Start a Free LLC in Louisiana

Per the Louisiana Secretary of State, as of September 2026, Louisiana charges $125 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Annual Report costs $35 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year Louisiana registered agent service, so year one costs $224.

The Secretary of State publishes no standard turnaround and processes routine filings in the order received. Expedited filing is available for $35 extra within 24 hours, or $60 extra for 2–4 hour priority processing while you wait. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in Louisiana, choose an available name, appoint a Louisiana registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the Louisiana Secretary of State for $125. 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 geauxBIZ, or by mail or fax with the Articles of Organization and the Limited Liability Company Initial Report. The Articles of Organization costs $125.

In Louisiana you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization (Form 365) with the Louisiana Secretary of State. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $125.

Yes. Expedited filing is available for $35 extra within 24 hours, or $60 extra for 2–4 hour priority processing while you wait. The Secretary of State publishes no standard turnaround and processes routine filings in the order received.

Use the Louisiana Secretary of State's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your Louisiana LLC name must include "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "L.C.". It must be distinguishable from other names on file or reserved with the Secretary of State, checked by spelling and pronunciation, and cannot imply a purpose an LLC cannot lawfully have.

Your Louisiana LLC name must include "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "L.C.". It must be distinguishable from other names on file or reserved with the Secretary of State, checked by spelling and pronunciation, and cannot imply a purpose an LLC cannot lawfully have. The rules are set by the Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 12, Chapter 22, Limited Liability Companies (R.S. 12:1301 et seq.)

Yes. You can reserve a name for $25 with Form 398; the reservation lasts 120 days and cannot be renewed. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every Louisiana LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent must have a physical Louisiana address, a P.O. box alone is not enough, and must sign a notarized affidavit accepting the appointment on your Initial Report.

Yes. An organizer, member, employee, attorney or accountant of legal age who is a Louisiana resident can serve as your LLC's registered agent if they sign the notarized affidavit accepting the appointment. 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 must have a physical Louisiana address, a P.O. box alone is not enough, and must sign a notarized affidavit accepting the appointment on your Initial Report. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in Louisiana.

File the Change of Registered Office or Agent, Louisiana Limited Liability Company (Form 983) with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The fee is $30.

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

Yes. Louisiana LLCs must file the Annual Report every year. The state fee is $35.

The Annual Report is due on or before the anniversary date of your LLC's formation every year. Your first one is due on or before the first anniversary of your LLC's formation. It is filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State.

Per the Louisiana Secretary of State, as of September 2026, the Annual Report state fee is $35. It is due on or before the anniversary date of your LLC's formation every year. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

Louisiana does not publish a separate late fee, but missing the deadline can bring a Notice of Intent to Revoke; you then have 30 days to file, or your charter is revoked and reinstatement costs significantly more than the annual report itself. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

Louisiana has no franchise or privilege tax on LLCs. The corporation franchise tax was repealed for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and it only ever applied to corporations, not LLCs.

Louisiana taxes LLC profits that pass through to members at a flat 3% individual income tax rate; an LLC that elects to be taxed as a corporation instead pays the 5.5% flat corporation income tax and files Form CIFT-620. 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 Louisiana sales tax certificate with the Department of Revenue through LaTAP; the state rate is 5%, plus parish and municipal sales taxes.

Before you hire, register for income tax withholding with the Department of Revenue and for an unemployment insurance account with the Louisiana Workforce Commission; both can be set up through geauxBIZ. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: Louisiana regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the geauxBIZ (Secretary of State, Department of Revenue and Workforce Commission joint portal).

Louisiana does not require an operating agreement, and you never file one with the state; the Secretary of State's own form covers only the minimum provisions required by law. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every Louisiana 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 Louisiana or be a U.S. citizen to form a Louisiana LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Louisiana. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. Louisiana 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.

No. Louisiana's LLC law does not provide for series LLCs.

No. Louisiana has no separate professional LLC entity or form; professional-corporation name rules apply only to corporations, not LLCs.

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

Order a Certificate of Good Standing from the Louisiana 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 Louisiana by filing the Application of Foreign Limited Liability Company for Certificate of Authority (Form 972) with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The fee is $185, and the LLC needs a Louisiana registered agent.

File the Amended Articles of Organization (listed on the fee schedule as "Amended Articles, Mergers, Dissolutions, Certificate of Correction") with the Louisiana Secretary of State for $125. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Affidavit to Dissolve Limited Liability Company (Form 368, R.S. 12:1335.1) with the Louisiana Secretary of State for $125. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Register a statewide trade name with the Secretary of State (Form 309) for $95; a separate parish-level DBA may also be required with the local Clerk of Court, with fees set by each parish. 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. Louisiana taxes LLC profits that pass through to members at a flat 3% individual income tax rate; an LLC that elects to be taxed as a corporation instead pays the 5.5% flat corporation income tax and files Form CIFT-620.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In Louisiana it costs $125 to form and the Annual Report is $35 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A Louisiana LLC costs $125 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in Louisiana. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in Louisiana for $185 and keep a Louisiana registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year Louisiana registered agent service. The state still charges its $125 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $125 state fee: Louisiana LLC formation in year one, a Louisiana 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 Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (mailing: P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125).

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.