Montana LLC Annual Report: Fee Waived Until April 15 in 2026 and 2027

The $20 Fee Stays in the Schedule, ARM 44.5.303 Waives It

The $20 fee still sits in the Secretary of State’s fee schedule. What removes it is an administrative rule, ARM 44.5.303, which waives the fee for reports filed inside the January 1 to April 15 window of the years it names, under the fee-setting power in MCA 2-15-405.

The 2026 and 2027 years entered the rule together, and Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen announced both waivers on December 29, 2025. Nothing is published for 2028 yet.

The waiver never reaches a late report. The current fee page lists “Annual Report Prior To April 15th: WAIVED” and “Annual Report After April 15th: $35.00.” There is no separate late fee: the $35 filing fee replaces the on-time price, so in a waiver year missing the window costs $35, not a $15 difference.

Which January Opens Your LLC’s First Window

Under MCA 35-8-208(3), a new LLC skips the season of its formation year: its first report belongs to the next one, counted from the date of organization (or of authorization for an out-of-state LLC). Any LLC formed during 2026 files its first report in 2027, the last year the rule covers; an LLC formed in 2027 first files in 2028, at $20 unless the rule is extended.

The statute’s window has a start date too: the next report can’t be delivered before January 1, so an early filer waits for that date. When April 15 falls on a weekend, MCA 1-1-307 moves the last day to Monday, as in 2028 (April 17) and 2029 (April 16).

Two Ways Through biz.sosmt.gov, and the Requirements of MCA 35-8-208

The Secretary of State’s filing instructions call the report “a renewal of your registration information” and describe no paper form: it is filled in online at biz.sosmt.gov. The Business Services Division asks one question first: is the record still correct?

What it lists

The limited liability company's name and the state where it was organized, its registered agent and office, the principal office's business mailing address, and the managers' names and mailing addresses, or the members' when the members manage (MCA 35-8-208(1)).

Who signs

At least one member, or the authorized agent (35-8-208(5)).

As of when

The answers must reflect the facts on the signing date, not on January 1.

Incomplete report

The Secretary of State returns it to the LLC for correction with a notice (35-8-208(4)).

Professional LLC

A separate statement of qualification goes to each licensing board before April 15, and the board may charge for it (35-8-208(6)).

Those names are required whoever submits the filing, so a filing service can’t keep them off this report; only a change in who holds the manager or member roles changes what it shows.

The Default Calendar That Follows the Last Day

After the last day the report still goes through the same button, at $35. The status consequences come from two separate procedures, one for Montana-organized LLCs and one for out-of-state LLCs registered there.

Under MCA 35-8-914(3), a general notice published in the newspaper can start the 90 days even if no letter reaches the owners. The office’s last published example is a September 1, 2021 notice that gave defaulting LLCs 90 days to respond.

After the order, a Montana LLC may act only to close its affairs (winding up and liquidation), with its property held in trust by the members or managers (35-8-914(6)). Lawsuits can still be served on its registered agent.

What MCA 35-8-912 Asks Before a Dissolved LLC Comes Back

The application must be signed by someone who was a member or manager on the date of dissolution, within five years of that date. It states three things the Secretary of State can’t verify alone:

• the LLC’s assets have not been liquidated;
• a majority of the members authorized the application;
• a replacement name, if another business has legally taken the LLC’s name since the dissolution.

The form also needs a Department of Revenue certificate that all Title 15 taxes are paid, uploaded with the filing, unless the LLC has a single member and was never taxed as a corporation (MCA 35-8-912(2)). A refused application can go to a district court, with 30 days to petition after the denial notice is delivered (35-8-913).

"Out-of-state (foreign) entity types are not eligible to reinstate and must requalify."Montana Secretary of State, Help Center, How to Reinstate a Business

For an out-of-state LLC, requalifying means a new Certificate of Authority at $70.

A Montana LLC first files each missing year as a regular annual report at $35 from the record’s File Annual Report button, the fee schedule’s “additional fee of $35.00/year for each year of delinquent annual reports”, then pays $35 for the reinstatement form. Counted from the last report filed, as the calculator does, two missed years cost $105.