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Starting a Minnesota LLC
A Minnesota Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a legal structure used to protect your personal assets (home, car, bank account) in the event your business is sued.
An LLC can be used to operate a business, or an LLC can be used to hold assets (such as real estate, vehicles, boats, or aircraft).
Forming an LLC in Minnesota is simple. Search your Minnesota LLC name in the state database and select your Minnesota Registered Agent.
File your Minnesota Articles of Organization with the Minnesota Secretary of State and wait for your LLC to be approved.
You can file your LLC by mail or you can file it online. If you file by mail, the fee is $135 and the approval time is 11-12 business days (plus mail time). If you file online, the fee is $155 and your LLC will be approved immediately.
Note: Filing times may take longer due to the current global situation and government delays. Please see how long does it take to get an LLC in Minnesota.
Check out LLC Cost in Minnesota for more info about the fees you’ll pay.
After your Minnesota LLC is approved, complete your Minnesota LLC Operating Agreement and get your Minnesota EIN Number (aka Federal Tax ID Number) from the IRS.
In order to keep your Minnesota LLC in compliance, you need to file a Minnesota LLC Annual Renewal each year. The Annual Renewal fee is $0 (it’s free to file). And you’ll ned to make sure your company files any Minnesota LLC Taxes each year as well.
Need to save time? Hire a company to form your LLC:
Northwest ($39 + state fee) or LegalZoom ($149 + state fee)
(We recommend Northwest. We've reviewed all the top companies in the industry. And Northwest is our #1 pick for prices, customer support, and address privacy. Check out Northwest vs LegalZoom to learn more.)
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.
MINNESOTA LLC GUIDE
Follow the lessons below to form your Minnesota LLC.
Hi Matt, My son started a restaurant in November 2017 in Minnesota. He is listed as the member on the LLC. He and his grandmother are listed as organizers on the LLC. Now his grandmother is attempting to sue him for control of the restaurant because she borrowed him some money initially for start up costs. We can’t find a copy of the articles of the corporation. Does grandma have a legal right to this business? Thank You, Rita
Hi Rita, this is certainly a conversation to be had with an attorney. If his grandmother is only the LLC Organizer and not an LLC Member, then she doesn’t own the company. However, oral contracts are enforceable in Minnesota, so it all depends on what the agreement was between your son and his grandmother regarding the money. Was it just a personal loan or was it consideration to become an LLC Member. Hope that helps.
Hi Matt,
I’m a foreigner (Tunisia ) and I plan to start an online business ans sell to the US marketplace. Based on my research, I found the best way is to setup an LLC in the USA. I have never been to the USA but I have a 10 years tourism visa. Can you advise me if I’m doing the right thing or not. I have a family member in Minnesota. Should I setup my LLC there?!. Thank you.
Hey Faouez, as a foreigner, you can pick any state you’d like. No need to visit the US to form your LLC. You can file everything online. Also, if your family member wants to be your LLC’s Registered Agent in Minnesota, that can save you some money. Regardless of what state you chose, after your LLC is approved, you can get an EIN from the IRS (see how to get EIN without SSN) and then open a US bank account. We have information on banking here: foreigner opening LLC bank account in USA. Hope that helps.
Hi Matt,
My husband want to start a handy man construction business himself. As for now it’s only him in the business so how does he go about to start it up? Does he need to get tax license 1st and then the LLC? Help!!!
Thank you
Sue
Hi Sue, it would be LLC first and then any applicable licenses/permits. This way, the licenses/permits are registered in the name of the LLC and not in your husband’s name. Hope that helps.
I need to know if I create an online business does it matter what state I use for a local. I need a state that is inexpensive to form an llc an to maintain the yearly state or federal fees. What would you recommend?
Hello Matt,
You have already been very helpful. I was in the process of purchasing a building when I came across the video about putting business property in the name of the LLC instead of me personally. I quickly created a separate LLC for the property and had everything changed BEFORE the purchase was finalized. THANK YOU! Quick question, I am setting up an LLC in Minnesota. This LLC will likely have partners, but it will take a few months to establish the business and obtain partner commitments. I am required to set up the LLC now, but I do not have full commitment from the partners. Can I set the LLC up in my name now and add the partners later?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Todd
Hi Mark,
Your site and mission are wonderful: organized and direct! Thank you!!
I also love that we can all interact state-specific in these comments.
My Question:
I want to start an LLC that will be an online-based business from my home. I want to protect my home address for privacy and security. I saw on the Business Record Details, that anyone can look up, that addresses are visible. Can you advise me?
Thank you so much.
I was hoping not to use a Registered Agent – it looks like I’ll need to.
Will that one move solve the disclosing my home address issue?
Thanks again.
Hey Julie! Thanks for the kind words :) And great question. In this case, you’ll want to hire a Registered Agent that will not only serve as your Minnesota LLC’s Registered Agent, but will also let you use their office address throughout your Articles of Organization, such as the Organizer’s address and the Mailing Address. The Registered Agent we recommend for that is Northwest Registered Agent. They’ll serve as your agent and let you use their address for privacy. Any mail that is sent to your LLC, will then be scanned by them and uploaded to your online dashboard. You’ll get access to your online dashboard right after signing up with them. Hope that helps! Let me know if you need anything else.
This is very helpful!
Thank you for your great service!!
You’re very welcome Julie :)
I have a registered LLC in the State of Minnesota. Legal Zoom was and is my registered agent…but their fees are outrageous and I would like to act as my own registered agent as I reside I Minnesota and business address is in Minnesota as well and thus have a place and number where any follow up can be addressed.
How do I make this happen?
Thank You
Hi Mark, you can file a Change of Registered Office/Registered Agent with the Minnesota Secretary of State. The fee is $35 (one-time fee). Hope that helps.
My understanding is that the IRS will consider an LLC wholly owned by a husband and wife, filing joint tax returns, as a disregarded entity for tax purpose. Does MN do the same or does it consider the husband/wife owned LLC to be a multi-member LLC, taxed as a partnership or corporation? Thank you.
Hi Kate, because Minnesota is not a community property state, a Multi-Member LLC will be taxed as a Partnership by default by the IRS (unless a C-Corp or S-Corp election is made). We have more info here: husband and wife qualified joint venture LLC.
I live in MN but have a few rental properties in WI.
Can I have a MN LLC and put the WI properties in the MN LLC.
Hi Mike, you’re doing business in Wisconsin, so you’ll either need to form the LLC in Wisconsin or form the LLC in Minnesota and then register your Minnesota LLC as a Foreign LLC in Wisconsin. Alternatively, you could form the LLC in Wisconsin, but instead of it being owned by you, the Wisconsin LLC could be owned by a Minnesota LLC or a Wyoming LLC, which is popular among real estate investors looking for better asset protection (namely, charging order protection). Hope that helps.
So if I want to set each of my rentals with there own LLC and I have three properties. I would need 6 llc total. 3 in Wisconsin and 3 in mn claiming the Wisconsin llc’s? Thank you for your time.
Hey Mike, you could have them each owned by a separate Minnesota LLC, although it’s more common to have them all owned by 1 parent LLC. In this case, that’d be your parent LLC in Minnesota. So, here’s how that looks. You form the Parent LLC first in Minnesota, which is owned by you. Then you form the Child Wisconsin LLCs. Now many states have a field for Member’s info in the Articles of Organization, but Wisconsin does not. They don’t disclose who LLC Members (owners) are. To make your paper trail better, you can list the LLC Organizer as your Minnesota LLC and then you’d be signing on behalf of the Minnesota LLC. Alternatively, you could personally organize the Wisconsin LLC then sign a Statement of LLC Organizer appointing the Minnesota LLC as Member. And of course the Minnesota LLC would be listed as the Member in the Wisconsin LLC’s Operating Agreement. Hope that helps.