You can get an LLC online in every U.S. state. Each state’s Secretary of State (or equivalent office) runs a web portal where you enter your company details, pay a filing fee somewhere between about $40 and $500, and submit your formation documents electronically. For most people, the active work takes less than an hour. The filing itself is the easy part; the fuller setup includes a federal tax ID, a few documents the state never sees, and ongoing reports that catch new owners off guard.
What To Have Ready Before You Open the Portal
Typos and missing information are the main reasons filings get kicked back, so gather everything before you start the form.
A Distinguishable Business Name
Your LLC name has to be distinguishable from every other active entity on the state’s registry. Most Secretary of State sites include a free name search tool. Run your name through it first. If it’s too close to something already registered, the system will reject your filing. Some states let you reserve a name for 60 to 120 days while you prepare the rest of your paperwork.
A Registered Agent
Every state requires your LLC to name a registered agent, meaning a person or company authorized to accept legal documents like lawsuits and government notices for your business. The agent must have a physical street address in the state of formation. P.O. boxes don’t qualify. The agent also has to be available at that address during normal business hours, because a process server needs to hand-deliver documents in person. You can serve as your own agent, hire a commercial service, or appoint someone you trust who lives in the state.
Management Structure
Most states ask whether your LLC will be member-managed or manager-managed. Member-managed means all owners share day-to-day authority. Manager-managed means one or more designated managers run operations while other members stay passive. Solo owners and small partnerships almost always pick member-managed. Multi-member LLCs with passive investors usually choose manager-managed.
Other Fields on the Form
Depending on the state, your articles of organization may also ask for the principal office address, the name and address of the “organizer” (the person filing), and a brief statement of business purpose. Some states ask whether the LLC exists perpetually or dissolves on a set date. Perpetual is the default and the right answer for most businesses. Type all of this out ahead of time so you can paste it in.
Filing on Your State’s Portal
You start by creating a user account on the Secretary of State website. The account lets you save your progress, track the application, and download the approved documents later.
The portal walks you through form fields that mirror the information above: name, registered agent, management structure, organizer. Most systems show a summary page before you submit. Read it carefully. Finalizing requires an electronic signature, which under federal law carries the same legal weight as a handwritten one.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 7001 – General Rule of Validity In practice that usually means typing your full name or checking a box.
Then comes payment. Fees range from roughly $40 to $500 depending on the state. Portals typically accept credit cards, debit cards, and electronic checks. Your filing doesn’t enter the review queue until payment clears, so don’t close the browser until you see a confirmation number or receipt. Save it.
How Long Approval Takes
Standard processing runs from same-day in some states to two or three weeks in others, driven by the filing office’s backlog. If you need faster turnaround, most states sell expedited processing: some charge around $50 for next-day service, others several hundred dollars for same-day or one-hour review. Expedited fees are on top of the regular filing fee, not a replacement.
When your filing is approved, the portal delivers a digital copy of your stamped articles of organization (some states call it a certificate of formation). That document is the proof your LLC legally exists. You’ll need it for a bank account, licenses, and credit. Keep it somewhere you can find it.
If the office rejects your filing because of a conflict or an error, you’ll get a notice explaining what to fix. You can usually resubmit through the same portal without paying a second fee, though policies vary.
Getting Your Federal EIN
An Employer Identification Number is the federal tax ID for your LLC. You need one if your LLC has more than one member, hires employees, or files certain tax returns. Even single-member LLCs without employees usually get one, because banks and vendors ask for it and it keeps your personal Social Security number off business paperwork.
The IRS has a free online EIN application that issues the number immediately. The applicant has to be the “responsible party” who controls the LLC, or an authorized representative with signed permission, and the form will ask for that person’s Social Security number or ITIN. The tool isn’t open around the clock. It runs Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Eastern, Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to midnight Eastern.2Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number Apply after your articles are approved, because the IRS will ask for your LLC’s legal name and formation state.
The Operating Agreement You Don’t File
An operating agreement is the internal rulebook for your LLC. It covers each member’s ownership percentage, how profits and losses are split, what happens if a member leaves, and how big decisions get made. You don’t file it with the state. It lives in your business records as a private agreement among the members.
Several states require LLCs to adopt a written operating agreement, and even where it’s optional, skipping it is one of the most common mistakes new owners make. Without one, any dispute between members defaults to your state’s LLC statute, which may not match what you actually agreed to. Banks also frequently ask to see a copy when you open a business account. Draft it before you file, or shortly after.
Publication Requirements in Three States
This is the step that blindsides people. Three states, Arizona, Nebraska, and New York, require newly formed LLCs to publish a notice of formation in local newspapers.
New York is the heaviest lift: you must publish in two newspapers (one daily, one weekly) approved by your county clerk, running the notice for six consecutive weeks. In New York City and the surrounding boroughs, that can cost over $1,000. Publishing in a less expensive county brings it closer to $70. Arizona exempts LLCs whose registered agent is in Maricopa or Pima County, which covers the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. Nebraska requires three weeks of publication.
Failing to publish doesn’t dissolve your LLC, but in New York it can suspend your authority to conduct business until you comply. If you’re forming in one of these three states, budget for publication on top of the filing fee.
Opening a Business Bank Account
Keeping business and personal finances in separate accounts is essential to maintaining the liability protection the LLC gives you. Most banks will ask for:
- Your approved articles of organization from the Secretary of State.
- Your EIN confirmation letter or the online confirmation from the IRS.
- Your operating agreement, especially for multi-member LLCs where the bank wants to verify who has authority over the account.
- A government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, state ID, or U.S. passport) for every account signer.
Some banks also want a certificate of good standing if your LLC has been active for a while, or proof of a “doing business as” name if you operate under something other than your legal LLC name. Multi-member LLCs should expect the bank to collect identifying information from every owner.
Staying in Good Standing After You Form
Forming the LLC is not a one-time event. Most states require periodic reports, usually called an annual or biennial report, that confirm your address, registered agent, and member or manager information are still accurate. Some states collect these every year, some every two. Fees run from nothing in a handful of states to several hundred dollars where a franchise tax rides along with the report.
Missing the deadline is where things get expensive. States add late fees that accumulate, and prolonged non-compliance can trigger administrative dissolution, meaning the state revokes your LLC’s legal existence with no court proceeding. A dissolved LLC can’t enter contracts, file lawsuits, or carry on normal business. Reinstatement usually means paying all overdue fees and penalties and catching up the missing reports. In some states, a person who acts on behalf of a dissolved LLC while knowing it’s been dissolved can be held personally liable for debts incurred during that period.
Put the deadline on a recurring calendar reminder. The report itself usually takes five minutes online, and the consequences of forgetting are wildly out of proportion to the effort.
Doing Business in Another State
If your LLC does business in a state other than the one where you formed it, that second state may require you to register as a “foreign LLC.” What counts as doing business varies, but common triggers are a physical office, employees in the state, or inventory kept there. Just making sales to customers in another state or attending occasional meetings there usually doesn’t cross the line.
Foreign registration means filing an application (often called a certificate of authority) with the second state’s Secretary of State, appointing a registered agent in that state, and paying a separate fee. You’ll also pick up that state’s annual report obligation and any applicable state taxes. The administrative load scales quickly with every new state you add.
A Note on Beneficial Ownership Reporting
The Corporate Transparency Act originally required most new LLCs to report their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). An interim final rule published in March 2025 exempted all entities created in the United States from this requirement. As of 2026, domestic LLCs and their beneficial owners do not need to file a beneficial ownership information report with FinCEN.3FinCEN.gov. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting The requirement now applies only to foreign entities registered to do business in a U.S. state or tribal jurisdiction. If your LLC is domestic, you can set this aside for now, but keep an eye on it because FinCEN has indicated it may issue revised rules in the future.