Louisiana LLC Paper Filing Instructions

Before proceeding with this lesson, make sure you have searched your LLC name and selected your LLC’s Louisiana Registered Agent. Now you’re ready to start your Louisiana LLC.

In this lesson, we will discuss filing your Articles of Organization with Louisiana via the paper filing.

When doing a paper filing, you have 3 options for sending your documents to the state: by mail, fax, or email.

In all 3 cases, the filing fee is $100 and your LLC will be approved in 3-5 business days (plus mail time).

If you need your LLC approved faster, you can pay an extra $30 for 1 business day approval.

Note: The “LLC filing fee” (the fee to create a Louisiana LLC) is the same thing as the “Articles of Organization fee”. The Articles of Organization is the document, that once approved by the Secretary of State’s office, creates your Louisiana LLC.

First we will show you how to complete your Articles of Organization (along with the Transmittal Information and Initial Report), and then we will show you how to submit them to the state.

Complete Your Louisiana Articles of Organization

Download Articles of Organization Packet (Form #365)

The above form is actually 3 pages of forms and 2 pages of instructions. You must submit all 3 forms (pages 1, 2, and 5) when sending to the state. Pages 3 and 5 are instructions.

Inside, you will find:

• Transmittal Information
• Articles of Organization
• Initial Report

Print the forms, fill them out by hand (use blue or black pen), then sign. When printing, use regular white paper (8.5″ x 11″).

Important: Forms Need to be Notarized
Louisiana law requires that your Articles of Organization and Initial Report be notarized. Along with the notary’s signature, the notary’s name must be printed (or typed) and they must also list their notary number or bar roll number. You can search notaries by zip code here, or do a google search for “find a notary near me”.

Page 1 (Transmittal Information)

Payment Method and Fee

Normal Processing: If you want your Articles of Organization to have normal processing (3-5 business days (plus mail time)), check off the “Routine” box, then check off whether you want to make payment by check/money order or by credit card.

• If paying by credit card, list your card number and expiration date.
• If paying by check or money order, send $100 and make payable to “Secretary of State”.

Expedited Processing: If you want your Articles of Organization to be processed within 1 business day, check off the “Expedite $30” box, then check off whether you want to make payment by check/money order or by credit card.

• If paying by credit card, list your card number and expiration date.
• If paying by check or money order, send $130 and make payable to “Secretary of State”.

Business Name
Enter your LLC name exactly as you would like it, including your preferred capitalization, as well as the designator “LLC” or “L.L.C.” (the abbreviation “LLC” is the most common).

You can use a comma in your Louisiana LLC name or you can leave it out. Ex: “ABC Widgets, LLC” and “ABC Widgets LLC” are both acceptable.

Person Filing
Enter your full name, address, phone number, fax (if applicable), and email address. This is the information the state will use if they have any questions about your filing. This is also the address where the documents will be returned to (unless you want them sent back via fax or email; more details about this are below).

Page 2 (Articles of Organization)

State and Parish/County
To the right of “State of” and Parish/County of”, list the state and parish/county where the notary is located (not the parish where your LLC is located).

1. Name of your LLC
Enter your LLC name exactly as you entered it on the Transmittal Information Form, including your preferred capitalization, as well as the designator “LLC” or “L.L.C.” (the abbreviation “LLC” is the most common).

You can use a comma in your Louisiana LLC name or you can leave it out. Ex: “ABC Widgets, LLC” and “ABC Widgets LLC” are both acceptable.

2. Purpose
Place an “X” inside the first parenthesis to elect “general purpose”, which means your LLC can engage in any legal business activities. Most people select this option.

Place an “X” inside the second parenthesis if you want to limit the activity of your LLC. If you check off this second option, write the exact nature of your business in a few words or short sentence.

3. Duration
In this section, you need to let the Louisiana Secretary of State know about the duration of your LLC (how long it will remain in existence).

If you prefer for your LLC to be “open-ended” with no set closure date, write “perpetual” on the line. Most people choose this option as it gives them the freedom to close their LLC at any time in the future (by filing dissolution paperwork).

If you prefer for your LLC to be automatically shut down on a specific date in the future, write “indefinite, dissolves on…” and enter that specific date.

4. Other Provisions
This is where you can add any additional rules or regulations for your LLC (if applicable). Most people leave this section blank.

Signature(s)
After you print the form, sign your name here. If you have additional people completing this form with you (known as Organizers), they can sign as well (although just 1 Organizer’s signature is required).

If you are thinking that all members need to sign here, they do not. Only the Organizer signs here. To learn more about Organizers, read these short articles: LLC Organizer vs Member and Registered Agent vs LLC Organizer.

Notary
Louisiana law requires that your Articles of Organization be notarized. Along with the notary’s signature, the notary’s name must be printed (or typed) and they must also list their notary number or bar roll number. You can search notaries by zip code here, or do a google search for “find a notary near me”.

Page 4 (Limited Liability Company Initial Report)

This form must be signed by you and your Registered Agent, then it must be notarized. If you hired a Commercial Registered Agent, please contact them for a notarized and pre-signed Initial Report.

1. Name of your LLC
Enter the name of your LLC exactly as you did on your Transmittal Information and Articles of Organization.

2. Business/Office Address
#2 can be a little confusing because the state uses the word “registered office”. Technically, a Registered Office is the address of your Registered Agent, but this is a small mistake/typo in the form. What the state really wants to know here is your where your business/LLC is physically located.

You can use any address here, so long as it is not a PO Box and the street address is located in Louisiana. You can use your home address, a friend or family member’s address, an office address, or the address of your Registered Agent (which will also be listed below in #3).

3. Registered Agent Name & Address
Enter the name of your LLC’s Registered Agent. Enter their full name if it is an individual, or enter the full company name if you hired a Commercial Registered Agent. Then enter their street address (PO Boxes are not allowed).

You can list the information “left and right” or “top and bottom”; both are acceptable.

• Related article: If you’re not sure who can be your Registered Agent in Louisiana, please refer back to this prior lesson: Louisiana LLC Registered Agent. Also explore our article about Is a Registered Agent a Member of an LLC?

4. Name & Address of LLC Members/Managers
Enter the full name and street address (PO Boxes are not allowed) of your LLC’s members/managers. If you have a single-member LLC, just list the 1 member.

Note: Although the state does not ask you to specify whether the person/people listed are members or managers, the following information is helpful to know:

Most LLCs are member-managed, where all the owners run the business and day-to-day operations. An LLC can also be manager-managed, where one, or a few designated people, run the business and day-to-day operations (while the members play more of a passive/investor role).

To learn more about member-managed LLCs vs. manager-managed LLCs, read this short article.

Signature(s)
After you print the form, sign your name here. If other Organizers signed on page 2 (the Articles of Organization), they must also sign here as well.

Registered Agent’s Affidavit and Acknowledgement of Acceptance
Your Registered Agent must sign here, accepting the role as your LLC’s Registered Agent.

Notary
Louisiana law requires that your Initial Report be notarized. Along with the notary’s signature, the notary’s name must be printed (or typed) and they must also list their notary number or bar roll number. You can search notaries by zip code here, or do a google search for “find a notary near me”.

Prepare Payment:
Review the “Payment Method and Fee” instructions above from page 1 (Transmittal Information).

You’ll either be paying with a credit card, a check, or a money order. If paying with a check or money order, make payable to “Secretary of State”.

If paying by credit card, enter your card number and expiration date on the Transmittal Information form.

Depending on the processing time you would like, you will either be submitting a payment of $100 (regular processing of 3-5 business days (plus mail time)) or $130 (expedited processing of 1 business day).

Submit your 3 Documents to the State:
You are now ready to submit your 3 documents (Transmittal Information, Articles of Organization, and Initial Report) to the Louisiana Secretary of State.

You can submit them by mail, fax, or email.

You will find instructions below for all 3 methods. Just pick whichever filing option you are most comfortable with.

Mail your 3 Documents

Mail your 3 documents (Transmittal Information, Articles of Organization, and Initial Report), and your filing fee to:

Commercial Division
P. O. Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125

When filing by mail, you can pay with a check, a money order, or by credit card.

Fax your 3 Documents

Fax your 3 documents (Transmittal Information, Articles of Organization, and Initial Report) to 225-932-5312.

When filing by fax you cannot pay with a check or money order. You need to pay by credit card.

Email your 3 Documents

Scan and email your 3 documents (Transmittal Information, Articles of Organization, and Initial Report) to documentprocessing@sos.la.gov

When filing by email you cannot pay with a check or money order. You need to pay by credit card.

Louisiana LLC Approval

Regardless of which paper filing method you choose, once the state receives your documents, they will process and approve your LLC in 3-5 business days (plus mail time) (unless you paid for expedited processing).

If you file by mail, please allow a few extra days for transit time.

If you file by fax or email, your LLC will be approved a few days faster than by mail.

Once your LLC is approved, the state will mail back 3 items: a copy of your approved Articles of Organization, an official Certificate, and a Welcome Letter. This is the default “return method”.

If you prefer for your LLC approval to be returned by fax, please hand write on the Transmittal Information Form “please return my filing by fax to…” and enter your fax number.

If you prefer for your LLC approval to be returned by email, please hand write on the Transmittal Information Form “please return my filing by email to…” and enter your email address.

Louisiana Secretary of State Contact Info

If you have any questions, you can contact the Louisiana Secretary of State at 225-925-4704, or leave them in the comment section below.

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz has been the leading expert on LLC education for the past decade. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to start an LLC that other companies weren't offering. 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.