Start a Free LLC in Illinois

Per the Illinois Secretary of State, as of September 2026, Illinois charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Annual Report costs $75 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year Illinois registered agent service, so year one costs $249.

Standard review takes about 10 business days. Expedited filing is available available within 24 business hours for an additional fee calculated at checkout online. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in Illinois, choose an available name, appoint an Illinois registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the Illinois Secretary of State for $150. Then sign an operating agreement, get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account and register for any state taxes. LLC Register files it for you as part of the $99-a-year registered agent service.

Yes. You can file online through the Secretary of State's LLC filing system, or by mailing a paper form to the Department of Business Services. The Articles of Organization costs $150.

In Illinois you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-5.5) with the Illinois Secretary of State. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $150.

Yes. Expedited filing is available available within 24 business hours for an additional fee calculated at checkout online. Standard review takes about 10 business days.

Use the Illinois Secretary of State's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your Illinois LLC name must contain "Limited Liability Company" or an abbreviation such as "LLC" or "L.L.C.", and cannot contain words like "Corporation," "Incorporated" or "Limited Partnership" that suggest a different entity type.

Your Illinois LLC name must contain "Limited Liability Company" or an abbreviation such as "LLC" or "L.L.C.", and cannot contain words like "Corporation," "Incorporated" or "Limited Partnership" that suggest a different entity type. The rules are set by the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act, 805 ILCS 180.

Yes. You can reserve a name for $25 with an Application to Reserve a Name; the reservation lasts 90 days. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every Illinois LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent needs a physical Illinois street address, a P.O. box alone is not accepted, and can be an individual or an authorized business entity.

Yes. A member or manager can serve as the LLC's registered agent using an Illinois business address. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Your registered agent needs a physical Illinois street address, a P.O. box alone is not accepted, and can be an individual or an authorized business entity. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in Illinois.

File the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office (Form LLC-1.36/1.37) with the Illinois Secretary of State. The fee is $25.

Serving as your own Illinois registered agent is free if you qualify. Commercial registered agents charge a yearly fee. LLC Register's Illinois registered agent service is $99 a year and includes LLC formation and annual report filing.

Yes. Illinois LLCs must file the Annual Report every year. The state fee is $75.

The Annual Report is due before the first day of your LLC's anniversary month every year. Your first one is due before the first day of your LLC's anniversary month in the year after formation. It is filed with the Illinois Secretary of State.

Per the Illinois Secretary of State, as of September 2026, the Annual Report state fee is $75. It is due before the first day of your LLC's anniversary month every year. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

A report filed more than 60 days after its due date adds a $100 late penalty, and the state can eventually dissolve your LLC administratively. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

Illinois has no separate franchise tax, but a multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership pays a 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax on its Illinois net income, on top of members' individual income tax.

Illinois taxes individual income at a flat 4.95% rate, so a default pass-through LLC's profits are taxed once on the members' Illinois returns. A multi-member LLC also owes the 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax, and an LLC taxed as a C corporation instead pays the 7% corporate income tax plus a 2.5% replacement tax. Federally, a single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship and a multi-member LLC like a partnership, unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation.

If you sell taxable goods or services, register for a Certificate of Registration with the Illinois Department of Revenue through MyTax Illinois.

Before you hire, register with the Illinois Department of Employment Security for unemployment insurance, and with the Department of Revenue for income tax withholding. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: Illinois regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.

Illinois does not require an operating agreement, and you never file one with the state. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every Illinois LLC it forms.

You need an EIN if your LLC has employees or more than one member, and most banks ask for one to open a business account. A single-member LLC without employees can use the owner's Social Security number for federal taxes, but an EIN keeps it off business paperwork.

Apply for free on the IRS website once the state has approved your LLC; online applicants receive the EIN immediately. Owners without a Social Security number can apply with Form SS-4 by fax or mail.

Yes. You do not have to live in Illinois or be a U.S. citizen to form an Illinois LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Illinois. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. Illinois allows an LLC with a single owner. By default the IRS taxes a single-member LLC like a sole proprietorship, reported on the owner's personal return.

Yes. Illinois allows series LLCs: the initial Articles of Organization cost $400, and each additional series is registered with a $50 Certificate of Designation.

Yes. Licensed professionals form a professional LLC under Illinois's Professional Limited Liability Company Act (805 ILCS 185) rather than the standard LLC Act.

No. Illinois does not require newspaper publication to form an LLC.

Order a Certificate of Good Standing from the Illinois Secretary of State for $25. Banks, lenders and other states often ask for one as proof your LLC is current with the state.

An LLC formed in another state registers to do business in Illinois by filing the Application for Admission to Transact Business (Form LLC-45.5) with the Illinois Secretary of State. The fee is $150, and the LLC needs an Illinois registered agent. A foreign series LLC registers with a separate $400 application instead of the standard $150 foreign LLC fee.

File the Articles of Amendment (Form LLC-5.25) with the Illinois Secretary of State for $50. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Statement of Termination (Form LLC-35.15) with the Illinois Secretary of State for $5. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

File an Application to Adopt an Assumed Name with the Illinois Secretary of State; the fee is prorated on a 5-year calendar cycle and runs from about $30 to $150 depending on the year you file. A DBA lets your LLC trade under another name without forming a new company.

Yes. An eligible LLC can elect S corporation tax status by filing IRS Form 2553. The election can reduce self-employment tax once profits are high enough to pay yourself a reasonable salary. Illinois taxes individual income at a flat 4.95% rate, so a default pass-through LLC's profits are taxed once on the members' Illinois returns. A multi-member LLC also owes the 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax, and an LLC taxed as a C corporation instead pays the 7% corporate income tax plus a 2.5% replacement tax.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In Illinois it costs $150 to form and the Annual Report is $75 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. An Illinois LLC costs $150 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in Illinois. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in Illinois for $150 and keep an Illinois registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year Illinois registered agent service. The state still charges its $150 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $150 state fee: Illinois LLC formation in year one, an Illinois registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Annual Report every year. Renewal is $99 a year. State fees are passed through at cost.

No. FinCEN has exempted companies created in the United States from beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. Only foreign companies registered to do business in a U.S. state still have to report.

The Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Limited Liability Division, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at 501 S. Second St., Rm. 351, Springfield, IL 62756.

Yes, you should. Mixing business and personal money can weaken the liability protection your LLC gives you. Banks usually ask for your filed Articles of Organization, your EIN and your operating agreement.