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Forming an LLC takes three things in every state: a name the state accepts, a registered agent with an address in that state, and a filing called articles of organization or a certificate of formation. After that, most owners need an EIN from the IRS and a bank account, and the state expects a report and a fee on its own schedule.
What happens after you send the form
- We read your answers: the state, the type of company, where the owners live and what you need.
- We reply by email with the steps for your case and the state fees that apply, taken from the same official sources as our state guides.
- If you asked for help with the filing, a registered agent or the EIN, we put you in touch with a service that handles it. You only go ahead if you want to.
Before you start
- Check the name. Use the LLC name check for your state, then look at the name rules so the name carries an ending the state accepts.
- Pick the state with care. If the company will have staff, an office or customers in one state, forming there is usually simpler. Our state chooser walks you through it.
- Owners outside the US should read LLC for non-residents first. The EIN and the bank account take the longest.
What we will not do
We do not file anything in your name without your say-so, and we never ask for Social Security numbers, passport scans or bank details through this form. BusinessEntityLookup.org is an independent guide, not a state office or a law firm.
Prefer to read first? See your state's guide, for example Texas, Florida or Wyoming, and the free operating agreement template.
After the LLC exists, read business license lookup and the what is an LLC guide.