Doing Business in Another State

Doing Business in Another State › States › Michigan

Doing business in Michigan from another state

If your LLC does business in Michigan as Michigan defines it, you register with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division for $50.

Step 1: put these questions to Michigan’s law

  1. An employee or contractor works from the state. Ask whether the statute counts work done by people located in the state, and whether employees and independent contractors are treated alike.
  2. You sell to customers there but have no one on the ground. Ask whether the statute treats sales from outside the state differently from activity inside it.
  3. The LLC owns or leases property there. Ask whether owning or leasing real estate is listed as an activity that does, or does not, count.
  4. You open an office, shop or warehouse. Ask whether a fixed place of business is named in the statute. Settle the answer before you sign a lease.
  5. You hold meetings or keep a bank account there. Ask whether the statute lists these ancillary activities, and whether they count by themselves.

Michigan’s sources do not name a statute on this page; start at the Michigan filing page.

Step 2: if the answer is yes

Form
Form CSCL/CD 760, Application for Certificate of Authority to Transact Business in Michigan (for foreign limited liability companies)
Fee
$50
Paper from your home state
Certificate of good standing, no older than 30 days
Agent
A resident agent in Michigan

Best 3 Foreign Registration Services in Michigan (2026)

Step 3: if you would rather not file it yourself.

#ServiceService feeMichigan feeAgent
1Mainstay Filing$199$50Year one included, then $149/yr
2MI Registered Agent.org$199$50Year one included, then $99/yr
3Michigan Registered Agent.co$199$50Year one included, then $99/yr

Service prices read from each provider’s Michigan page on October 28, 2026. The state fee is the official figure below and is paid to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division.

Michigan questions

When does an LLC from another state have to register in Michigan?

When its activity in Michigan meets Michigan’s own definition of doing business. We do not paraphrase it; read it through the Michigan filing page.

What does registering in Michigan cost?

$50 to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division.

What is required after registering?

Annual statement (LARA), $25 (due: february 15), and a resident agent in Michigan.

Sources