Skip to your options
Price Your LLC Budget for your LLC before you pay for it.

What foreign registration costs by state / Kentucky

3 Best Foreign Registration Services in Kentucky (2026): What You Pay

When you shop for foreign registration services in Kentucky for 2026, the order to follow is Kentucky Registered Agent.co ($199), Mainstay Filing ($199) and KY Registered Agent.org ($199). Your budget has two parts: $90 to the state, and $397 to $497 for a service across three years.
Written by the Price Your LLC editorial team

↓ Ranked for you by: What you spend over three years counts 38%, and how much work the price takes off you counts 31%. Renewal change, break-even and price visibility make up the rest. How we rank

What to expect

Registration fee paid to the state $90 apps.legislature.ky.gov (we looked on October 2026, so you can too)
First-year prices $199 State fee not included
What three years cost you $397 to $497 Renewals included
State side through year 3 $645 Not part of the ranking
When one overtakes another Bills stay apart Order never flips

Ranked for you

Read across for year one, the price after that and your three-year total. Add Kentucky's $90 to whichever option you pick.

1
Best value for you

1. Kentucky Registered Agent.co: best for one extra state

$199 on top of Kentucky's $90; renewal $99
You pay in year 1 $199
You pay after year 1 $99/yr
You pay over 3 years $397

Kentucky Registered Agent.co is the best value for you in Kentucky: a Kentucky registration through this service costs you $199, and the agent renews at $99.

Cost settles it: you pay less over three years here than with Mainstay Filing.

Your price covers

  • Registration completed for you
  • Agent service for your first year

What you get

  • $199 plus the state fee
  • Agent renews at $99
  • Agent included to start

What to watch

  • Nothing outside this state
2
Takes the most off your plate

2. Mainstay Filing: best for adding states over time

$199 on top of Kentucky's $90; renewal $149
You pay in year 1 $199
You pay after year 1 $149/yr
You pay over 3 years $497

Mainstay Filing takes spot 2 because $199 beyond what Kentucky charges, then $149 a year for the agent.

By year three it costs $100 more than Kentucky Registered Agent.co.

After the free year, the agent bills $149 annually.

Your price covers

  • The foreign registration filing
  • Registered agent costs you nothing in year one
  • One fee wherever you register

What you get

  • $199 for the registration
  • First-year agent service included
  • Same fee wherever you register

What to watch

  • A higher agent renewal ($149)
3
Kentucky only

3. KY Registered Agent.org: best for another in-state registrant

$199 on top of Kentucky's $90; renewal $99
You pay in year 1 $199
You pay after year 1 $99/yr
You pay over 3 years $397

Next, KY Registered Agent.org: a Kentucky registration through this service costs you $199, and the agent renews at $99.

Year-one and renewal prices both equal Kentucky Registered Agent.co's.

Your price covers

  • Registration completed for you
  • Agent service for your first year

What you get

  • Agent renews at $99
  • Agent included to start
  • $199 plus the state fee

What to watch

  • Nothing outside this state

What each service adds up to

Pick Service You pay in year 1 You pay by year 2 You pay by year 3 You pay by year 5
1 Kentucky Registered Agent.co $199 $298 $397 $595 Price out Kentucky Registered Agent.co Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2 Mainstay Filing $199 $348 $497 $795 Price out Mainstay Filing Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3 KY Registered Agent.org $199 $298 $397 $595 Price out KY Registered Agent.org Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Company prices from November 13, 2026, added up for you year by year. No service overtakes another within ten years.

Break-even check

Your totals for 1 to 5 years. State fees are left out because every service owes the same ones.

At 3 years, your totals are Kentucky Registered Agent.co $397, Mainstay Filing $497, KY Registered Agent.org $397. The best total here is Kentucky Registered Agent.co.

The government side of your Kentucky budget

What you pay for Amount Source
Registration charge $90 apps.legislature.ky.gov (we looked on October 2026, so you can too)
Annual report $15 sos.ky.gov (we looked on October 2026, so you can too)
Annual tax $175 a year revenue.ky.gov (we looked on October 2026, so you can too)
Three-year state total $645 Lines added together

To find what you owe the state across three years, add the filing fee, two later reports and any minimum tax. We mention open-ended costs without putting a number on them.

How the ranking came out

Weight 38%: your three-year spend. That factor separated the top two.

Three years with Kentucky Registered Agent.co come to $397, while Mainstay Filing runs $100 higher.

What Kentucky charges you to register a foreign LLC and what it requires

Working in Kentucky with an LLC from another state means registering with the Kentucky Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings, using the Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity) (Form FBE) and $90.

An unregistered LLC can face a closed door at Kentucky courts for your own lawsuits (KRS 14A.9-020(1)); a daily charge of $2.

As written: sos.ky.gov (we looked on October 2026, so you can too)

State fees only

Doing it yourself costs $645 paid to the state across three years. A service at $397 to $497 is what you pay to skip the forms.

Common questions

How much will it cost me to register my LLC in Kentucky?

$90 for the filing itself, with another $199 if you hire help.

What will these services cost me over three years?

$397 to $497 across the services, not counting state fees.

Which form do I file to register?

You file Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity) (Form FBE) with the Kentucky Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings.

What do I file after I register?

You file the annual report next, and it costs $15.

When does one service end up costing more than another?

Over ten years the totals never swap places.

Which foreign registration service is the best value for me in Kentucky?

Kentucky Registered Agent.co, which wins on your three-year spend. Mainstay Filing and KY Registered Agent.org follow.

Keep comparing

What foreign registration costs by state for all 50 states Best foreign registration services for anyone How we rank your options

Where we looked

  1. Kentucky Secretary of State traces back to sos.ky.gov; we looked in August 2026.
  2. Kentucky Secretary of State traces back to sos.ky.gov; we looked in August 2026.
  3. Kentucky report due date traces back to apps.legislature.ky.gov; we looked in August 2026.
  4. KRS 275.025 traces back to apps.legislature.ky.gov; we looked in August 2026.
  5. Kentucky formation fee: Filing fee traces back to sos.ky.gov; we looked in October 2026.
  6. Kentucky registered agent statute traces back to apps.legislature.ky.gov; we looked in October 2026.
  7. Kentucky Secretary of State, business traces back to sos.ky.gov; we looked in October 2026.
  8. Form FBE, Certificate of Authority traces back to web.sos.ky.gov; we looked in October 2026.
  9. KRS 14A.9-020, consequences of transacting traces back to apps.legislature.ky.gov; we looked in October 2026.
  10. KRS 14A.9-010, authority to transact traces back to apps.legislature.ky.gov; we looked in October 2026.
  11. Kentucky other cost: Limited Liability traces back to revenue.ky.gov; we looked in October 2026.
  12. pricing page at Kentucky Registered Agent.co, from November 13, 2026
  13. Kentucky service page at Mainstay Filing, from November 13, 2026
  14. pricing page at KY Registered Agent.org, from November 13, 2026