Forming a Louisiana LLC means filing two documents, not one, and most guides only mention the first as of 2026. You file the Articles of Organization and an Initial Report with the Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division, through the geauxBIZ portal. The fee is $100, you can do it yourself, and we’ll cover every step.
Filing in Louisiana: geauxBIZ, the $100 fee, and the yearly report
- Where you file: Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division, online via geauxBIZ.
- What you file: the Articles of Organization plus an Initial Report with the agent’s signed acceptance.
- Filing fee: $100 as of 2026; $30 to expedite to 24 hours, or $50 while you wait.
- After filing: a $30 annual report, due by your formation anniversary each year.
- Do it yourself?: Yes, you file directly with the state; no paid service needed.
- Who it’s for: single-member and multi-member owners who want liability protection.
- Contacts: geauxBIZ (geauxbiz.sos.la.gov); Office of the Secretary of State (Nancy Landry), Commercial Division, Baton Rouge.
How to form a Louisiana LLC on geauxBIZ: the 6 filing steps
The full path for how to start an LLC in Louisiana is short, but it includes a second document most states don’t require. To register your Louisiana LLC, you’ll name it, appoint an agent, file two documents, then get an EIN.
The core Louisiana LLC filing requirements are an available name, a Louisiana registered agent with a physical address, and the $100 fee. Each step below names the real office, form, and cost.
Step 1: Name your LLC and clear it on the state search
Your name has to include “limited liability company,” “L.L.C.,” or “L.C.,” and it can’t contain “d/b/a” or imply you’re a government agency. Run it through the official Search for Louisiana Business Filings before you commit.
Louisiana also requires the name to be distinguishable from existing records, and you can reserve it for a nonrenewable 120 days for $25. It also recognizes a low-profit L3C. Our Louisiana business name lookup walkthrough shows what’s too similar.
Step 2: Appoint a Louisiana registered agent and registered office
Every Louisiana LLC must keep a registered office and registered agent in the state. The agent can be a Louisiana resident or a qualified company. The address has to be municipal; a P.O. box alone won’t do.
You can be your own agent with a physical Louisiana address you don’t mind making public. If not, a registered-agent service is the add-on worth paying for; here’s how to pick a Louisiana registered agent.
Step 3: File the Articles of Organization and Initial Report on geauxBIZ
Louisiana requires the Initial Report alongside the Articles, which is the step that surprises people. You file the Articles of Organization with that Initial Report through the geauxBIZ portal, and the fee is $100 as of 2026. The Initial Report names your registered office and agent, plus the agent’s affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance.
Expedited handling is optional: $30 for a 24-hour turnaround, $50 while you wait. Once approved, the state issues your certificate of organization; for timing, see how long a Louisiana LLC takes to approve. Filing yourself is how you form an LLC in Louisiana for free of any markup; the $100 state fee is the only unavoidable cost.
The Initial Report is where I watch Louisiana filings stall. Online, your registered agent has to sign the acceptance electronically within seven days, and plenty of filers submit the Articles, then forget to chase that signature.
Step 4: Put a Louisiana operating agreement in place
Louisiana doesn’t make you file an operating agreement, and there’s no fee for one. It still sets out who owns and decides what, so skipping it is a mistake even solo. Keep a written copy at the registered office; our Louisiana operating agreement template covers ownership, management, and exits.
Step 5: Get your federal EIN from the IRS
Once the state approves your LLC, you can get a free Employer Identification Number from the IRS online. Multi-member LLCs need one; a single-member LLC needs it to hire, open a bank account, or elect corporate tax. Form the company first, then get your Louisiana EIN.
Step 6: Open a business bank account and register locally
With your filed Articles and EIN, open a dedicated business account; mixing personal and business money erodes your liability protection. Then check local obligations, since formation is statewide but licensing isn’t.
Want Northwest to handle the Louisiana LLC filing?
If you do not want to line up the registered agent details, registered office, Articles of Organization, and Initial Report yourself, Northwest can form your Louisiana LLC and include registered agent service in the same order.
Why a Louisiana LLC makes sense in 2026: the franchise tax repeal and a low filing fee
Louisiana repealed its corporation franchise tax for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026. A default LLC is then taxed as a pass-through for state income tax, the same as federally. There’s no newspaper publication step either, which New York, Arizona, and Nebraska force on new owners.
Married couples get a real edge here. Louisiana is a community property state, so under IRS Revenue Procedure 2002-69 a qualified spousal LLC can be treated federally as a disregarded entity or a partnership. That isn’t an automatic qualified joint venture, but most states don’t offer the choice.
For 2026, I tell Louisiana owners the old franchise tax worry is finally over. With the corporation franchise tax repealed, a default LLC carries no franchise tax at the state level.
Louisiana LLC cost: the $100 filing fee and the one yearly bill
The first thing owners ask is how much an LLC costs in Louisiana. The filing fee is $100 as of 2026, on the Secretary of State’s fee schedule, paid when you file your Articles of Organization. Online card payments add a $5 state service charge. After that, there’s just one required recurring state cost: the $30 annual report.
Everything else is optional: $30 or $50 to expedite, $25 to reserve a name, and a registered-agent service if you lack a Louisiana address. For the full picture, see our Louisiana LLC cost breakdown, or our reviews of Louisiana formation services if you’re comparing providers.
Louisiana LLC annual report and 2026 taxes: your anniversary deadline and what changed
Every Louisiana LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State, and the timing trips owners up. It’s due by the anniversary date of organization, the day your LLC was approved, not a flat statewide date. The fee is $30 on geauxBIZ; here’s how to file the Louisiana annual report.
Miss it three years running and the state can revoke your Articles of Organization, so it matters more than the small fee suggests.
Louisiana ties your annual report to your formation anniversary, not one statewide date like Florida’s May 1, which is why people forget it. I do not treat the $30 fee as the real risk. The lapse is what hurts.
On taxes, the 2026 change works in owners’ favor. Louisiana’s corporation franchise tax is repealed for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026, per the Louisiana Department of Revenue, or LDR. A default LLC is taxed for Louisiana income tax the same way it’s taxed federally, with income passing through to members.
Elect corporate taxation and Louisiana’s corporation income tax applies at 5.5% instead. The table sums up what a Louisiana LLC owes the state.
| Louisiana obligation | What it is | Cost or rate (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual report | Yearly filing with the Secretary of State via geauxBIZ | $30 |
| Corporation franchise tax | Repealed for periods on or after Jan 1, 2026 | $0 |
| Corporation income tax | Applies only if your LLC is taxed as a corporation | 5.5% |
| Default LLC income | Passes through to members’ personal returns | Members’ own rates |
Local and parish licenses, permits, and trade names for a Louisiana LLC
Louisiana LLC formation is statewide, but licensing is local, and that’s where the parish system comes in. Many businesses need an occupational license from their city or parish, and an LLC in New Orleans registers with Orleans Parish, not a generic county office. Sell taxable goods and you also register for sales tax with the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
Check your parish early; that license is separate from the state filing.
How to add a DBA (trade name) to your Louisiana LLC
Your LLC’s legal name can’t contain “d/b/a,” so operating under another brand means registering a trade name with the Secretary of State for $75. It lets your Louisiana LLC do business under a name that isn’t its registered one.
It’s a common move when one company runs several storefronts. The trade name doesn’t create a new entity; it’s just another name your LLC may use.
Where Louisiana LLC filings go wrong: the Initial Report, P.O. boxes, and the anniversary date
The mistakes that cost real time here are Louisiana-specific, not generic.
- Filing only the Articles: leaving off the Initial Report or the agent’s separate acceptance stalls the filing.
- Using a P.O. box as the registered office: Louisiana wants a municipal address; a box alone isn’t enough.
- Missing the anniversary deadline: the annual report follows your formation date; three misses can dissolve the LLC.
- Planning around a franchise tax: it’s repealed for 2026, so don’t budget for one that no longer exists.
- Putting “d/b/a” in the LLC name: a trade name is a separate filing, not part of the legal name.
Louisiana LLC questions owners actually ask
Common questions about Louisiana LLC fees, reports, and tax treatment.
How much is an LLC in Louisiana?
A Louisiana LLC costs $100 to form, paid to the Secretary of State with your Articles of Organization and Initial Report; online card payments add a $5 service charge. After that, you pay a $30 annual report each year. Optional costs include $30 or $50 to expedite, $25 to reserve a name, and a registered-agent service if you lack a Louisiana address. For a default LLC, income is taxed on a pass-through basis for Louisiana as of 2026.
Can I form an LLC in Louisiana for free?
Not entirely, and any site promising “free” is usually selling something. The $100 fee is mandatory and goes to the Secretary of State, not a middleman. You can skip a paid service by filing directly on geauxBIZ, but the $100 always applies.
How do I start an LLC in New Orleans?
You form it the same way as anywhere in Louisiana, on geauxBIZ with the state, not a city office. The New Orleans difference is local: you’ll likely need an occupational license from Orleans Parish, plus local sales tax registration. Your registered office and agent sit at a Louisiana municipal address. Form with the state first, then handle parish licensing.
Do I have to file an Initial Report with my Articles of Organization?
Yes, and it’s the Louisiana step most people overlook. The Initial Report files alongside the Articles of Organization and names your registered office and agent, with the agent’s affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance. Filing online, the agent signs that acceptance electronically within seven days; until then, the Secretary of State won’t finish your formation. Line your agent up before you start the geauxBIZ session.
How do I add a DBA to a Louisiana LLC?
A DBA, or trade name, is a separate filing from your LLC formation. Louisiana won’t let you put “d/b/a” in the legal name, so you register the trade name with the Secretary of State for $75 to use a different brand. It’s handy when one LLC runs several storefronts; the trade name doesn’t create a new company, it just lets your LLC use another name.
Does Louisiana have an LLC annual fee or franchise tax?
There’s a $30 annual report fee due by your formation anniversary, and that’s the main recurring state cost. The corporation franchise tax is repealed for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026, so a default LLC is taxed on a pass-through basis for Louisiana income tax. Elect corporate taxation and the 5.5% corporation income tax applies instead. For most small owners, the $30 report is the only Louisiana-specific bill.
Can someone who lives out of state form a Louisiana LLC?
Yes. Louisiana lets any person capable of contracting form an LLC, with no member-residency rule in the formation statute. The catch is you still need a Louisiana registered agent with a physical in-state address. Forming here also doesn’t excuse you from registering where you actually operate, usually with a certificate of authority there.
- IRS: single-member limited liability companies
- Louisiana geauxBIZ business filing portal
- Louisiana Secretary of State: forms and fee schedule
- Louisiana Secretary of State: LLC filing instructions
- Search for Louisiana Business Filings
- Louisiana Department of Revenue: corporation income and franchise tax
- Louisiana Department of Revenue: how LLCs are taxed
Looking for an overview? See Louisiana LLC Services
Form your Louisiana LLC with Bizee
Bizee helps you prepare and file your Louisiana LLC paperwork, so you can move through the geauxBIZ process with less guesswork and start your business on the right foot.
