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LLC UnpackedEvery filing, unpacked: the fee, the form, the catch.

Open it up · Ohio

2 Best Foreign Registration Services in Ohio (2026), Opened Up

Opened up for 2026, the foreign registration services in Ohio rank OH Registered Agent.org ($199) and Mainstay Filing ($199), best on top. Every option pays the state $99, then services total $397 to $497 across three years.
Unpacked by the LLC Unpacked editorial team

Four things inside

State fee to register
$99
Certificate packed in?
No
Afterward
Nothing to file
Our pick
OH Registered Agent.org then Mainstay Filing

Our Ohio picks, opened up

Prices come from each company's own page. See how we open it up.
Top of the stack

1. OH Registered Agent.org: best for registering in a single place

Service $199 plus $99 to the state; agent renewal $99

OH Registered Agent.org sits on top in Ohio because three years of its service fees come to $397.

Cost decides it: the three-year total here is under Mainstay Filing's.

Inside the price

  • Ohio registration filing
  • A first year of agent service

Inside, the good

  • A first year of agent service is inside
  • $199 over the state fee
  • $99 a year from year two

Inside, the catch

  • Two states, two providers
Holds up anywhere

2. Mainstay Filing: best for registering in many states

Service $199 plus $99 to the state; agent renewal $149

Mainstay Filing sits second because the fee is $199 on top of Ohio's own, the statutory agent is waived at first, and it settles at $149 a year.

OH Registered Agent.org totals $100 less across three years, enough to outrank it.

The statutory agent is not charged in year one and costs $149 a year after that, in any state.

Inside the price

  • Out-of-state registration filed
  • The same fee in all fifty states

Inside, the good

  • Identical fee in every state
  • $199 on top of Ohio's fee

Inside, the catch

  • Agent renews at $149, $50 above OH Registered Agent.org

Side by side

#CompanyOpening priceEach year afterThree-year totalWhat is inside
1OH Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397ohio registration filing; A first year of agent serviceLook inside OH Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Out-of-state registration filed; the same fee in all fifty statesLook inside Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Service fees only, from company prices read November 13, 2026. State fees are the same whichever pick you open.

Opened up, question by question

Does my LLC from another state have to register?

The order matters: the Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services gets the registration first, and the LLC starts doing business in Ohio afterward.

Inside the risk of skipping it: it loses the right to bring its own lawsuits in Ohio (R.C. 1706.515(A)).

peek at codes.ohio.gov, confirmed October 2026

What is inside the cost of registering?

The state charges $99, and a service adds $199.

By year three the state will have collected $99. peek at ohiosos.gov, confirmed October 2026

Which form is inside the filing, and where does it go?

You open one form, the Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form 617), and send it to the Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services.

You can register without ordering anything from your home state.

Is there a filing that repeats?

Foreign LLCs file no recurring report here.

Why is the stack in this order?

OH Registered Agent.org is strongest on total across three years, a layer worth 34% of the score.

Five layers set the order: total across three years (34%), what is inside the price (29%), price laid out in the open (14%), how the renewal behaves (12%) and how far it reaches (11%).

OH Registered Agent.org stacks up to $397 over three years, $100 under Mainstay Filing.

How we open it up

Ohio registration, unpacked

RequirementWhat is insideOfficial source
Registration fee$99peek at ohiosos.gov, confirmed October 2026
Good standing certificateNopeek at codes.ohio.gov, confirmed October 2026
State fees, years one to three$99The rows above, stacked
The last row stacks the filing fee, the reports in years two and three and any minimum tax. A cost with no fixed amount, such as a newspaper notice, is explained above and kept out of the sum.

More boxes to open

Does the home state need its own agent?

Yes. Think of two separate rule books, your home state's and this one's. Mainstay Filing works in both, so a single account can serve the pair.

How do the three-year totals compare?

Opened up over three years: OH Registered Agent.org at $397, Mainstay Filing at $497, services only.

Are the fees official?

The state-side figures were taken from Ohio's own publications, and the service prices from the price page each company posts. Dates for both appear on this page.

Do I have to use a service?

No law requires a service. It is a paid convenience.

Will a service file the registration for me?

Each company here handles the filing itself. What differs between them is only the service fee, since the state charges the same.

Who tops the stack in Ohio?

OH Registered Agent.org is on top: registering costs $199 over the state fee, with the agent covered in year one, then $99 a year. Under it sit Mainstay Filing.

Originals behind this page

  1. Under Ohio Rev sits codes.ohio.gov, dated August 2026, as the original document
  2. Under Ohio formation fee: Filing fee sits codes.ohio.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  3. Under Ohio registered agent statute sits codes.ohio.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  4. Under Ohio Secretary of State, filing sits ohiosos.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  5. Under Form 617, Registration of a sits ohiosos.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  6. Under R.C. 1706.511, registration of foreign sits codes.ohio.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  7. Under R.C. 1706.515, effect of failing sits codes.ohio.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  8. OH Registered Agent.org pricing page, read November 13, 2026
  9. Mainstay Filing Ohio service page, read November 13, 2026