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Indiana forms an LLC through Articles of Organization, filed with the Secretary of State. The statutory fee is $75 electronically and $100 on paper (IC 23-0.5-9-19). Online filings run through INBiz, and the state adds a $20 enhanced access fee to online LLC articles. That makes the online total $95, so the paper route is not the cheaper one. Our Indiana business guide covers the record search.
What must the Indiana articles say?
Indiana law is short on this. The articles must give the LLC's name, and the street address of its registered office in Indiana along with the registered agent's name. They must also state either a dissolution date or that the LLC is perpetual. If the LLC will have managers, the articles say so. Other agreed matters can go in as well (IC 23-18-2-4).
One person is enough. The statute says that person does not need to be a member at formation or afterward.
How do I pick a name Indiana will accept?
Use limited liability company, L.L.C. or LLC. The name must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of State under IC 23-0.5-3-1.
INBiz explains what does not make a name different. Punctuation, capital letters, plurals and articles do not count. The word and and the ampersand are treated as the same. Search the singular form with partial word search, and try both versions of any name with an ampersand.
The state calls the name check preliminary only. A reservation settles it for a while: the electronic application is $10 and the reservation lasts 120 days, renewable. See name reservation.
Who is my registered agent?
Indiana requires one for every LLC. The agent can be an individual or an entity such as a domestic filing entity. The details, including the fee-free change form, are on our Indiana registered agent page.
How do I file on INBiz?
Set up your name, agent address and whether the LLC has managers. Then file the articles on INBiz and pay by the online route. The state's pages we read do not publish a processing time for formation, so plan around the confirmation you receive rather than a promised number of days.
Prefer paper? The fee is $100. The $20 access fee applies to online articles, which is why the two totals sit so close together.
What comes after the articles are accepted?
Make an operating agreement and keep it with the LLC's papers. Indiana does not require you to file it. Get a free EIN through our EIN guide, then open the bank account.
What will the first two years cost?
Online, you pay $95 to file the articles. The first Business Entity Report is due two years after formation and costs $32 on INBiz, so the state charges add up to $127 over that stretch. Paper filers pay $100 and then $50, which is $150. A name reservation adds $10.
If a bank wants a Certificate of Existence, the statutory fee is $15 online and INBiz adds an $11 access fee. The certificate is emailed within minutes, and certified copies of filed documents are free on INBiz.
What does an Indiana LLC file every two years?
Indiana skips the annual report. The Business Entity Report is biennial. It costs $32 on INBiz or $50 by paper for a for-profit business, and it is due every other year by the end of the formation month. The first is due two years after formation.
INBiz sends email reminders 90 and 30 days before the due date. The date is also shown on the Business Details page.
There is no late fee. That sounds friendly, but the state dissolves a domestic entity that does not file, or revokes a foreign one. Reinstatement needs tax clearance from the Department of Revenue first. See annual report deadlines for how Indiana compares.
Ready to form? Use our start-an-LLC form.
After approval, check the rules in our Indiana business license guide.