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To form a Pennsylvania LLC, you file a Certificate of Organization with the Department of State, together with a Docketing Statement form. The fee is $125. The Department's criteria for the filing ask for a registered office, not a named agent, so the office goes right on the certificate. For lookups after you file, see our Pennsylvania business entity search guide.
Which name will Pennsylvania accept?
An LLC name must contain "company," "limited" or "limited liability company," or an abbreviation of one of those terms, or words of like import. It may not include words that imply a business corporation, such as "corporation" or "incorporated," or their abbreviations.
Names are judged on whether they are distinguishable on the Department's records. The online search is a preliminary check only. For a firm answer, you can ask for a Name Availability Certificate by email, which the Department answers in 7 to 10 days. A name can be reserved once for 120 days at a cost of $70. Our name reservation guide explains when that is worth paying for.
How do I handle the registered office?
Pennsylvania asks for a registered office address with street and number. A post office box alone is not accepted. If you have no address in the state, you may list a commercial registered office provider (CROP) instead, as long as you have a contract with it. Listing a CROP without a contract can bring civil and criminal penalties. The whole subject is covered on our Pennsylvania registered agent page.
How do I file the Certificate of Organization?
The Department's Business Guide lists what the filing must include: an available name, the correct ending, a registered office or CROP, and the name of each organizer. Each organizer has to sign. Then:
- Complete the Certificate of Organization and the Docketing Statement.
- Pay $125 by check or money order payable to the Pennsylvania Department of State, or use the online filing portal.
- Add expedited service only if you need it: same day (received before 10 a.m.) is $100, three hour is $300 and one hour is $1,000. The fees page says cards work for expedited services only.
Processing times vary and are posted on the search page for each filing type. Fees are not refundable, even for a rejected filing.
Some LLCs offer restricted professional services, such as law, medicine or public accounting. Those must be noted on the certificate and use a different subtype, with their own annual registration. Ask your licensing board before you file a standard LLC.
What happens after Pennsylvania accepts it?
Write an operating agreement. The Department does not hold one for you. Apply for an EIN with our EIN guide. Register for state taxes with the Department of Revenue, whose online registration is mentioned in the Department's guide.
What does a Pennsylvania LLC file every year?
An annual report, form DSCB:15-146. LLCs, domestic and foreign, file by September 30, while corporations file by June 30. The fee is $7 for a for-profit LLC and nothing for nonprofits. Your first report comes due the year after formation.
The Department warns that some outside services charge $100 to $200 for a filing that costs $7 and takes minutes on its own site. File directly.
A missed report is a risk to the LLC's existence. After a transition period, Pennsylvania dissolves entities six months after a missed due date. A dissolved LLC can be reinstated, but you pay the reinstatement fee and each unpaid annual report. The report data and compliance status show on the public search. See annual report deadlines for other states.
Who forms a Pennsylvania LLC from out of state?
The Business Guide's LLC criteria mention no residency test for organizers. You still need a Pennsylvania registered office or a CROP. See LLCs for non-residents, and compare New York, New Jersey and Delaware.
Ready to file? Use our start an LLC form.
After approval, check the rules in our Pennsylvania business license guide.