PA Registered Agent.org's
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Our call

2. PA Registered Agent.org: best for a lean Pennsylvania filing

Local choice$199 to register, $99 a year after

Second place goes to PA Registered Agent.org, since $199 beyond the state fee, with the first year of the agent covered, then $99 a year.

What you get

  • The Pennsylvania registration, prepared and sent
  • Agent service for one year comes with the price

What works

  • $199 and the state fee
  • A year of agent service is included
  • $99 yearly from year two

What to watch

  • Your home state needs a different agent
Visit PA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Our call

3. Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co: best for another Pennsylvania option

Local choice$199 to register, $99 a year after

Third place goes to Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co, since $199 beyond the state fee, with the first year of the agent covered, then $99 a year.

It charges exactly what PA Registered Agent.org charges.

What you get

  • The Pennsylvania registration, prepared and sent
  • Agent service for one year comes with the price

What works

  • $99 yearly from year two
  • $199 and the state fee
  • A year of agent service is included

What to watch

  • Your home state needs a different agent
Visit Pennsylvania Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Scores and prices together

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2PA Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit PA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Pennsylvania Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
What each company posted on November 13, 2026. Plan for $250 more in state fees, whichever row you pick.

The stages

  1. Stage 1

    Find out if you have to register

    Pennsylvania expects an out-of-state LLC to register before it transacts business in the state. An LLC that operates unregistered risks: its own lawsuits are on hold until it registers (15 Pa.C.S. 411(b)) existing deals still stand (15 Pa.C.S. 411(c))

    Check it yourself: Verify it at pa.gov, which we opened in October 2026

  2. Stage 2

    Find a registered agent with an address in Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania requires a registered office (a Pennsylvania street address or a Commercial Registered Office Provider), not an agent. The address has to be an actual street address or rural route box number in Pennsylvania. A P.O. box alone is not accepted.

    Our ranking covers this role.

    Check it yourself: Verify it at legis.state.pa.us, which we opened in October 2026

  3. Stage 3

    Now deal with the Foreign Registration Statement

    The form and the $250 fee travel together to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations.

    Check it yourself: Verify it at pa.gov, which we opened in October 2026

  4. Stage 4

    Keep the registration in force

    Write down the annual report and its $7 fee (September 30).

What each stage costs in Pennsylvania

Line itemPayeePrice
The registration stageThe state$250
Annual reportThe state$7
Optional serviceThe service$199 in the first year
State total across three yearsThe state$264
The state rows come from Pennsylvania's published fee schedules (the pages we opened are listed under the table), and each service row comes from that company's own price. Across three years the state row counts the filing, the report in year two, the report in year three and any minimum tax.

Why Mainstay Filing is first

edged out on work taken off your desk, which counts for 32%.

PA Registered Agent.org renews for less, but reaching several states mattered more.

Pennsylvania questions

What does Pennsylvania collect from a foreign LLC when it registers?

$250 for the filing. The services here charge $199 extra.

Which form do I file to register?

Fill in the form named in stage 4 and send it to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations.

What if the LLC does business there without registering?

its own lawsuits are on hold until it registers (15 Pa.C.S. 411(b)) existing deals still stand (15 Pa.C.S. 411(c))

What is due after registering?

Stage 4 has it: the annual report for $7.

Which services are in this lesson?

3 services get scores: Mainstay Filing at $199, PA Registered Agent.org at $199 and Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co at $199.

Which service should handle the registration?

Go with Mainstay Filing: the Pennsylvania registration is $199 plus the state's own charge, and the first year of the registered agent is already covered. Then PA Registered Agent.org and Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co.

Where we got the facts

  1. Backing for Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and: pa.gov, August 2026.
  2. Backing for Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and: pa.gov, August 2026.
  3. Backing for 15 Pa.C.S. § 8821: pa.gov, August 2026.
  4. Backing for Pennsylvania formation fee: Filing fee, official source: pa.gov, October 2026.
  5. Backing for Pennsylvania registered agent statute: legis.state.pa.us, October 2026.
  6. Backing for Pennsylvania DOS, foreign associations: pa.gov, October 2026.
  7. Backing for Foreign Registration Statement, DSCB:15-412: pa.gov, October 2026.
  8. Backing for Commercial registered office providers: pa.gov, October 2026.
  9. Backing for 15 Pa.C.S. 411, registration to do business in: legis.state.pa.us, November 2026.
  10. Backing for Pennsylvania Department of State, general rule and exclusions: pa.gov, November 2026.
  11. We opened Mainstay Filing's Pennsylvania service page on November 13, 2026 for the prices
  12. We opened PA Registered Agent.org's pricing page on November 13, 2026 for the prices
  13. We opened Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co's pricing page on November 13, 2026 for the prices