Indiana Certificate of Authority / Biennial report
The Indiana business entity report that follows your certificate of authority
After registering, a for-profit foreign entity in Indiana files a business entity report in alternate years, $31 online or $50 by mail, and a nonprofit files every year. The report keeps the Secretary of State's record current and keeps the registration alive. This page covers the contents, the timing, the fee and the path from a missed report to revocation.
The report at a glance
- Name
- Business entity report
- For-profit entity
- Alternate years, $31 online or $50 by mail
- Nonprofit entity
- Every year, $21 online or $20 by mail
- Due month
- every other year, in the anniversary month
- Early filing
- a report can be submitted up to 90 days before the month in which it is due
- Check your date
- a business search shows when a particular entity's report is due
What the report states
The report restates the essentials: the entity's name and, for a registered foreign entity, its jurisdiction of formation; the registered agent information; the street address of the principal office; for a corporation, the names and business addresses of its directors, secretary and highest executive officer. Everything must be current on the day the entity signs, so update the principal office and the agent first if either has moved.
When it is due
A for-profit entity reports in the anniversary month of its original creation, in alternate years, and a nonprofit does so annually. Use the state's business search to see the due date shown for your entity, and feel free to send the report early.
The fee and a quirk in the figures
A for-profit entity pays $31 through the portal and $50 by mail. The fees chapter of the Code prices an electronic filing at $20, and the Business Entity Reports page does not say why its online number is higher. We follow the page. For a nonprofit the amounts are $21 online and $20 by mail.
What a missed report leads to
The office sends at least four reminders before it acts on an overdue report, and after five months an entity that still has not filed is administratively dissolved. For a registered foreign entity the Code separately lets the state revoke the registration once a biennial report is more than 60 days late, with effect at least 60 days after notice, unless the entity cures each ground first.
Getting a registration back
Within 5 years after a revocation takes effect, the entity can ask to be reinstated. The request names the entity and the revocation date, states that the grounds no longer exist, confirms that the name is acceptable and encloses a certificate from the Department of State Revenue showing that taxes owed are paid. A certificate of reinstatement takes effect as of the revocation date.
Notices that did not come from the state
The Secretary of State warns about misleading solicitations that imitate annual report or certificate of status invoices. The real report is filed through INBiz or on the state's paper form. If a letter asks you to pay someone other than the state for it, compare the amount with the figures above before you pay.
Other filings do not wait for it
A new agent, a name change or a new principal office does not wait for the report. The agent can be changed at any time without a fee, and an amendment to the registration costs $20 online at the statutory rate. Use the report to confirm that everything on file is right, not as the first moment you tell Indiana about a change.
Preparing the report in ten minutes
Open the entity's INBiz record a week before the report month and compare each field with reality: name, home jurisdiction, agent, principal office and, for a corporation, directors and officers. Fix any difference by a separate filing first. Then complete the report, sign and pay. A company that keeps its facts current all year finds the report a short formality.
Where the report fits in the calendar
The report is the only recurring Indiana filing for most foreign companies, and it comes just once every two years for a for-profit entity. That rhythm is easy to forget. Put the month on a shared calendar, assign it to a named person, and add a reminder ninety days ahead, the point at which the state starts to accept it.
Questions on the biennial report
What is the report cycle for a for-profit foreign entity?
Every second year, in the anniversary month of its original creation.
How much is it?
$31 online or $50 by post for a for-profit entity.
What if I miss it?
Reminders first, then possible administrative dissolution after five months, and the registration can be revoked after notice.
Can I send it early?
Yes. The state takes it as much as ninety days ahead of its month.
Our fee and Indiana's fee
Get authority to operate in Indiana
Indiana
$199
+ $105 Indiana fee, filed online
- The Indiana Foreign Registration Statement, drafted from your answers (the state's paper form is State Form 56369)
- The home-state certificate requested so its date lands inside Indiana's window
- An Indiana registered agent: our office, or the agent you already have
- The filing submitted and the state's record sent to you, with your first report month
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Checkout shows our fee and the Indiana fee as two lines. Indiana charges less online than on paper. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Where this comes from
- Indiana Code, Title 23, Article 0.5 (Uniform Business Organizations Code)
- Indiana Administrative Code, Title 75, Article 8, business entity filing governance
- Indiana Code 23-0.5-5, foreign entities
- Indiana State Form 56369, Foreign Registration Statement
- Indiana Secretary of State, Business Entity Reports
- Indiana Code 23-0.5-9, fees
Need authority to operate in Indiana?
Tell us where your company was formed and what it does here.