Before You Start
If you have a business that was created in a state that is not New Mexico and you are interested in doing business within New Mexico, then you must register your business with the Secretary of State. This process is not really difficult but you have to follow some steps in order to complete it successfully, here we list some of the most important rules to set your business in New Mexico.
So you know, it is often simpler to form a new LLC in New Mexico than to register a foreign one. Do note, if you want an anonymous LLC, then you must form a new LLC rather than register an out of state entity. Learn more about our New Mexico registered agent service here.
Doing Business in New Mexico
If your company intends on “transacting business” according to New Mexico’s LLC Act it should be registered before engaging in any business. As it is in most states, the term “transacting business” is not always clearly defined.
According to New Mexico’s laws, a company that has a physical presence in the state should register as a foreign LLC. When the law talks about physical presence it means different things, like a store, an office, or a warehouse, to even a sales representative or workers in the state.
Some other restrictions or changes to the law we’ve mentioned could happen, especially if they include some areas like Internet sales. In the majority of the other cases if you have workers, offices, or stores in any other state, you should qualify your LLC as a foreign company. The only thing you require to avoid being dissolved is to maintain a registered agent.
Visit the Secretary of State Site
Visit the New Mexico Secretary of State site here.
To start registering your business in New Mexico you need a Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration. The New Mexico Secretary of State approves these documents, and it can be easily downloaded from the Secretary of the State website.
Filling the form is almost the same process for all the companies that apply. You need some of the documents that you use to create an LLC in the state where your company was created initially. However there are some details that are not required in other states and that maybe you did not expect to be needed, being more specific, New Mexico needs you to provide some documents or information like:
- The name of your company LLC when it was created in its original state.
- If you have decided to change the name of your company in New Mexico, you should provide the name under which your LLC will work in this state, this could be also needed if the original name of your company is already occupied in New Mexico.
- The state where the LLC was originally settled.
- The date when your LLC was established.
- It could also be required to specify the exact place where your company is located.
- The address of the place where your main offices are placed.
- The name and information for your registered agent in New Mexico
- The authorized signature of the responsible person of the company.
In some other cases you must include a Certificate of Good Standing or a Certificate of Existence issued that is appropriately extended by the state where your company was initially settled. The certificate should be original but it can also be presented electronically and it must not be dated. This process has a cost of $100.
Once you have already applied to this process it could take around 1 month to be either accepted or refused and some extra time for mailing depending on which state your company is located. A copy of the registration form will be sent back to you just in order to confirm that your process is already completed.
What happens if you don’t register?
Something that you don’t even have to think about is working without the permission of the state of New Mexico, it could give you some problems that can include penalties and fines, along with not enjoying the benefits of your company when operating without authorization. Learn about registering a foreign corporation here and the New Mexico incorporation process. It is far easier to sign up for our agent service than to run the risk of being out of compliancee. Plus, every entity we represent recevies limited free mail forwardring with virtual offices available for those who need them.