Start a Free LLC in Kansas

Per the Kansas Secretary of State, as of September 2026, Kansas charges $85 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Information Report (Form ILC) costs $90 every two years. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year Kansas registered agent service, so year one costs $184.

Online filings are processed within minutes. The Secretary of State publishes no turnaround time for mailed paper filings. Kansas does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in Kansas, choose an available name, appoint a Kansas registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the Kansas Secretary of State for $85. 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 Kansas Secretary of State's Business Filing Center, or by mail with the paper Articles of Organization (Form DL). The Articles of Organization costs $85.

In Kansas you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization (Form DL) with the Kansas Secretary of State. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $85.

No. Kansas does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. Online filings are processed within minutes. The Secretary of State publishes no turnaround time for mailed paper filings.

Use the Kansas Secretary of State's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your Kansas LLC name must include a word or abbreviation of formation: "limited liability company," "limited company," "LLC," "LC," "L.L.C." or "L.C." It must be distinguishable from other names on file with the Secretary of State, though you can still use a name that is in use if the existing business consents in writing.

Your Kansas LLC name must include a word or abbreviation of formation: "limited liability company," "limited company," "LLC," "LC," "L.L.C." or "L.C." It must be distinguishable from other names on file with the Secretary of State, though you can still use a name that is in use if the existing business consents in writing. The rules are set by the Kansas Revised Limited Liability Company Act, K.S.A. 17-7663 et seq. (Chapter 17, Article 76).

Yes. You can reserve a name for $35 with Form NR; the reservation lasts 120 days and cannot be renewed. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every Kansas LLC must have a registered agent. Kansas calls this a resident agent. It can be an individual, a business already registered in Kansas, or the LLC itself, but it must keep a Kansas street address, a rural route or highway is fine, a PO box is not, where it is regularly present to accept legal papers.

Yes. A member or manager can serve as the LLC's resident agent as long as they keep a Kansas street address and are regularly present there to accept legal documents. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Kansas calls this a resident agent. It can be an individual, a business already registered in Kansas, or the LLC itself, but it must keep a Kansas street address, a rural route or highway is fine, a PO box is not, where it is regularly present to accept legal papers. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in Kansas.

File the ROA - Certificate of Amendment, Change of Resident Agent and/or Registered Office with the Kansas Secretary of State. The fee is $30.

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

Yes. Kansas LLCs must file the Information Report (Form ILC) every two years. The state fee is $90.

The Information Report (Form ILC) is due by April 15 every other year, odd-numbered years for LLCs formed in an odd year, even-numbered years for LLCs formed in an even year. Your first one is due by April 15 of the next year that matches your formation year's odd/even parity. It is filed with the Kansas Secretary of State.

Per the Kansas Secretary of State, as of September 2026, the Information Report (Form ILC) state fee is $90. It is due by April 15 every other year, odd-numbered years for LLCs formed in an odd year, even-numbered years for LLCs formed in an even year. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

The LLC gets a three-month grace period after April 15. After that it forfeits its registration and cannot file anything else until it submits every past-due Information Report, pays a $35 reinstatement fee plus an $85 penalty fee, and is reinstated. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

Kansas has no franchise tax on LLCs. The state's franchise tax on business entities expired for tax years starting after December 31, 2010.

Kansas taxes an LLC the same way the IRS does, so profits pass through by default to the members' Kansas income tax returns. An LLC taxed as a partnership or S corporation can instead elect to pay Kansas's 5.7% entity-level tax under the SALT Parity Act. 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 Retailers' Sales Tax account with the Kansas Department of Revenue using the Business Tax Application (Form CR-16); there is no fee to register.

Before you hire, register with the Kansas Department of Labor for an unemployment insurance account and with the Kansas Department of Revenue for withholding tax through the Form CR-16 process. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: Kansas regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the Kansas Business One Stop.

Kansas does not require an operating agreement, and you never file one with the state. Kansas law recognizes written, oral and implied agreements, even for a single-member LLC. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every Kansas 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 Kansas or be a U.S. citizen to form a Kansas LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Kansas. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. Kansas 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. Kansas allows series LLCs under K.S.A. 17-76,143, formed with Form LAO and a Certificate of Designation (Form LCD) for each series.

Yes. Licensed professionals can form a professional LLC by filing Form PDL as their Articles of Organization.

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

Order a Certificate of Good Standing from the Kansas Secretary of State for $15. 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 Kansas by filing the Foreign Application (Form FA) with the Kansas Secretary of State. The fee is $115, and the LLC needs a Kansas registered agent.

File the Certificate of Amendment (Form BEA) with the Kansas Secretary of State for $35. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Certificate of Cancellation (Form KC) with the Kansas Secretary of State for $30. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Kansas has no statewide DBA or trade-name registry; the Secretary of State does not register assumed, fictitious or trade names, so check your county or city for any local requirement. 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. Kansas taxes an LLC the same way the IRS does, so profits pass through by default to the members' Kansas income tax returns. An LLC taxed as a partnership or S corporation can instead elect to pay Kansas's 5.7% entity-level tax under the SALT Parity Act.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In Kansas it costs $85 to form and the Information Report (Form ILC) is $90 every two years.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A Kansas LLC costs $85 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in Kansas. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in Kansas for $115 and keep a Kansas registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year Kansas registered agent service. The state still charges its $85 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $85 state fee: Kansas LLC formation in year one, a Kansas registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Information Report (Form ILC) 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 Kansas Secretary of State, Business Services Division, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at Docking State Office Building, 915 SW Harrison Street, Topeka, KS 66612.

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.