Global Founder LLC a US company, formed from abroad

A guide for founders who live outside the United States

Forming a US LLC from abroad, from choosing a state to opening the bank account

You do not need to be a US citizen or resident to own a US limited liability company. You do need a state to form it in, a registered agent there, a federal tax number obtained without a Social Security number, and a bank willing to open an account for an owner who lives somewhere else. This site works through each of those, in the order a founder meets them.

Follow the route The papers you need

Data page

Holder
A founder living outside the United States
Entity
Limited liability company
Formed in
One US state, chosen by you
Agent
A registered agent with an address in that state
Tax number
An EIN, applied for without a Social Security number
Banking
An account a non-resident owner can open and run
Not required
US citizenship, US residence or a US home address
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Visas and entries

Formationarticles filed with the state
Registered agentan address in the state
Bank accountopened in the company’s name

The stamps mark the stops on the route. None of them is an approval.

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The route

From an idea abroad to a company in good standing

The steps run in this order because each one needs the one before it: a bank wants the EIN, the EIN application wants the filed company, and the filing wants a registered agent.

  1. Choose the state the company is formed in

    The LLC is a creature of one state, and that state sets its filing rules, its yearly report and its ongoing taxes. Nothing requires it to be the state with the most familiar name.

  2. Appoint a registered agent in that state

    Every state asks an LLC to name an agent with a street address there, reachable during business hours, to receive legal papers. An owner living abroad cannot fill that role, so it is usually a commercial agent service.

  3. File the articles of organization

    The short public filing that brings the company into existence. Some states call it a certificate of formation. It names the company, the agent and, depending on the state, the people who manage it.

  4. Write an operating agreement

    Most states do not ask to see it, but it is the document that says who owns the company and how it is run. US banks commonly ask for one when opening an account.

  5. Get an EIN from the IRS

    The company’s federal tax number. The online application asks for a Social Security number or an ITIN, so an owner with neither applies on Form SS-4 by fax or mail, and international applicants can also apply by phone.

  6. Open a US bank account

    Some banks ask the owner to visit a branch in person; some online banks and financial technology companies open accounts for non-resident owners remotely. Each sets its own list of documents.

  7. Keep the company in good standing

    A yearly report or tax to the state of formation in most states, a registered agent kept in place, and the federal information return a foreign-owned single-member LLC still owes even when it has no income tax to pay.

Papers

What to have in hand before you start

Gathering these first saves the slowest part of the process, which is usually waiting on one missing document while everything else is ready.

  • Identity

    A valid passport

    The document a registered agent, the IRS paperwork and a bank will each ask to see, often as a clear scan.

  • Address

    Your address abroad

    A foreign residential address is normal and accepted. Some banks also ask for proof of it, such as a recent utility bill.

  • In the state

    A registered agent address

    A street address in the state of formation, supplied by the agent service. It is not a mailing address for the business, and it is not an office.

  • Company record

    Filed articles and an operating agreement

    The state’s stamped copy of the articles shows the company exists. The operating agreement shows who owns it.

  • Tax number

    The EIN confirmation letter

    The IRS notice that assigns the company its EIN. Banks and payment processors usually ask for it by name.

  • For the bank

    A plain account of the business

    What the company sells, to whom, and where the money will come from. Banks ask this of every new business, and more closely of one owned from abroad.

Choosing a state

Where to form the company, when you live in none of them

A founder abroad has no home state, so the choice is open. It is usually settled by where the business will actually operate, and by what each state asks of the company every year.

Where the business will have a presence

  • An office, a warehouse, staff or inventory in a state usually means the company is doing business there.
  • Forming somewhere else then means registering in that state as well, as a foreign LLC, with two sets of yearly filings.
  • Forming directly in the state where the work happens avoids the second registration.

A business with no US premises

  • An online business run entirely from abroad has more freedom to choose.
  • States differ in their yearly report, their ongoing state tax, how much owner information goes on the public record, and how long their courts have handled company disputes.
  • Delaware, Wyoming and New Mexico come up often in this conversation, for different reasons, and none of them is the right answer for every founder.

Whether the company owes US income tax is a separate question from where it is formed. It turns on whether its income is connected with a trade or business in the United States, which is worth settling with a tax adviser who works with foreign owners.

Questions

Questions founders abroad ask most

The questions this site sets out to answer, grouped in the order a founder usually meets them.

Before forming

  1. Can someone who is not a US citizen or resident own a US LLC?
  2. Does the owner need to visit the United States to form the company?
  3. Is an LLC the right entity, or would a corporation suit an investor better?

Numbers and paperwork

  1. How does an owner without a Social Security number get an EIN?
  2. Is an ITIN needed as well, and what is the difference?
  3. Which documents should be kept on file once the company exists?

Banking and payments

  1. Which banks open accounts for owners who live abroad?
  2. What does a bank ask a foreign-owned company that it does not ask others?
  3. Can the company take card payments before it has a US bank account?

Tax and staying in good standing

  1. Does a foreign-owned LLC owe US income tax if its work happens abroad?
  2. What does the yearly federal information return involve?
  3. What happens if the registered agent lapses or a state report is missed?

How this site is written

Plain answers, organised by the route

Each guide here will sit on one stop of the route above, so a founder can read only the page they have reached.

  • No scores and no star ratings

    Where one option suits a founder better, it is said in words, with the reason.

  • Figures carry their source

    A fee, a form or a deadline is attributed to the state office or the IRS page that publishes it.

  • Written for owners abroad

    Every step is described from outside the United States, where the usual advice assumes a Social Security number.