1. Every foreign limited-liability company transacting business in this State which willfully fails or neglects to register with the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of NRS 86.544 is subject to a fine of not less than $1,000 but not more than $10,000, to be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction.

2. Every foreign limited-liability company transacting business in this State which fails or neglects to register with the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of NRS 86.544 may not commence or maintain any action, suit or proceeding in any court of this State until it has registered with the Secretary of State.

3. The failure of a foreign limited-liability company to register with the Secretary of State does not impair the validity of any contract or act of the foreign limited-liability company, or prevent the foreign limited-liability company from defending any action, suit or proceeding in any court of this State.

4. When the Secretary of State is advised that a foreign limited-liability company is subject to the fine described in subsection 1, the Secretary of State may, as soon as practicable, refer the matter to the district attorney of the county where the foreign limited-liability company has its principal place of business or the Attorney General, or both, for a determination of whether to institute proceedings to recover the fine. The district attorney of the county where the foreign limited-liability company has its principal place of business or the Attorney General may institute and prosecute the appropriate proceedings to recover the fine. If the district attorney or the Attorney General prevails in a proceeding to recover the fine described in subsection 1, the district attorney or the Attorney General is entitled to recover the costs of the proceeding, including, without limitation, the cost of any investigation and reasonable attorney’s fees.

5. In the course of an investigation of a violation of this section, the Secretary of State may require a foreign limited-liability company to answer any interrogatory submitted by the Secretary of State that will assist in the investigation.

6. A foreign limited-liability company, by transacting business in this State without registering with the Secretary of State, appoints the Secretary of State as its agent for service of process with respect to causes of action arising out of the transaction of business in this State by the foreign limited-liability company.

7. The Secretary of State may adopt regulations to administer the provisions of this section.

(Added to NRS by 2001, 1387; A 2001, 3199; 2009, 1698; 2013, 862)