Self-filing a foreign LLC registration in Arkansas

• The company's name as its home state spells it, and a second name if Arkansas cannot take the first.
• The jurisdiction, the date it was organized and any termination date.
• The certificate of existence, from the home state's records office.
• An Arkansas agent whose street address is real and staffed.
• The home-jurisdiction office, if one is required, and the principal office in Arkansas.
• One officer's name and title (a member, manager or managing member qualifies).
• The federal tax ID, a contact person and an email address for the franchise tax sheet.
• A credit card for the online route, or a check for paper.

1. Download the PDF of Form FL-01 from the same table.
2. Type or print clearly in ink, as the form instructs.
3. Sign and date it. The signature is made under penalty of perjury.
4. Attach the certificate of existence and the franchise tax sheet.
5. Enclose $300 payable to the Arkansas Secretary of State.
6. Mail or deliver the packet to Business and Commercial Services, 1401 W. Capitol Avenue, Suite 250, Little Rock, AR 72201.

Paper forms can be downloaded. The state's notice puts every route at three to five business days at present, so paper is not faster, only more costly by $30.

The agent. A post office box, a mail drop or an out-of-state friend does not work. The agent has to be at a street address in Arkansas.

The name. Typing the name from memory rather than from the certificate. If a fictitious name is needed, the resolution has to be enclosed.

The officer. Leaving item 7 empty. The Secretary of State needs a named officer for every initial filing.

The certificate. Sending a photocopy of something that is not a certificate of existence from the records custodian.

The tax sheet. Forgetting that the registration starts the franchise tax clock, and missing the first May 1.

Double filing. Sending the same application online and by mail after a slow week.

Form FL-01 is two pages: the application with its eight items, and the franchise tax sheet. Read both in full before gathering anything. The items tell you what the Secretary of State needs: a certificate of existence, a street address for the agent, an officer's name and title, and, if the real name will not do, a members' resolution. If any item raises a question about your company, such as an unusual structure, an Arkansas business lawyer can tell you before you file.

Picture a Nevada LLC with a new Fayetteville branch. The manager orders a certificate from Nevada, names a local accountant with an office on College Avenue as agent, and fills in Form FL-01 online: Nevada for the jurisdiction, the formation date, the Nevada office, the Fayetteville office, and the manager's name and title as officer. The tax sheet gets the company's tax contact and federal ID. The manager pays $270 by card and saves the confirmation. The following spring the first franchise tax report is due.

Put the first franchise tax date on a calendar and set a second reminder for the March 20 point, when a company that has not received its form should ask for one. Check the Secretary of State's business entity search after a few business days to see the registration posted. If the agent moves, send the no-fee change notice. If the name changes, amend the registration.

We handle the home-state certificate, the Arkansas agent and the May 1 calendar. The Arkansas fee is the same either way, and our Form FL-01 page shows exactly what we complete.