PA BCCO Corporation: Formation, Fees, and Good Standing

To register a business with Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations (BCCO), you file a formation document with the Department of State, pay a $125 fee, and submit a Docketing Statement alongside it.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Fees and Payments The specific form depends on whether you’re creating a corporation, an LLC, or another entity type, and once you’re registered, a new annual report requirement that took effect in 2025 replaces the old ten-year filing cycle.2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Annual Reports The BCCO operates under Title 15 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (the Associations Code) and handles every business entity filing in the Commonwealth.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 15 – Corporations and Unincorporated Associations

Two Things to Settle Before You File

A Name That’s Available

Your entity name must be distinguishable from every other name already on file with the Department of State. The requirement comes from 15 Pa.C.S. § 202, and the department reads “distinguishable” strictly. Small differences in punctuation or spelling usually aren’t enough to clear a conflict.4Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Name Availability Check availability for free through the bureau’s online search before you prepare paperwork; filing fees are nonrefundable even if the bureau rejects your document.

A Registered Office in Pennsylvania

Every entity registering with the Department of State must list a registered office address: an actual street address or rural route box number in Pennsylvania. A P.O. box alone won’t work. If you don’t have a physical location in the state, you can designate a Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP), which is a company that maintains a Pennsylvania address and accepts legal documents on your behalf.5Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Commercial Registered Office Providers

The Right Formation Document

Which form you file depends on the entity you’re creating:

Both forms are on the Department of State’s website. Everything you put on them, including entity name, purpose, registered office, and organizers, becomes public record once the filing is accepted. The bureau also handles filings for nonprofit corporations, professional corporations, municipal authorities, and limited partnerships.8Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Business

How to File, What It Costs, How Long It Takes

The Department of State offers an online portal, Business Filing Services (BFS), accessible through the PA Business One-Stop Hub. You create an account, upload completed forms, and pay electronically. If you’d rather use paper, mail your forms and Docketing Statement to the bureau’s Harrisburg office with payment.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Fees and Payments

Payment method matters. Credit cards are accepted only for expedited services. Standard mail filings require a check or money order made payable to the Pennsylvania Department of State. Cash is not accepted.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Fees and Payments

The standard filing fee is $125 for both Articles of Incorporation and an LLC Certificate of Organization. Every bureau fee is nonrefundable, including on rejected filings. Standard processing takes roughly 15 business days.9Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Frequently Asked Questions Documents are handled in the order received unless you pay for expedited service.8Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Business

Three expedited tiers are available on top of the standard fee:1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Fees and Payments

  • Same-day service: $100, for documents received before 10:00 a.m.
  • Three-hour service: $300, for documents received before 2:00 p.m.
  • One-hour service: $1,000, for documents received before 4:00 p.m.

If a filing contains errors, such as a name too close to an existing entity, a missing Docketing Statement, or an incomplete form, the bureau issues a rejection notice explaining what to correct. You lose the fee either way, so it pays to check the paperwork carefully before it goes in.

Doing Business Under a Different Name

Planning to operate under a name other than your legal entity name or your own personal name? Pennsylvania requires you to register that fictitious name by filing Form DSCB:54-311. The registration lists the fictitious name, a brief description of the business, the principal place of business address (not a P.O. box alone), and the name and address of each individual or entity involved.10Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Fictitious Names

If any individual (not just an entity) is on the registration, you must also publish notice in two newspapers of general circulation in the county where the business operates, one of which should be a legal newspaper. Skipping the registration doesn’t carry criminal exposure, but it’s practical exposure: you cannot use Pennsylvania courts to enforce a contract signed under the unregistered name until you complete the registration, and a court can impose a $500 penalty for late registration.10Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Fictitious Names

If Your Entity Was Formed in Another State

A business formed in another state must register as a foreign association before doing business in Pennsylvania. The filing requires a Foreign Registration Statement (Form DSCB:15-412) along with a Docketing Statement.11Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Foreign Associations

Foreign corporations, both for-profit and nonprofit, have an extra step that surprises many out-of-state businesses: you must publish your intent to register or your actual registration in two newspapers of general circulation in Pennsylvania, one of which should be a legal journal if possible. Keep the proofs of publication with your corporate records rather than sending them to the Department of State.11Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Foreign Associations

Staying in Good Standing After You Register

Registration is not the finish line. Starting in 2025, most domestic and foreign filing associations must submit an annual report (Form DSCB:15-146). It replaces the old decennial (every-ten-year) report, which has been repealed.2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Annual Reports

The fee is $7 for business corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and limited liability general partnerships. Nonprofit corporations pay $0. Deadlines depend on entity type:2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Annual Reports

  • Corporations (business and nonprofit), domestic and foreign: January 1 through June 30
  • LLCs, domestic and foreign: January 1 through September 30

Failing to file can lead to administrative action against your entity under 15 Pa.C.S. § 382. To come back into good standing, you’ll submit an application for reinstatement with the reinstatement fee, any missed annual reports, and all associated unpaid fees.12Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 15 – Section 383 Reinstatement itself is straightforward, but operating while your entity is inactive creates real legal exposure, and contracts signed in that window can be difficult to enforce.

Limited liability partnerships, limited liability limited partnerships, and restricted professional companies have a separate annual registration with its own April 15 deadline. Missing it triggers additional fees, penalties, interest, and a UCC lien against the business. For LLPs and LLLPs, continued failure can end in termination of registration.11Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Foreign Associations

Federal Steps to Take Next

State registration creates your entity under Pennsylvania law but doesn’t handle federal obligations. Two items typically come next.

Getting an EIN

Almost every corporation, LLC, and partnership needs a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Form your entity at the state level first; the IRS won’t process the application otherwise. The online application is free and takes only a few minutes, but it must be completed in one session (it times out after 15 minutes of inactivity), and the IRS limits each responsible party to one EIN application per day.13Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number Third-party sites that charge for this service are offering something the IRS provides at no cost.

Beneficial Ownership Reporting

The federal Corporate Transparency Act originally required most domestic businesses to report their beneficial owners to FinCEN. Under FinCEN’s March 2025 interim final rule, all entities created in the United States are exempt from that requirement. The reporting obligation now applies only to entities formed under the law of a foreign country that have registered to do business in a U.S. state.14FinCEN. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting If you’re forming a standard Pennsylvania corporation or LLC, you do not need to file a BOI report under the current rules.