Foreign Qualifications

A foreign qualification registers a company formed in one state to legally operate in another. Include foreignQualification in POST /orders with the existing companyId; filingState is the state being qualified into.

curl -X POST https://api.fileforms.com/v1/orders \
  -H "x-api-key: sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "userId": "user_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8",
    "companyId": "comp_x1y2z3w4v5u6t7s8",
    "filingState": "CA",
    "foreignQualification": true,
    "registeredAgent": { "isChangeOfAgent": false }
  }'

Field requirements

• A registered agent in the qualifying state is required — states demand one before admitting a foreign entity. Either order FileForms RA service in the same request (as above, the common case), or supply an existing agent: "foreignQualification": { "registeredAgent": { ... } } with the agent's address in the filing state.
• With an agent ordered or on file, the shorthand "foreignQualification": true is all you need.
• Cannot be combined with formation in one request — a company is formed in a state or qualified into it, never both. Form first, then qualify in additional states with follow-up orders (one request per state).
• The company's formationState and entityType must be set on the company record — they determine the state fee and appear on the qualification filing.

Duplicate protection

409 Conflict — Foreign qualification already purchased for this state — if the company already has a paid qualification there. A cancelled or unpaid earlier attempt doesn't block reordering.

Billing

One-time: foreign qualification wholesale plus the qualifying state's fee (see State fees). RA service, if ordered, is its own annual subscription line.

After ordering

• filing.status_changed → filed when the state admits the entity
• document.uploaded → the state's qualification certificate/confirmation
• Common exception: code 487 (out-of-state registered agent) — the supplied agent must be in the qualifying state