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LLC Straight Talk What it costs, what you have to file, who's worth paying.

No fluff · Virginia

2 Best Foreign Registration Services in Virginia (2026): The Straight Story

If you need foreign registration services in Virginia in 2026, here's the order we'd go in: VA Registered Agent.org ($199) and Mainstay Filing ($199). Virginia charges $100 to register no matter who files, and services add $397 to $497 over three years.
Straight from the LLC Straight Talk editorial team

Quick facts

The short of it
State fee to register
$100
Bring a home-state certificate?
Yes, attach it (365 day age cap)
Once you're registered
$50, annual registration fee
Our pick
VA Registered Agent.org then Mainstay Filing

Virginia picks, best first

Prices come from each company's own page. Here's how we judge.

#1 Our top pick

1. VA Registered Agent.org: best for adding this state and no others

Service $199 plus $100 to the state; agent renewal $99

VA Registered Agent.org is who we'd use first in Virginia, because $199 files the registration, and from year two the agent's $99.

Three years cost less here than at Mainstay Filing, and price counts most.

What you get

  • Registration filed
  • Agent service covered for year one

Pluses

  • No agent charge in year one
  • Agent renews at $99
  • $199 to register

What's not

  • Your home state needs its own agent
See VA Registered Agent.org Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
#2 Every state

2. Mainstay Filing: best for registering in several states

Service $199 plus $100 to the state; agent renewal $149

It's $199 to register, with a free first registered agent year and $149 a year from then on. That puts Mainstay Filing second.

VA Registered Agent.org is $100 less over three years, and that's enough to decide the order.

You don't pay for the registered agent the first year. From year two, it's $149 annually wherever you registered.

What you get

  • Your registration filed for you
  • Registered agent, waived for the first year
  • A flat fee in every state

Pluses

  • Agent's free the first year
  • $199 to file
  • All fifty states

What's not

  • Agent renews at $149, $50 above VA Registered Agent.org
See Mainstay Filing Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Side by side

#WhoFirst yearEach year after3 yearsCovers
1 VA Registered Agent.org $199$99/yr$397registration filed; agent service covered for year one See VA Registered Agent.org Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2 Mainstay Filing $199$149/yr$497your registration filed for you; registered agent, waived for the first year; A flat fee in every state See Mainstay Filing Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Prices as of November 13, 2026. The state's own fees are in the checklist below.

What you need to know

When does an out-of-state LLC have to register?

Registration has to come before the business does in Virginia.

If you skip it, expect it can't sue in Virginia courts until it registers (Va. Code 13.1-1057(A)).

go check law.lis.virginia.gov, last confirmed October 2026

What's it cost to register?

The state charges $100, and a service adds $199.

Over three years the state's fees reach $200, counting any recurring report. go check scc.virginia.gov, last confirmed October 2026

What registers the LLC?

The form's the Application for Certificate of Registration to Transact Business in Virginia as a Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC1052), and the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk gets it.

Attach certified copy of articles of organization and all amendments issued within the last 365 days.

Is there a filing that repeats?

The state wants a annual registration fee later, and it's $50.

Per the state, it's due last day of your registration month.

Why this order?

VA Registered Agent.org takes money out the door in three years, which counts 35%.

65% of the score comes from money out the door in three years and jobs the price actually covers.

Mainstay Filing costs $100 more over three years than VA Registered Agent.org, which comes to $397.

The five tests

Virginia registration rules, with sources

WhatThe rule or the numberOfficial source
Registration fee $100go check scc.virginia.gov, last confirmed October 2026
Good standing certificate Yes, attach it, 365 daysgo check law.lis.virginia.gov, last confirmed October 2026
Annual registration fee $50go check law.lis.virginia.gov, last confirmed October 2026
What the state collects in three years $200The rows above, added up

The last row is our math, not the state's: filing fee, plus the reports in years two and three, plus any minimum tax. If a cost has no fixed amount, like a newspaper notice, it's explained above and left out.

More questions

Do I still need an agent at home?

You do. Two states, two rule books. One-state services stop at the border, and Mainstay Filing doesn't.

What's the three-year damage for each?

Over three years you're looking at $397 at VA Registered Agent.org, $497 at Mainstay Filing, before state fees.

Are the fees official?

Official Virginia sources back the state side, and posted prices back the service side.

Is a service required?

No. You can file with the state yourself. A service saves you time and can be your agent, but nothing makes you hire one.

Can I pay somebody to register the LLC?

Each company on this page files it for you.

What's the best foreign registration service in Virginia?

Go with VA Registered Agent.org first, then look at Mainstay Filing.

What's next

Don't take our word for it

  1. Where Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  2. Where Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing comes from: scc.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  3. Where Va comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed August 2026, and you can go look yourself
  4. Where Virginia formation fee: Filing fee comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  5. Where Virginia registered agent statute comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  6. Where SCC, foreign limited liability company comes from: scc.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  7. Where SCC, foreign business entities FAQ comes from: scc.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  8. Where SCC, foreign registration checklist comes from: scc.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  9. Where Code of Virginia § 13.1-1052 comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  10. Where Code of Virginia § 13.1-1059 comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  11. Where Code of Virginia § 13.1-1057 comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, and you can go look yourself
  12. Where Code of Virginia 13.1-1051 to comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed November 2026, and you can go look yourself
  13. The VA Registered Agent.org pricing page as of November 13, 2026
  14. The Mainstay Filing Virginia service page as of November 13, 2026