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The Formation Desk

Rankings of registered agents, LLC formation and foreign registration services in all 50 states.

Foreign registration picks · Louisiana

3 Best Foreign Registration Services in Louisiana (2026)

The The Formation Desk call for foreign registration services in Louisiana in 2026: Louisiana Registered Agent.co ($199), Mainstay Filing ($199) and LA Registered Agent.org ($199), in that order. Louisiana Registered Agent.co takes the call: the Louisiana registration for $199, first agent year included, then $99 yearly.
Written by The Formation Desk editorial team
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Our top pick

1. Louisiana Registered Agent.co: best for adding only Louisiana

$199 for the service, state fee on top; agent $99 a year after year one

Editorial score 9.5 out of 10

The desk picks Louisiana Registered Agent.co: $199 over the state fee to register in Louisiana, agent renewing at $99.

You get an in-state street address as the registered office, and papers served there are scanned into your account.

It wins the three-year cost comparison with Mainstay Filing.

In the price

  • The registration filing
  • A first year of registered agent service

Strengths

  • Registered agent service for year one is covered
  • $99 a year for the agent from year two
  • Registers the company for $199, plus the state's fee

Cons

  • Louisiana only; your home state needs its own agent
  • EIN application will cost you $99 more
Visit Louisiana Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy. Louisiana Registered Agent.co up close
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Best for multi-state companies

2. Mainstay Filing: best for companies working in more than one state

$199 for the service, state fee on top; agent $149 a year after year one

Editorial score 9.3 out of 10

Runner-up, Mainstay Filing: it files the Louisiana registration for $199 and serves as your registered agent, free in year one, then $149 a year.

Agent service costs nothing in year one and $149 a year from then on, whichever state you register in.

Louisiana Registered Agent.co undercuts Mainstay Filing by $100 over three years, and that is why Mainstay sits lower on cost.

In the price

  • The registration, prepared and filed for you
  • A free registered agent for the first year
  • Any service of process scanned for free and uploaded that business day

Strengths

  • Same price in all fifty states
  • Free scans of served papers on the same business day
  • Registered agent costs nothing in year one
  • $199 service fee, state fee on top

Cons

  • Agent renewal of $149 is $50 above Louisiana Registered Agent.co
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy. Mainstay Filing up close
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Best value here

3. LA Registered Agent.org: best for Louisiana registrations only

$199 for the service, state fee on top; agent $99 a year after year one

Editorial score 9.0 out of 10

Third, LA Registered Agent.org: $199 over the state fee to register in Louisiana, agent renewing at $99.

You get an in-state street address as the registered office, and papers served there are scanned into your account.

On price and features there is nothing between Louisiana Registered Agent.co and LA Registered Agent.org, which makes the order a close call.

In the price

  • The registration filing
  • A first year of registered agent service

Strengths

  • Registered agent service for year one is covered
  • A $199 registration price, state fee on top
  • The agent costs $99 after year one

Cons

  • Louisiana only; your home state needs its own agent
  • EIN application will cost you $99 more
Visit LA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy. LA Registered Agent.org up close

The desk's 3 picks in brief

Pick Service Desk score Service fee Year two Good for Visit
1 Louisiana Registered Agent.co 9.5 $199 $99/yr The lowest agent renewal we rank here Visit Louisiana Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2 Mainstay Filing 9.3 $199 $149/yr Companies doing business in several states Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3 LA Registered Agent.org 9.0 $199 $99/yr The lowest agent renewal we rank here Visit LA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

The Formation Desk sets every score out of 10 itself from the weighted criteria on How we rank; customers do not rate anything.

What a Louisiana foreign registration service costs in 2026: year one, renewal and the three-year bill

Service Year one Year two Year three Bill over three years Agent covered in year one
Louisiana Registered Agent.co $199 $99 $99 $397 Included
Mainstay Filing $199 $149 $149 $497 Free
LA Registered Agent.org $199 $99 $99 $397 Included

Every price here was read off the company's own pages on November 12, 2026. Louisiana's $185 registration fee comes on top of every row and is left out of these totals.

Why it falls this way

The Formation Desk counts spend over three years and work the price removes for 33% each; what renewal looks like, fit with the state and plain price display make up the other 34%. What tipped Louisiana: spend over three years.

Louisiana Registered Agent.co comes to $397 over three years, $100 less than Mainstay Filing. Both include a first year of agent service, so the renewal price made the call.

The full criteria and weights are on How we rank.

Registering a foreign LLC in Louisiana: fee, form and who gets it

To register, the company files the Application for Authority to Transact Business in Louisiana, Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form 972) with the Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division and pays the state's $185. Louisiana also wants certificate of existence or good standing from the jurisdiction of organization, issued within 90 days of the filing.

From then on the company owes the annual report ($35), due on or before the anniversary of your qualification.

What to pull together first

  • Certificate of existence or good standing from the jurisdiction of organization, issued in the 90 days before you file.
  • The company name exactly as the home state spells it, and when it was formed.
  • An in-state registered agent; any service the desk picked can fill that seat.
  • $185 for the state, paid when you file.
  • A date on your calendar for the annual report and its $35 fee.

What it costs to ignore Louisiana registration

Until it registers, an outside LLC has no right to sue in Louisiana courts (La. R.S. 12:1354(A)). The contracts it signs stay good (La. R.S. 12:1354(B)). Back fees for the years it operated unregistered come due too.

Louisiana foreign registration service: reader questions

Does an LLC from elsewhere have to register to operate in Louisiana?

Yes, once it starts doing business there. Until it registers it cannot sue in the state's courts.

What will foreign registration cost you in Louisiana?

$185 goes to the state and $199 to the service.

What does Louisiana call its foreign registration form?

It goes to the Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division, and the form's title is on the facts line above.

Will Louisiana ask for something from your home state?

Yes: certificate of existence or good standing from the jurisdiction of organization, issued in the last 90 days.

Do you still need a registered agent after you register?

Yes. Keep a registered agent with a street address in the state on file.

Who is our pick for foreign registration in Louisiana?

Louisiana Registered Agent.co, since $199 plus the state fee, one year of registered agent service included, then $99 a year for the agent.

Keep reading

Where the numbers came from

  1. Louisiana Secretary of State, last checked August 2026
  2. Louisiana Secretary of State, last checked August 2026
  3. Louisiana yearly filing: Annual report, official source, last checked October 2026
  4. Louisiana Secretary of State fee changes effective October 1, 2026, last checked October 2026
  5. Louisiana registered agent statute, last checked October 2026
  6. Louisiana Secretary of State, forms and fee schedule, last checked October 2026
  7. Form 972, foreign LLC application, last checked October 2026
  8. R.S. 12:1345, application for authority, last checked October 2026
  9. R.S. 12:1354, effect of failing to obtain authority, last checked October 2026
  10. R.S. 12:1350, registered agent, last checked October 2026
  11. Louisiana Registered Agent.co: pricing and service pages, as of November 12, 2026
  12. Mainstay Filing: Louisiana service page, as of November 12, 2026
  13. LA Registered Agent.org: pricing and service pages, as of November 12, 2026