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Starting a Missouri LLC
A Missouri 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 Missouri is simple. Search your desired Missouri LLC name and designate your Missouri Registered Agent.
File your Missouri Articles of Organization and pay the state filing fee ($50 if filed online, $105 if filed by mail). This forms your LLC. If you file online, your Missouri LLC will be approved immediately. If you file by mail, approval takes 3-4 weeks (plus mail time).
Check out LLC Cost in State for more info on fees.
After your Missouri LLC is approved, complete your Missouri LLC Operating Agreement and get your LLC a Missouri EIN Number from the IRS. You should also research what Missouri Business License requirements apply to your company.
And great news: unlike most states that requirement an Annual Report to be filed (and a fee to be paid), there is no such requirement in Missouri. There are no Annual Reports for Missouri LLCs. However, make sure you’re aware of the Missouri LLC Taxes that must be paid each year.
Need to save time? Hire a company to form your LLC:
Northwest ($39 + state fee) or LegalZoom ($149 + state fee)
(check out Northwest vs LegalZoom)
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.
MISSOURI LLC GUIDE
Follow the lessons below to form your Missouri LLC.
Hello. I’ll be doing online consultancy and my customers all over us. Is creating an LLC in misssouri enough for me?
Hi Ömer, are you a non-US resident looking to save money on the LLC formation? If so, check out Ohio. It’s a bit simpler than Missouri for that purpose. Hope that helps.
Hi Matt,
I live in California and have my own small business as a real estate transaction coordinator. I am considered a sole proprietor and have a DBA.. and use an EIN. I might be moving to Missouri soon and will continue working with my California agents as well as expand in Missouri. I need to create an LLC but want it to be for both California and Missouri… and maybe other states that I expand to later on?
I’m also hoping to purchase rental properties once in Missouri by an LLC. Is there a way to open one LLC that can incorporate rentals and the TC business?
Will the EIN that I already have be used for the LLC?
Thank you for your help!
Jessica
Hi Jessica, you’re supposed to get a new EIN for the LLC after it’s approved. Because you’ll be doing business in both states, if you form an LLC in California, it would need to be registered as a foreign LLC in Missouri. And the inverse is true: if you form an LLC in Missouri, it’ll need to be registered as a foreign LLC in California. This is because you’re doing business in two states. It might be easier to think of having a Domestic LLC in Missouri and then foreign qualifying that LLC in the states where it’s doing business. Either way, your LLC will need to adhere to filing requirements and maintenance in both states (and a California LLC tax return and franchise tax).
You may want to consider not bundling up your transaction coordinating business and real estate rentals. This will “lump” all liability risk into one entity. Regarding the rentals, it’s worth considering a separate LLC (or separate LLCs) to own your rentals. If the rentals are in Missouri, then you’ll want to form a Missouri LLC. If the LLC is formed out of state, it would need to be registered as a foreign LLC in Missouri since business is being done there (based on the location of the rentals).
Hi Matt,
Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Jessica :)
Thank you so much for your reply.
About 6 years ago.
Yes please do remove the name.
(NAME REMOVED)
(NAME REMOVED)
I registered in Kansas and Missouri since the states are so close to each other and I work in both States.
Hi JT, okay, cool. You have two DBA (Doing Business As) names. We could see them both on the Missouri Secretary of State website. They aren’t on the Kansas Secretary of State website because in Kansas, DBAs are registered with the county, not the state. I’m going to assume you also have the two DBA names registered at some county in Kansas. So you have 4 DBA registrations.
Let’s pretend the two DBA names are “The Slopes KC” and “The Slopes Services”. Going forward, if you form an LLC, do you want both of those business activities under 1 LLC… or would those be 2 separate LLCs? Please read this: Can I have two businesses under one LLC?
Hello Matt,
I have an EIN number but I don’t know that I ever set up an LLC. I registered my name with the state and paid that fee. According to your steps I might have done some things backwards what I still follow your steps to set up an LLC?
Hi JT, many people do make this same mistake (think they are forming an LLC by getting an EIN from the IRS). When you say registered the name with state, can you share the name (we can remove it later if you’d like)? We can verify if it’s a DBA or a legal entity. How long ago did you get the EIN?
Hi. Thanks for all of the info you are providing. I really appreciate it.
How do I go about putting properties ive owned fir years under an Llc that was just formed this month?
Hi Alexander, you’re very welcome. You need to transfer ownership of the properties into your LLC. You can work with a title company or an attorney to facilitate the transfers. If you have financing in place, you’ll also want to speak to the bank. And insurance policies and utilities will need to be placed in the LLC’s name after the property is re-titled. Hope that helps.
Hi,
What is the advantage of opening the LLC where the property is located? I live in Kansas City. I have properties in Kansas and Missouri, but to open and maintain an LLC in Missouri is less expensive.
Kansas City is on the state line, so we can go to Kansas and Missouri in a few minutes.
Do I need to open LLCs in KS and MO? or just all in MO?
Thanks.
Hi Carlos, it’s about the laws of “transacting business”. If you form an LLC in one state, but that LLC is transacting business (collecting rents, for example), in another state, you need to register your out-of-state LLC as a foreign LLC in the state where it is transacting business. Another structure that real estate investors consider is a forming a holding company LLC. That holding company LLC can be located in any state (since it’s usually not transacting business). Then the holding company LLC owns other LLCs (child LLCs). The Child LLCs are formed in the state where they are transacting business. Hope that helps.
Wanting to form a llc in Missouri for my rental properties in Illinois, would a s corporation be the best option, thanks
Hi Richard, if your rental properties are located in Illinois, then that’s where you’re transacting business. You’ll need to either form an Illinois LLC for the properties or form a Missouri LLC and then register it as a foreign LLC in Illinois. While an LLC can be taxed as an S-Corp, it is usually not a good idea for rental properties. You’ll want to speak with an accountant regarding the details. Hope that helps.
We are considering starting / setting up an LLC in Missouri to purchase a farm with our daughter.
Does it have to generate a profit in order to have it set up as an LLC?
Hi Michael, no, your LLC doesn’t have to generate a profit.
If I file an LLC in MO just to hold property, I don’t get an EIN # because it just j holds property correct?
Hi Sandy, will the LLC have any income? Any expenses, credits or deductions it’ll take? How is your LLC taxed? How many members does the LLC have?
If I wanted to create a llc in misssouri and I’m the only employee will I still have to get a tax if? And there is no annual fee that I will have to pay for my llc in MO?
Hi Starr, why wouldn’t you want to get an EIN? While Single-Member LLCs don’t technically need one, you’d have to use your SSN on a W-9, for example. Most banks also want an EIN to open an account. While there is no Annual Report due to the Secretary of State, you may have tax filings that are due. You’ll want to speak to an accountant about that. Usually based on where you’re located and your industry.
I’d like to create a series LLC for multiple child rental LLCs in Missouri. Do you have similar lesson for “How to form a series LLCs in Missouri”? Especially, the focus is more on the operating agreement as it will be different from the current operating agreement for regular single LLC formation. For clarification, the operating agreement is an internal document to maintain within my company only and not a requirement to be submitted when filing anything with the state or the IRS, correct?
Hi Nancy, you are correct; the Operating Agreement is an internal document. There are too many variables to series LLCs and they are unestablished in many regards. Maybe in the future we’ll have more about them. We recommend speaking with a business attorney. Hope that helps.
I have a single member llc. How do I make it a multi member so I can add my wife? I am in Missouri.
Hi Dayton, since no LLC Members get listed in the Missouri Articles of Organization, you don’t have to file an Amendment with the Secretary of State. Instead, amend your Operating Agreement or create a new Operating Agreement with you and your wife. Then you can either mail a letter to the IRS notifying of the change in taxation (LLC taxed as a Sole Proprietorship is now going to be taxed as a Partnership since a new Member was added), or you can complete IRS Form 8832 and elect Partnership taxation that way. Hope that helps.
My HOA here in Missouri operates under a manager-managed LLC and lists managers as President, VP, Treasurer and Secretary. The term of our Secretary expired and a new Secretary was elected. What MO form needs to be submitted to note the name change of our Secretary?
Hi Jim, when the LLC was filed, was the state’s Articles of Organization form used? If so, Managers aren’t listed there. Instead, they’d be listed in the LLC’s Operating Agreement, so you’d just need to amend the Operating Agreement. You can also create meeting minutes and an LLC Resolution about the change of Secretary. Hope that helps.