Now that your company has been incorporated, it must be maintained. Most states require your company to report specific information on a periodic basis. The most common filing requirement is the Annual Report where the company is required to report things like officers, directors, principal place of business or the issuance of shares by the company. The types of information and frequency of filing varies from state to state. Although failure to file the annual report can result in the company being administratively dissolved by the Secretary of State, we find that many companies neglect to do so.
Annual report filing is the ongoing paperwork every corporation, LLC, and LP must submit to stay in good standing with the state where it is formed or registered to do business. This service is for busy owners, in-house counsel, and finance teams juggling entities across multiple states who don’t have time to track every changing deadline themselves. Missing a report risks late fees, loss of good standing, or administrative dissolution. UCS solves this with a personalized compliance calendar, automated reminders, and a team that can prepare and file each report for you, backed by a Client Service Representative who knows the rules in every state.
Watch below to see how to easily maintain your corporation. We serve clients throughout the States.
Watch below to see how to easily maintain your Delaware corporation
It is important that you calendar these due dates now or that you have UCS plan them for you. In addition to your registered agent services package, UCS offers the following services:
As an added benefit, UCS can file your annual reports when they become due. This saves you the headache of having to worry about when reports are due and how to file them. We’ll do the work for you! Talk to a Client Service Representative about setting up this service or email us at info@unitedcorporate.com.
Ready to get ahead of your next due date? Contact Us to set up annual report filing and compliance monitoring, see our Compliance Services page for package details, or check your state’s upcoming deadlines on our Annual Report Information resource page.
Not sure which entity fits your plans? Our Form a Company team can walk you through the tradeoffs, including what each structure means for future compliance work.
If your company only forms and operates in one state, you will only have one annual report to track. Once you have employees, a physical location, or you’re regularly transacting business in a second state, that state generally requires you to “foreign qualify” there too, which usually means a second, separate periodic report with its own due date and fee. Skipping that qualification can mean fines, back taxes, and losing the right to bring a lawsuit in that state’s courts, on top of whatever annual report compliance issues follow.
Every state sets its own rules for how often a report is due, what it must include, and what it costs, and deadlines vary widely from one jurisdiction to the next. Most states require a report every year, some require it every two years, and a few require it only once a decade or not at all. Falling behind on annual report compliance in any one state can put a company’s good standing at risk there, even if every other state filing is current. See our Corporate Statutes resource for state-by-state detail, or our Annual Report Dates page for a due-date chart.
Annual report vs. franchise tax: What is the difference?
An annual report updates the state on your officers, directors, and address. A franchise tax is a separate fee some states charge for the privilege of doing business there, and the two are often due at the same time but are not the same filing.
What happens if you miss the deadline: Most states send a notice and a grace period first, but an unresolved annual report filing can lead to late fees, loss of good standing, and eventually administrative dissolution or revocation.
What is annual report compliance?
Annual report compliance is the practice of tracking, preparing, and submitting each periodic report a company owes to the states where it’s formed or qualified to do business, on time and with accurate information, so the company keeps its good standing.
What is an annual report filing?
An annual report filing is a periodic report a business entity submits to a state, usually the Secretary of State, confirming or updating details like officers, directors, principal address, and registered agent. Some states call it a Statement of Information or a Periodic Report instead.
How often do I need to file an annual report?
It depends on the state. Most require an annual report filing every year, a handful only every two years, and a few states have longer cycles or none at all for certain entity types. Your formation state and every state where you’re foreign qualified each has its own schedule.
What happens if I miss an annual report filing?
You will typically face a late fee first, then risk falling out of good standing, and if the report stays unfiled long enough, the state can administratively dissolve the entity or revoke its authority to do business there.
Can UCS handle annual report compliance across multiple states?
Yes. UCS builds a single compliance calendar across every state where your entities are formed or qualified, sends reminders ahead of each deadline, and can prepare and file the reports for you so nothing slips through in a state you check less often.
