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The filing that creates an Idaho LLC is the Certificate of Organization. You send it to the Idaho Secretary of State, Business Services, and the LLC exists once it is accepted. The base fee is $100. Filing on paper adds a $20 manual processing fee, so the total is $120, and the state says online is the fastest route. Use SOSBiz for the online filing, or the paper forms page if you must mail it. Our Idaho business guide covers the search side.
What name can an Idaho LLC use?
Pick a name that ends in one of the words Idaho allows: Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C. or LC. The list is in Idaho Code 30-21-302.
The name also has to be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from other filing entities, reserved names and registered names. That rule is in section 30-21-301. Run a search before you file. Our name availability guide shows how to read the results.
If you want time to decide, you can reserve the name. The state charges $20 online or $40 on paper and holds it for 4 months. See name reservation for the general idea.
Who can be my Idaho registered agent?
You can be your own. The Secretary of State says you may serve as your own registered agent if you have an Idaho address. You can also hire a service. Either way the agent must be arranged before you file. An assumed business name cannot serve as an agent.
The filing needs a street address in Idaho. Our Idaho registered agent page goes through consent, changes and what happens if the agent is gone.
How do I file the Certificate of Organization?
Create or log in to a SOSBiz account and file the Certificate of Organization there. Have your name, your agent and your agent's Idaho street address ready first. The state also expects you to know your business structure before you start.
Timing is the part to check on the day. The state posts a processed-through date, and its pages gave two answers when we looked: about 3 to 5 days from filing, and about 7 to 10 days on the forms page. Some filings can be expedited, which the state says typically takes 8 business hours. Expedite options for paper forms are listed on page 2 of the form.
Do not promise a customer a start date until you have looked at the current processing note.
What do I do after Idaho approves the LLC?
Write an operating agreement. Idaho does not file it, so it stays in your records. Then get an EIN, which is free from the IRS, using our EIN guide, and open a business bank account.
You do not need a certificate of existence to operate. The state warns that some websites and mailings say you do and sell it at a markup. If a bank asks, order it from the Secretary of State for $10.
What does an Idaho LLC have to file every year?
An annual report, filed in SOSBiz. It is due by the last day of the anniversary month, which is the month the LLC was formed or registered. Idaho Code section 30-21-213 sets the deadline. See annual report deadlines to compare states.
Missing it has a real cost. Under section 30-21-601 the state can start administrative dissolution if the report is late. It can do the same if the LLC has no registered agent for 60 consecutive days.
An owner who lives outside Idaho can still form here, as long as the agent has an Idaho address. See LLC for non-residents.
Ready to go? Use our start-an-LLC form.
After approval, check the rules in our Idaho business license guide.