Good Standing
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Good Standing. A business is in good standing when it has filed everything the state requires and paid what it owes. It is the state’s formal statement that nothing is outstanding.
Why it matters
It is what a bank asks for before opening an account, what a lender asks for before advancing funds, and what another state asks for when you register there as a foreign entity. Losing it rarely matters until the moment it does, and by then it takes time to restore.
What to know
- Lapses when an annual report or franchise fee is missed, often automatically and without notice reaching you.
- Restored by filing what is overdue and paying a penalty, though some states require a formal reinstatement.
- A business can be listed as active and still not be in good standing. They are separate fields.
- Some states use different words for the same thing: certificate of existence, certificate of status, certificate of fact.
What it costs and how long it takes, by state
Good standing depends on keeping up with a state’s filings, and both the cost and the turnaround differ widely. The figures below are what each office publishes.
| Jurisdiction | LLC filing fee | Expedited | Typical processing | Official search |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $200 | $100 | 3-5 business days | arc-sos.state.al.us |
| Alaska | $250 | $100 | 10-15 business days | commerce.alaska.gov |
| Arizona | $50 | not offered or not published | 14-16 business days | ecorp.azcc.gov |
| Arkansas | $45 | $25 | 3-5 business days | sos.arkansas.gov |
| California | $70 | $350 | 5-7 business days | bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov |
| Colorado | $50 | not offered or not published | Immediate for online filings | coloradosos.gov |
| Connecticut | $120 | not offered or not published | 5-7 business days | service.ct.gov |
| Delaware | $110 | not offered or not published | 3-5 weeks | icis.corp.delaware.gov |
| District of Columbia | $99 | $220 | 4-5 business days | corponline.dcra.dc.gov |
| Florida | $100 | $50 | Processed in the order received | search.sunbiz.org |
| Georgia | $110 | not offered or not published | 7 to 10 business days online, 15 business days paper | ecorp.sos.ga.gov |
| Hawaii | $50 | not offered or not published | Not specified | hbe.ehawaii.gov |
| Idaho | $100 | not offered or not published | 5-7 business days | sosbiz.idaho.gov |
| Illinois | $500 | not offered or not published | 5-10 business days | apps.ilsos.gov |
| Indiana | $95 | $50 | 7-10 business days | bsd.sos.in.gov |
| Iowa | $50 | $25 | 5-10 business days | sos.iowa.gov |
| Kansas | $85 | $40 | within minutes for online filing | kansas.gov |
| Kentucky | $40 | $10 | 4-6 business days | sos.ky.gov |
| Louisiana | $100 | not offered or not published | routine processing (no specific timeframe given) | coraweb.sos.la.gov |
| Maine | $175 | $50 | 35-40 business days | apps1.web.maine.gov |
| Maryland | $100 | not offered or not published | 4-6 weeks (paper), 6-8 weeks (online non-expedited), 3-4 weeks current | egov.maryland.gov |
| Massachusetts | $500 | not offered or not published | 5-10 business days | corp.sec.state.ma.us |
| Michigan | $50 | $50 | 7-10 business days | mibusinessregistry.lara.state.mi.us |
| Minnesota | $155 | not offered or not published | 5-7 business days | mblsportal.sos.state.mn.us |
| Mississippi | $50 | $50 | 3-5 business days | corp.sos.ms.gov |
| Missouri | $50 | not offered or not published | 5-10 business days | bsd.sos.mo.gov |
| Montana | $35 | not offered or not published | 2 weeks | biz.sosmt.gov |
| Nebraska | $100 | $50 | approximately a week for document review | nebraska.gov |
| Nevada | $425 | $125 | 2-3 weeks | esos.nv.gov |
| New Hampshire | $100 | $25 | within 30 days | quickstart.sos.nh.gov |
| New Jersey | $125 | not offered or not published | 3-5 business days | njportal.com |
| New Mexico | $50 | $100 | 1-3 business days | enterprise.sos.nm.gov |
| New York | $200 | not offered or not published | 2-3 weeks | apps.dos.ny.gov |
| North Carolina | $125 | $100 | 5-10 business days | sosnc.gov |
| North Dakota | $135 | $20 | 5-7 business days | firststop.sos.nd.gov |
| Ohio | $99 | $100 | 5-7 business days | businesssearch.ohiosos.gov |
| Oklahoma | $104 | $25 | about 15 minutes | sos.ok.gov |
| Oregon | $100 | $50 | 5-10 business days | sos.oregon.gov |
| Pennsylvania | $125 | $100 | 7-10 business days | file.dos.pa.gov |
| Rhode Island | $150 | $50 | 5-7 business days | business.sos.ri.gov |
| South Carolina | $110 | $50 | 5-7 business days | businessfilings.sc.gov |
| South Dakota | $150 | not offered or not published | normal course of business | sosenterprise.sd.gov |
| Tennessee | $300 | $100 | 5-10 business days | tncab.tnsos.gov |
| Texas | $300 | $25 | 10-12 business days (online SOS Direct), 13-15 business days (online SOS Upload), 4-8 weeks plus mail time (paper) | comptroller.texas.gov |
| Utah | $59 | $75 | 5-7 business days | businessregistration.utah.gov |
| Vermont | $155 | $25 | 7-10 business days for mail filings, less than 1 business day for online filings | bizfilings.vermont.gov |
| Virginia | $100 | $200 | 24 hours online | cis.scc.virginia.gov |
| Washington | $180 | not offered or not published | 5-10 business days | ccfs.sos.wa.gov |
| West Virginia | $130 | not offered or not published | 5-7 business days | apps.sos.wv.gov |
| Wisconsin | $130 | not offered or not published | 5-10 business days | apps.dfi.wi.gov |
| Wyoming | $100 | $100 | Up to 15 business days | wyobiz.wyo.gov |
Common questions
How do I check if a company is in good standing?
Look it up on the state’s own register, which is linked from every state page here. Standing is a separate field from status, so a record can read active while standing is delinquent. Where a state does not publish standing directly, ordering a certificate of good standing is the definitive answer.
What is the difference between active and good standing?
Active means the entity exists. Good standing means it exists and owes the state nothing. A company can be active with two missed annual reports, which is active and not in good standing at the same time. Banks and lenders ask about standing, not status.
How long does it take to restore good standing?
Filing the overdue reports and paying the penalty is often same-day online. Where a formal reinstatement is required it takes longer, because the filing has to be reviewed rather than accepted. The delay matters when standing is being restored for a closing date.
Does losing good standing dissolve the company?
Not immediately. Losing standing is the warning; administrative dissolution is what follows if nothing is filed. States differ on how long that takes, and some send no notice you will actually receive if the registered agent address is stale.
Where you will see it
This term appears on business entity search results and in correspondence from the Secretary of State. If you met it on a search result and are not sure how it applies to a specific business, the record itself usually says more than the summary line does.
You can check a name against all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the search on our home page. Every result links back to the state office that holds the record.
Sources reviewed
The sources below were retrieved and confirmed in August 2026. Filing requirements and fees change with legislative sessions and agency rulemaking; check the state’s own page before acting on anything here. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
- Filing fees and processing times published by each Secretary of State or equivalent business filing office.
- Official business entity search portals for all 51 jurisdictions, each retrieved and confirmed to resolve. The full list appears in the table above.
Related
What happens to a registration over time, and the registers that record it: