Idaho LLC Certificate of Organization

In this lesson, we will walk you through filing your Certificate of Organization with the Idaho Secretary of State.

This is the document that officially forms your Idaho LLC.

How much does it cost to get an LLC in Idaho?

The filing fee for an LLC in Idaho is $100. This is a one-time filing fee.

How much is an LLC in Idaho shows you all the LLC costs.

How long does it take to get an LLC in Idaho?

After you file online, the Secretary of State will approve your LLC in 5-7 business days.

Idaho LLC Filing Methods

If you want to file your LLC yourself, you will file it online using SOSBiz.

If you don’t want to file the paperwork yourself, you can a company to form your LLC. For more information and our recommendations, check out Best LLC Services in Idaho.

Prior LLC University® lessons

Before forming your Idaho LLC, make sure you have read the prior lessons:

• Idaho LLC name search
• Idaho LLC Registered Agent

Are you a licensed professional in Idaho?

You’ll need to form a Professional LLC (PLLC) instead of a “regular” LLC if you are licensed in a professional field (architecture, chiropractic, dentistry, engineering, landscape architecture, law, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, physical therapy, podiatry, professional geology, psychology, certified or licensed public accountancy, social work, surveying, or veterinary medicine).

The instructions are similar as below, however, once you’re on the “Forms” page, you’ll select “Certificate of Organization Professional Limited Liability Company”.

Create your SOSBiz Account

1. Go to the Idaho SOSBiz Login page and click “Create An Account”.
2. Enter your name and email and create a password.
3. You can now login to your account.

How to form your Idaho LLC online (filing your Certificate of Organization)

Get started:

1. Click “Forms” on the left.
2. Scroll down to “Domestic Limited Liability Companies”.
3. Click “Certificate of Organization Limited Liability Company”.
4. Click “File Online”.

Limited Liability Company Name

• Prior lesson: Make sure you have read the Idaho LLC name lesson before proceeding.

A previously filed reserved name will be used for this filing:

Reserving an LLC name ahead of time is not necessary. If you haven’t reserved an LLC name, select “No”.

The name of the limited liability company is:

Enter your desired LLC name exactly as you would like it, including your preferred capitalization, as well as the designator (ending).

Enter your LLC name twice.

As per section 30-21-302 of the Idaho Business Organizations Code, the allowable designators are:

• LLC (most common)
• L.L.C.
• L.C.
• Limited Company
• Limited Liability Company

Professional LLC:

If you’re forming a Professional LLC, the allowable designators are very similar. However, you must place a “P” in front of any abbreviation or the word “Professional” in front of any group of words.

For example, you can use PLLC (most common) or Professional Limited Liability Company as designators.

Comma in LLC name:

You can use a comma in your LLC name or you can leave it out. The state will accept both versions. For example, “ABC Ski Company, LLC” or “ABC Ski Company LLC”.

Entity Address

The complete street address of the principal office is:

Enter your LLC’s Principal Office address. As per section 30-21-102 (#36) of the Idaho Business Organizations Code, your Principal Office is defined as:

“Principal office means the principal executive office of an entity, whether or not the office is located in this state.”

Some notes about your Principal Office address:

• This address can be in Idaho or it can be in any state.
• This is the address where someone would come to visit the business.
• This is the address where LLC and business records are kept.
• It can be a home address.
• It can be an office address.
• It can be a friend or family member’s address.
• It can be the address of your Idaho Registered Agent (if allowed)

That said, it can’t be a private mailbox (PMB) or commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) like a UPS Store, PostalAnnex, etc.

Public record address privacy:

• All addresses listed in your Certificate of Organization will go on public record.
• That means potentially personal information (like a home address) will be available for others to see.
• Some people don’t care; others prefer their privacy.
• In our Idaho Registered Agent lesson, we recommend a company that will serve as your Registered Agent, but they’ll also let you use their address for your principal office address, your mailing address, and all other address fields in your Certificate of Organization.

The mailing address of the principal office is:

Enter the mailing address of your LLC’s principal office address:

• This may or may not be the same address as your actual principal office.
• This address can be located in Idaho or in any state.
• USPS mail must be able to be delivered here.

Registered Agent

• Prior lesson: Make sure you explored this article: Is a Registered Agent a Member of an LLC?

If you hired a Commercial Registered Agent, select “commercial” and search for the company in the list.

If you, your friend, or a family member will be your LLC’s Registered Agent, select “noncommercial or individual” and click “+ Add New Agent” to enter their contact information.

• your LLC’s Registered Agent address must be located in Idaho
• the address must be a street address in Idaho
• if your Registered Agent is an individual, this person must be located in Idaho
• you can’t use a PO Box address
• you can’t use a private mailbox (PMB) or commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA), like a UPS Store, PostalAnnex, etc.

As per the Idaho Secretary of State’s rules:

“Note: If the Secretary of State’s Office is notified and verifies that the registered agent street address listed on a filing is a UPS Store, PMB or PO Box, it may subject your business entity to being administratively dissolved/revoked.”

After you’ve entered the Registered Agent’s information, close the popup.

Click the box to confirm that the Registered Agent (whether that’s a person or a company you hired) consents to serve as the LLC’s Registered Agent in Idaho.

Governors

• Related article: Member-managed vs Manager-managed LLC

As per section 30-25-201 of the Idaho Business Organizations Code, you must enter at least 1 Governor for your LLC.

• In a Member-managed LLC, a Governor is an LLC Member.
• In a Manager-managed LLC, a Governor is an LLC Manager.

Confirm

Review the information you entered. Check for any typos. Go back to make any edits or proceed if all looks good.

Declare and Sign

• Related articles: LLC Organizer vs LLC Member and Registered Agent vs LLC Organizer

Review the terms and check the boxes to agree.

Then enter your full name and today’s date to sign as the LLC’s Organizer.

File Document

Select whether or not you want to submit your Certificate of Organization to the state online or if you prefer to print, sign, and mail it to the state.

If you’ll file by mail: Send a check or money order for $100 (payable to “Secretary of State”) and mail to:

Secretary of State
450 N 4th Street
PO Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0080

If you’ll file online: Click “File Online”. A menu will appear. Click “Pay with Credit Card”.

Payment

Enter your billing info and your credit card info to submit your LLC filing and the $100 filing fee to the state.

Congratulations! Your Idaho LLC filing has been submitted to the Secretary of State. Now you just need to wait for approval.

Idaho LLC Approval

After the Idaho Secretary of State receives your LLC filing, it will be approved in 5-7 business days.

You’ll receive an email from the state once your LLC is approved and your documents are ready to download.

Your LLC approval documents will be:

• stamped and approved Certificate of Organization
• filing receipt

Idaho Secretary of State Contact Info

If you have any questions, you can contact the Idaho Secretary of State at 208-334-2301. Their hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, Mountain Time.

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz is the leading expert on LLC education, and has been teaching for 15 years. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to start an LLC. He's cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.
 
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.