How to Start an LLC in Louisiana
For $99 a year, get a Louisiana agent with a registered address on file, same-day scanning of legal documents, and compliance reminders before state deadlines.
Getting a Louisiana LLC up and running involves one main paperwork moment, a continuing agent requirement, and predictable annual housekeeping. The state filing runs $100, processing typically takes several business days, and the cost picture afterward depends on the annual report and your agent plan. What's next: the whole sequence, the dollar amounts in detail, and where we come in.
Get Your Louisiana LLC — $199
$199 gets you a complete preparation service through Louisiana Secretary of State. Approval timelines run about several business days.
What an LLC Does for You in Louisiana
A limited-liability company is a flexible business form that limits owner liability while keeping tax filing relatively simple. Louisiana small operators favor the LLC structure because it provides real liability protection without the paperwork demands of a corporation.
What It Costs in Louisiana
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Our LLC formation service | $199 one-time |
| State filing fee (Louisiana Secretary of State) | $100 one-time |
| Registered agent (required for every Louisiana LLC) | $99/year |
| State annual report fee | $35/year |
Our part is $199 for the filing service. The state fee goes to Louisiana Secretary of State directly. Agent plan is its own line at $99/year.
Important Louisiana-specific notes: annual filing: $30 online, $35 by mail. Initial report filed with Articles document document at no additional fee. Due by anniversary date each year.
How Louisiana LLC Formation Works
1. Name Your Louisiana LLC
In Louisiana, the entity name must signal LLC status with an approved designator and must be distinguishable from any other registered entity. Pull up Louisiana Secretary of State's entity search and confirm your name is open before you file anything.
Restricted name terms include the obvious ones — 'bank,' 'insurance,' 'trust,' 'agency' (when implying government). If you're not licensed in those areas, leave them out.
2. Line Up Your Registered Agent
Louisiana's formation statute requires an agent in place from day one. The agent must have a physical street address in Louisiana and must be available throughout normal business hours. Louisiana Secretary of State records the agent's name and address in its public entity database — these details aren't private.
$99 per year covers our agent plan in Louisiana. Our information appears on the public record so yours doesn't have to.
3. Submit the Articles to Louisiana Secretary of State
This is where the LLC becomes a legal entity: deliver the Articles to Louisiana Secretary of State paying $100 at submission. Form fields include the company name, the principal place of business, the agent's details (name and address), whether members or managers run the LLC, and the people serving as organizers.
Use the Louisiana business filings portal for Online submissions. Mail submissions to Louisiana Secretary of State take longer to process.
State processing runs roughly several business days. Faster processing can shorten that further for a surcharge.
4. Draft an Operating Agreement
Louisiana treats operating agreements as internal documents — not filed, not reviewed by the state, but indispensable for actually running the business. It sets ownership percentages, decides how profits flow, defines who can make decisions, and specifies the exit process for members. When there's no agreement, Louisiana applies its standard LLC defaults — those may or may not align with what you and your members want.
5. Pull an EIN from the IRS
An Employer Identification Number is the LLC's federal-level tax identifier. Banks ask for it before opening a business account, payroll providers require it, and federal tax returns include it. Use the IRS website to apply. Expect about ten minutes online, and your EIN issues at the end.
Avoid paying an outside service for the EIN: the free IRS application takes about ten minutes.
6. Maintain Compliance Going Forward
Keeping the entity in active status involves a short list of recurring tasks:
- Preserve a current designated agent with a Louisiana address in the state's records every day the LLC exists
- Send in the annual report on Louisiana's yearly schedule
- Adhere to a thorough split between the LLC's accounts and your personal accounts (separate banking and separate ledgers)
- Stay current with the federal and state tax returns by their deadlines
Slip on any of those and Louisiana Secretary of State can administratively dissolve the LLC. Once that happens, the liability protection is gone until you bring everything current.
Done filing things yourself? $199 hands the Louisiana filing to our team.
Registered Agents in Louisiana
All Louisiana LLCs must maintain a designated agent. It's a statutory requirement, not a recommendation. Agent requirements include:
- Hold an actual Louisiana location with a street address (PO box-only setups don't work)
- Be reachable during normal weekday business hours to receive legal mail
- Relay state mail and lawsuits fast enough to preserve the LLC's response time
Self-listing as agent means the address goes on the searchable state record. Everyone with access to Louisiana Secretary of State's public entity database can see it.
Our Louisiana office handles this for $99 a year. We handle the public-facing agent role and your address stays off the record.
Questions People Ask
How much does it cost to form an LLC in Louisiana?
The state's filing fee is $100. That's an average-range filing fee compared to other states. Plan for $35/year on the annual report after that.
How long does it take to form an LLC in Louisiana?
Louisiana Secretary of State usually processes formations within several business days.
Does Louisiana require an annual report?
Yes, annually. The fee is $35/year.
Do I need a registered agent for my Louisiana LLC?
Yes. Louisiana LLCs must maintain a designated agent at a Louisiana physical address without any gap from formation forward.
Can I form an LLC in Louisiana if I live in another state?
Yes. Louisiana does not mandate LLC owners to be residents. — and the one in-state requirement is the agent. The $99/year agent product takes care of that.
Start Your Louisiana LLC the Right Way
Anyone can file directly with Louisiana Secretary of State by submitting through the Louisiana business filings portal. $100 goes to the state at filing, the designated agent rule still applies.
Our agent service can be listed on your formation paperwork from day one. For $99 per year, you get our Louisiana address on file, same-day scanning of anything that arrives, and filing reminders ahead of time.
Launch Your Louisiana LLC — $199
Looking for the designated agent on its own? The registered agent option is $99 annually on its own.
Got other questions about Louisiana LLCs or the registered agent piece? See the FAQ or contact us within the normal workday.
Ready to get started?
The yearly fee handles your agent needs — registered address, document scans, and deadline tracking.