To start an LLC, you choose a name your state will accept, appoint a registered agent, and file a short formation document with the state's business filing office: usually called the articles of organization, or the certificate of formation or organization. The state filing fee ranges from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts. Then you get a free EIN from the IRS, write an operating agreement, and keep up with the yearly report or fee your state requires.
Pick your state
Each state runs its own filing office, form and fees. In most cases the right state is the one where you live and run the business; our guide to the best state to form an LLC explains why forming somewhere else usually costs more. Choose yours for the exact steps, fees and official links; the amount beside each is the state fee to file:
1. Check that the name is available
An LLC name must be distinguishable from every business already on the state's records, and it must say that it is an LLC, with words such as "Limited Liability Company" or "LLC". States also restrict some words, such as "bank", unless the regulator approves them. Search the state's business records first: our business lookup by state links each state's official search, and the name availability guide explains what counts as too close. The state makes the final call only when it reviews your filing.
2. Reserve the name, if you need time
Every state lets you hold a name for a fee while you prepare the filing, most of them for 120 days. It is optional almost everywhere; Alabama is an exception and requires a reservation before formation. If you are ready to file now, skip it: filing the formation document claims the name.
3. Appoint a registered agent
Every LLC needs a registered agent: a person or company with a street address in the state who accepts lawsuits and official mail for the business. States call it different things (registered agent, statutory agent, resident agent, agent for service of process). You can be your own agent if you have an address in the state, or pay a commercial agent, which keeps your home address off the public record. The SBA's guide to registering a business lists the agent as one of the things to have ready before you file. More in what a registered agent does.
4. File the formation document
The articles of organization (or certificate of formation) are short: the LLC's name, the agent's name and address, often the principal address, and whether members or managers run it. Nearly every state takes them online, and online filing is usually faster and in some states cheaper than paper. Each state guide above links the official filing page and shows the fee with its source.
A formation service can file this form for you. The state fee is the same either way; the service adds its own charge. You do not need a lawyer to file (New York's Department of State says as much), although a lawyer can help with the operating agreement of an LLC with several owners.
5. Get an EIN from the IRS, free
Once the state approves the LLC, apply for an Employer Identification Number on the IRS EIN application page. The IRS issues it online as soon as the application is approved and never charges for it. Banks ask for it to open a business account, and you need it for payroll and most tax filings. Our EIN lookup guide covers finding one later.
6. Write an operating agreement
The operating agreement says who owns the LLC, how profit and losses are split, who decides what, and what happens when a member leaves or dies. It stays with your records; states do not ask you to file it. A few states require one by law (New York requires a written agreement within 90 days of filing), and without one, the state's default LLC rules decide those questions for you. A single-member LLC benefits too: the agreement documents that the business is separate from its owner.
7. Open a bank account and get licenses
Keep the LLC's money in its own account, opened with the approved articles and the EIN. Then check which licenses and permits the business needs from the state, the county and the city; the SBA's licenses and permits guide explains where to look. A few states add their own steps at formation: New York, Arizona and Nebraska require a published notice, and Nevada requires a state business license and an initial list of managers. Each state guide lists these.
8. Keep the LLC in good standing
Most states require a yearly or two-yearly report, usually with a fee, to keep the LLC active. Some charge a yearly tax instead or as well, such as California's $800 annual LLC tax or Delaware's annual LLC tax. Missing the report can lead the state to dissolve the LLC. Your state's guide gives the report's name, fee and due date, and our guide to what an LLC costs in each state puts them side by side.
More on LLCs
- What an LLC is and what it protects.
- What an LLC costs in each state: filing fees and yearly fees side by side.
- LLC vs S corp: how the tax election works.
- The best state to form an LLC: why it is usually your own.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Facts checked 2026-10-26 against the official sources linked above; confirm with the state or the IRS before you file. How we check our facts · Report an error