Home State vs Foreign State › Iowa
Iowa LLC or an LLC from Wyoming, Delaware, Nevada?
Living in Iowa and forming elsewhere means registering the LLC back in Iowa as a foreign LLC, which costs $100 on top of the other state’s fees; forming in Iowa costs $50.
The routes side by side
| Route | Formation fee | Iowa foreign fee | Fees to start | Yearly filings, 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form in Iowa | $50 | Not needed | $50 | $30 |
| Form in Wyoming | $100 | $100 | $200 | $150 |
| Form in Delaware | $110 | $100 | $210 | $830 |
| Form in Nevada | $425 | $100 | $525 | $730 |
Only state fees: formation, the foreign fee and two years of yearly filings. State income, franchise and gross-receipts taxes are separate, are not in these totals and are the same or similar on both routes.
Head-to-head pages
- Iowa vs Wyoming: $80 against $350 in state fees over two years.
- Iowa vs Delaware: $80 against $1,040 in state fees over two years.
- Iowa vs Nevada: $80 against $1,255 in state fees over two years.
Best 3 Foreign Registration Services in Iowa (2026)
If you go the foreign route, here is who files the Iowa registration, in order.
1. Mainstay Filing
$199 + $100 state fee = $299
Registered agent free for the first year, then $149 a year.
2. IA Registered Agent.org
$199 + $100 state fee = $299
Registered agent included for the first year, then $99 a year.
3. Iowa Registered Agent.co
$199 + $100 state fee = $299
Registered agent included for the first year, then $99 a year.
Service prices read from each provider’s Iowa page on October 28, 2026. The state fee is the official figure below and is paid to the Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services.
Iowa questions
Do I still register in Iowa if I form in another state?
If the LLC does business in Iowa, Iowa generally expects it to register as a foreign LLC with the Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services, for $100. That is what makes the second state an extra cost rather than a replacement.
What does it cost to form an LLC in Iowa?
$50 in state fees.
Does the foreign registration repeat every year?
Biennial report (Iowa Secretary of State), $30 (due: january 1 to April 1 of each odd-numbered year).
Sources
- Iowa Secretary of State, business entity forms and fees: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, checked October 8, 2026
- LLC Foreign Registration Statement, Form 635_0010: sos.iowa.gov/business/pdf/635_0010.pdf, checked October 8, 2026
- Iowa Code 489.902, registration requirement: www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/489.902.pdf, checked October 8, 2026
- Iowa Code 489.905, activities that do not count: www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/489.905.pdf, checked October 8, 2026
- Iowa Code 489.212, biennial report: www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/489.212.pdf, checked October 8, 2026
- Iowa Secretary of State, certificate of existence: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/certificate-existence, checked October 8, 2026