Filing Your LLC Formation Documents

In order to form your LLC, you must file LLC formation documents and pay a filing fee to your state. LLC formation documents are the state-specific forms that officially create your LLC. These documents are often referred to as articles of organization, certificate of organization, or certificate of formation. Some states also require additional documents in order to create your LLC. Before preparing your LLC formation documents, you need to have two things completed. First, you’ll need to have chosen a name for your LLC. Your desired LLC name cannot be in use by an already existing company. You can determine your name’s availability by checking your state’s name database. Second, make sure that you’ve chosen a registered agent for your LLC, or that you’ve hired a commercial registered agent. Your LLC formation documents will contain your LLC’s name, your office address, your effective date, and your registered agent information. Many states also require additional information to be filed with your LLC formation documents. Since the LLC formation documents are state-specific, we needed to create fifty individual lessons that walk through how to file them, step by step, for each state. These video lessons are available inside the LLC formation course, and customized to the requirements of your state. Generally, there are two ways you can file your LLC formation documents with your state. You can send your LLC formation documents by mail, or you can fill out your LLC formation documents online, and submit them electronically. The state will charge a one-time fee in order to form your LLC. There are no monthly fees to form an LLC. These fees vary by state, and you can find them listed either below this video or on our website. If you send your LLC formation documents by mail, you’ll pay a state filing fee with a check or money order. If you fill out your LLC formation documents online and submit them electronically, you’ll pay your state filing fee with a debit or credit card. Once you submit your LLC formation documents, along with the filing fee, the state will review and process your documents. If there are any issues with your filing, the state will notify you and then tell you what corrections need to be made. If you file by mail, and there are no issues, on average your LLC will be approved in one to two weeks. If you filed online, and there are no issues, again, on average, your LLC will be approved in under one week. Depending on your state, you’ll receive back a stamped and approved copy of your LLC formation documents, which confirms your LLC is now a legally formed business in the state. Ongoing requirements. Once your LLC is formed, paperwork with the state is not over. As a part of the ongoing requirements for your LLC, most states require that you file an annual report or similar document, and pay a recurring fee, usually once per year. Also, you’ll be required to file state taxes every year. You can find detailed lessons on these items on our website. You may be asking, ‘Where do I get the LLC formation documents?’ You have a few options: You can pay an attorney two hundred to five hundred dollars per hour, try martindale.com or lawyers.com, you can pay a website to get the forms, like LegalZoom.com or corpnet.com, you can download them from your state’s website, there are too many links to mention here, or you can get the forms from us and fill them out with a step-by-step video. One important thing to note: Make sure that you also get an operating agreement and your federal tax ID number no matter what option you choose. These are not available on state websites. Also, if you want to download the forms from your state, the links are available on our website.