To form an anonymous LLC, you file in one of the four states whose formation documents don’t require member or manager names — New Mexico, Wyoming, Delaware, or Nevada — and you hire a registered agent and a commercial organizer to put their names on the paperwork instead of yours. The state’s public database will then show those third parties rather than you. The federal government, your bank, and any court with a subpoena will still know exactly who owns the company, so this is privacy from casual searches, not from determined investigation.
States That Allow Anonymous Formation
Only a handful of states let you leave ownership information off the public record at formation. The four below are the usual choices, and they differ in cost, ongoing paperwork, and how much privacy you actually get.
New Mexico
New Mexico is the cheapest and most private option. The articles of organization don’t require member or manager names, the filing fee is $50, and the state doesn’t require annual reports at all. You file once and have no recurring state paperwork that could later expose ownership. It is the only one of the four states where you can genuinely file and never deal with the state again.
Wyoming
Wyoming’s articles of organization don’t require member or manager names, and formation costs $100 plus at least $60 per year for the annual report.1Secretary of State (Wyoming). Business Division Filing Fee Schedule A 2023 law change narrowed its privacy advantage: the annual report now requires disclosure of any beneficial owner who holds 50% or more of the company’s profits.2Wyoming Legislature. SF0093 – Limited Liability Company Reporting If a trust is the beneficial owner, the trust and its trustees must be identified as well. For a single-owner LLC, that disclosure defeats much of the point unless you also use a nominee.
Delaware
Delaware’s Division of Corporations does not require LLCs to list members or managers on any public filing.3Delaware Division of Corporations. Frequently Asked Questions Formation costs $110,4Delaware Division of Corporations. Fee Schedule and the state charges a flat $300 annual franchise tax regardless of income.5Delaware Division of Revenue. Franchise Taxes It’s the most expensive of the privacy-friendly states to keep running, but it has the longest track record and the most sophisticated business courts.
Nevada
Nevada’s reputation for business privacy is partly overstated. Member names don’t appear on the articles of organization, but the state requires an initial list of managers or managing members filed alongside the articles themselves, and that list is public.6Nevada Secretary of State. Business Forms To keep your name off it, you need a nominee manager, which adds annual cost. Nevada also charges a $200 state business license fee on top of the filing fee, and both the annual list and the license have to be renewed each year.7Nevada Secretary of State. State Business License – FAQ Initial costs run well over $275.
The Third Parties You’ll Need
Keeping your name off the filing requires paying other people to put theirs on it. Three roles do the work.
A registered agent is listed on state records as the person or company that accepts lawsuits and official notices on behalf of the LLC. Every state requires one. A commercial registered agent’s name and address go on the public record instead of yours. National providers typically charge between $100 and $250 per year.
A commercial organizer signs and submits the articles of organization. In states that allow anonymous formation, the organizer’s name is what the public filing shows. Most registered agent companies include organizer service in their formation packages at no extra cost.
A nominee manager or member appears on required public filings as the manager or member of record while having no actual control or ownership. Nominee services typically cost $250 to $525 per year. You’ll need one in Nevada, where manager names show up on formation documents, and in Wyoming if you’d otherwise hit the 50% beneficial owner disclosure.
Filing the Articles of Organization
The actual filing is simple once you have the services lined up. Articles of organization are a short form on the secretary of state’s website, usually one or two pages. You provide the LLC’s name, the registered agent’s name and address, and the organizer’s signature. In the four states above, that is all the public record contains. The state returns a stamped copy or certificate of organization proving the LLC exists; if filed correctly, your name is nowhere on it.
Why the Operating Agreement Matters More Than Usual
When your name isn’t on any public filing, the operating agreement becomes the primary document proving you own and control the LLC. It identifies the members, sets out how profits are divided, and spells out who has authority to make decisions. It is not filed with any state agency.
Draft and sign it immediately after formation. Banks, investors, landlords, and future business partners will ask to see it before dealing with the company. Without it, you can’t prove your own connection to the entity you set up. Store it securely, because anyone who reads it knows who’s behind the business.
The Double-LLC Structure for Other States
Most states don’t allow anonymous formation. If you need the business to operate in one of those states, the standard workaround is two LLCs. A holding LLC is formed in a privacy-friendly state like New Mexico or Delaware, where member names stay off public records. The operating LLC is formed in whatever state the business actually runs in, and it lists the holding LLC — not a person — as its member or manager on public filings.
Anyone searching the operating LLC’s records finds another entity name. Anyone searching the holding LLC’s records finds a registered agent. Your name connects to neither. The tradeoff is maintaining two entities, paying two sets of state fees, and potentially filing two tax returns.
What It Actually Costs
State fees are only part of the bill. The usable total includes the registered agent and, where needed, a nominee and a virtual business address to keep your home off any filing.
- New Mexico: $50 formation fee, no annual report.
- Wyoming: $100 formation fee, at least $60 per year for the annual report.1Secretary of State (Wyoming). Business Division Filing Fee Schedule
- Delaware: $110 formation fee, plus $300 per year in franchise taxes.4Delaware Division of Corporations. Fee Schedule5Delaware Division of Revenue. Franchise Taxes
- Nevada: Formation fee plus $200 for the state business license, with annual list and license renewal fees each year.7Nevada Secretary of State. State Business License – FAQ
On top of state fees, budget $100 to $250 per year for a commercial registered agent and $250 to $525 per year for a nominee if you need one. A virtual business address runs roughly $99 to $330 per month depending on location. A bare-bones New Mexico LLC with just a registered agent can be set up for under $200. A Nevada LLC with nominee services and a virtual address can easily cost $1,000 or more in the first year.
Who Still Sees Your Name
The IRS
Every LLC needs an Employer Identification Number, and the application (Form SS-4) requires naming a “responsible party” — a real person with a Social Security number who controls the entity.8Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number The IRS keeps that information in its own records and does not share it with the public or state databases. Your state filings stay anonymous; the federal government knows who you are.
FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Reporting
The Corporate Transparency Act originally required most LLCs to report beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In March 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule exempting all domestic reporting companies — including LLCs formed by filing with a secretary of state — from the obligation to file beneficial ownership reports.9Federal Register. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision and Deadline Extension Domestic LLCs currently don’t need to file initial reports, update prior reports, or correct previous submissions. FinCEN has said it intends to finalize this through a permanent rule, but the exemption remains interim and subject to change.
Foreign companies registered to do business in a U.S. state must still report their non-U.S. beneficial owners. The data is confidential and accessible only to law enforcement, financial institutions with the company’s consent, and certain federal regulators.10Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Fact Sheet: Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards Final Rule
Foreign Owners and Form 5472
If a non-U.S. person owns the LLC, the IRS requires an annual Form 5472 filed with a pro forma corporate return disclosing the foreign owner’s name, address, and taxpayer identification number. Missing the filing triggers a $25,000 penalty, with another $25,000 for every 30-day period the failure continues after the IRS gives notice.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5472 A substantially incomplete form counts as no filing at all.
Your Bank
Banks are required by federal customer due diligence rules to identify the natural persons who own or control any business entity opening an account.12Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Information on Complying with the Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Final Rule No matter how carefully you’ve kept your name off state records, the bank will want your operating agreement, government-issued ID, and EIN letter before opening the account. Bank records aren’t public, so this doesn’t undo state-level anonymity, but at least one financial institution will know your identity.
Where Anonymity Ends
An anonymous LLC keeps your name out of the secretary of state’s database. It does not make you invisible.
Lawsuits are the usual trigger for disclosure. A court can order the company to reveal its members through discovery, and a subpoena directed at the LLC or its registered agent compels the same answer. The structure holds up against casual searches, not against someone with a legal claim and a lawyer.
Tax authorities always know. The IRS has your responsible party information from the EIN application, and your tax returns identify you as the owner.8Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number State tax agencies where the business actually operates may also require disclosure if the LLC earns income in their jurisdiction.
Real estate creates paper trails. Property deeds are public records, and while the LLC’s name appears on the deed rather than yours, lenders typically require personal guarantees from the actual owner. Title searches and county recorder filings can connect you to the LLC even when the state business filing doesn’t.
The practical value of an anonymous LLC is keeping your name out of the databases that data brokers, marketers, and casual searchers use. It stops someone from Googling your name and finding your business, or Googling your business and finding your home address. For that, it works well. For hiding ownership from a determined adversary with legal resources, it’s a speed bump, not a wall.