Kentucky Certificate of Authority / Form FBE
Form FBE, the Kentucky application for a certificate of authority
Form FBE is the Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity). A foreign entity of any type files it with the Division of Business Filings, the fee is $90, and the form has 13 numbered statements on a single page. The form is revision 7/25. We prepare it for $199.
Form FBE at a glance
| Title | Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity) |
|---|---|
| Number | Form FBE |
| Law | KRS 14A.9-030 |
| Fee | $90, whatever the entity |
| Filing routes | FastTrack online, by mail, or in person |
| Signer | an officer, chairman of the board, member, manager, trustee or partner |
| Takes effect | the date and time of filing |
| Office | 1025 Capital Center Drive, Suite 201, Frankfort, KY 40601, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern |
Group one: identity (items 1 to 5)
Item 1 is the type of entity, chosen from eleven boxes. Item 2 is the name, which must be the home record's name. Item 3 holds a substitute Kentucky name, to be filled in solely when the home name cannot be had here. Item 4 is the state or country whose law governs the entity, and item 5 the formation date plus its duration, perpetual when left blank.
Group two: contact points (items 6 to 8)
Item 6 gives the principal office mailing address, which may lie inside or outside Kentucky and receives all state mail. Item 7 names the Kentucky registered office, a street address, and the agent. Item 8 lists whoever runs the entity, with business addresses, by type. Unlike item 7, item 8 accepts a PO box.
Group three: declarations (items 9 to 13)
Item 9 concerns professional service corporations alone. Item 10 is the signer's certification of existence under home law on the day of filing. Items 11, 12 and 13 are check boxes: LLLP election for a limited partnership, manager management for an LLC, and the vapor retailer disclosure tied to KRS 438.305(2). Most applicants tick at most one of them.
The signature blocks
Below item 13 are two signature areas. One is for the authorized representative, with a printed name, title and date. The other is the registered agent's consent: the agent prints a name, signs, and gives a title if signing for an entity. If the agent does not sign the form, a separate written consent must be delivered with it.
Filing instructions, in short
For paper, send a conformed (or exact) copy of the form together with payment by check to the Kentucky State Treasurer; an online filing needs no copies. The stamped postcard goes to the principal office unless a written request names another address with each document.
Paying for Form FBE
The fee is $90 for every entity type. By mail, the check is payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer and goes with one exact or conformed copy; an online filer pays as the application is submitted. A name reservation is a separate $15 charge and a registered name $36, and most applicants buy neither.
The copy that goes to the county clerk
Kentucky law routes a copy of the application to the county clerk where the registered office is located. Filers are told to print it from the Secretary of State's organization search tool. KRS 64.012 sets the clerk's price at $33 while the copy stays within 5 pages.
Common reasons for a return
These reasons send a Form FBE back:
- A name that differs from what the home record shows.
- A registered office with a PO box.
- The applicant named as its own agent.
- No signature from the agent or no separate consent.
- Representatives left off item 8.
- Nobody with authority signing for the entity.
Items people get wrong
In item 1 the box must match the way the home state classes the entity. Item 5 takes the formation date from the home record, and the duration is perpetual where that record says so. Item 6 accepts a mailing address even if it is a PO box, whereas item 7 insists on a street address. And the optional boxes in items 11 to 13 should stay empty unless they truly apply.
How we prepare Form FBE
You choose the entity type
We confirm the right box.
We draft items 2 to 8
From the home record and your answers.
We collect the agent's acceptance
Signed on the form or attached separately.
Your signer approves item 10
The certification stays with them.
We file
FastTrack, $90.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Form FBE questions
Does Form FBE need a notary?
No. The form has a signature block for the representative and one for the agent, and no notary block.
What happens to the form after filing?
It is effective on filing, and a copy goes to the clerk in the county of the registered office.
Can I file it for a corporation?
Yes. Tick the corporation box on item 1. The fee is the same.
Our fee and the state's
Get my Kentucky certificate
+ $90 Kentucky fee
Our fee and Kentucky's $90 appear as separate lines at checkout. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
$199
Kentucky Certificate of Authority
- The Certificate of Authority (Foreign Business Entity) (Form FBE), completed from your answers
- The registered agent's written consent, gathered and attached
- A Kentucky registered agent and street office: ours, or the ones you already have
- The application submitted, the filed certificate returned to you, and your annual report window noted
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Sources
- Kentucky Secretary of State, business filing fees
- Kentucky FastTrack, apply for a certificate of authority
- KRS 14A.6-010, annual report
- Kentucky Secretary of State, annual reports
- Kentucky Form FBE, certificate of authority for a foreign business entity
- KRS 14A.9-030, application for a certificate of authority
- Kentucky Form WFE, certificate of withdrawal of a foreign business entity
- KRS 14A.2-040, copies filed with the county clerk
- KRS 64.012, fees of county clerks
Ready for the certificate?
Tell us the entity type and the state that formed it, and we start the application.