Kansas Foreign Registration / Filing it yourself

File Kansas Form FA yourself: what to do, in what order

Filing Form FA yourself costs $115 in Kansas fees. Form FA is a paper form, so the job is a printed form, a signature, a check or card cover page and an envelope to Topeka. There is no account to open and no portal to learn. The effort goes into getting the content right the first time, because a correction means another round of mail. This page walks through the work and marks the points where people usually stumble.

Self-filing at a glance

Where the form lives: The Secretary of State's register-a-business page, under foreign registration forms
Cost: $115 to Kansas, plus report fees if any are owed
Payment: checks payable to the Kansas Secretary of State, or a credit or debit card using the cover page in the form packet
Mail to: Kansas Secretary of State, Docking State Office Building, 915 SW Harrison Street, Topeka KS 66612
Before you start: Legal name, home state, formation date, Kansas agent and a Kansas street address

Hour one: collect the answers on one page

Open a blank document and write down the legal name exactly as the home record shows it, then the state of formation, the date of formation, a one-sentence description of the Kansas work, the agent and the Kansas street address of the registered office. Add the date the business started working in Kansas if it is already behind you. Having these in one place keeps the form consistent with itself, which matters more than neat handwriting.

Hour one: confirm the entity type is covered

Form FA handles LLCs, series LLCs, for-profit and nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships. A foreign business trust uses another form, FBT, listed next to FA on the register page. Everything below is for the first six types.

Hour two: search the name

Use the name availability search on the Secretary of State's site. You are looking for a Kansas record that is not distinguishable from yours. If one turns up, you have two options on the form's instructions: a written consent from that business, signed by its authorized person, on Form CN; or a letter saying the business will identify itself in every Kansas use as a business from its home state. The letter is unavailable when the Kansas business was formed in your home state.

Hour two: look up the agent

If the agent is a business, look it up in the state's business entity search and copy its legal name exactly; the form demands an identical match. If the agent is an individual, use a full name and a Kansas street address where that person is regularly present. Ask the agent first. Under Kansas law an agent has duties, including forwarding papers and documents the Secretary of State sends.

Day two: work out the reports

Look at section 6 of the instructions. If the business began working in Kansas in the past, count each reporting period that has passed since. Use the even or odd year in the start date to find the cycle. A profit business attaches every missed report up to 10 years back; a not-for-profit corporation attaches only the latest. Each report is on its own form, ILC for an LLC, with a fee. Should any report be filed after its forfeiture date, $85 is added once as a penalty. A business that is only now starting in Kansas leaves the box blank and attaches nothing.

Day two: fill in the form

Go through the ten sections slowly, the way the Form FA page lays them out. Keep to the legal name, give the registered office as a street address, and leave section 9 empty unless the LLC can create series. Remember that the signature block carries the sworn statement of good standing, so check your home state's records for the status before anyone signs.

Day three: pay and pack the envelope

Decide whether to pay by check or card. For a check, write one amount covering the application, any penalty and every report, payable to the Kansas Secretary of State. For a card, complete the cover page and include it once; it can charge every document in the envelope. Put the signed form on top, then the reports in order, then any name consent. Make a photocopy of the entire packet before it goes in the mail.

Day three: mail it with tracking

Send the packet to Kansas Secretary of State, Docking State Office Building, 915 SW Harrison Street, Topeka KS 66612. Use a service that gives you a delivery record, since you will want proof of when the packet arrived. At the end of processing the state sends a certified copy of the application to whoever mailed it, so give a return address you can rely on.

After it is filed

Check the business's entry on the Secretary of State's business search for the Kansas ID number, which you will need for every later filing. Put the first information report on your calendar, due by April 15 in the even or odd years of your registration, and set a reminder for early March of that year so you have time to file online.

What the state does

The state files documents that conform to law, stamping each with the date and hour of filing.

Where people get stuck

Writing the name as the business is known, not as the home state files it.
Using a mailbox as the registered office.
Putting today's date in section 6 as a past date.
Attaching the wrong report form for the entity type.
Paying for the application but not for the reports that travel with it.
Skipping the second signature on a limited liability partnership.

A realistic weekend for the first filing

Saturday morning: gather the answers, search the name, line up the agent. Saturday afternoon: count the reports and fill in the form. Sunday: check the home state's status, sign, copy the packet and post it.

Filing the information reports later

Information reports are the one part of the cycle you can do online. The Secretary of State's information reports page links to online filing, and an LLC pays $90 online against $110 on paper. Series of an LLC must use the paper form. The information report page lists what each form asks for.

Handing the filing to us

We fill in the form, count the reports, pay and post the packet and forward the certified copy, for $199 plus the Kansas fee.

Seven steps to a self-filed Kansas registration

Write down the facts
Name, home state, formation date, Kansas work, agent and office.
Search the name
Run the state's name availability search, then get a consent or write the letter if the name is taken.
Confirm the agent
Name and Kansas street address, matching state records.
Count the reports
Only if the start date is in the past.
Complete and sign Form FA
After checking good standing at home.
Pay
$115 plus report fees, by check or card cover page.
Mail and record
Send with tracking, keep a copy, and calendar the first report.

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.

Questions from solo filers

Do I need a lawyer to file Form FA?

No. The paperwork is clerical. A lawyer helps with a different issue: deciding whether registration is required.

Can I email or fax the form?

The packet lists a mailing address and a card cover page. Ask us before you send it any other way.

What if I make a mistake?

Kansas expects a prompt corrective certificate when an application was inaccurate when made or later became inaccurate.

Hand it to us

Our fee and the state's

Kansas's fee is a separate line at checkout and is the same for every kind of business. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

Register in Kansas

$199

+ $115 Kansas fee

Form FA, the Application for Registration, Foreign (non-Kansas) Business, completed from your answers
The sworn good standing statement the form carries, ready for an authorized person to sign
A Kansas resident agent and registered office: ours, or the ones you already use
The packet mailed with payment, and the certified copy Kansas returns passed on to you
Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year

Sources

Already working in Kansas?

Tell us the month you began and we price any back reports with the registration.