Starting an LLC in Illinois

Choose a name for your LLC that represents your company well and keeps it distinguishable from other businesses in Illinois. Ultimately, it’s at the state’s discretion on whether the name you select is “distinguishable,” so save yourself the disappointment of rejection by checking your desired name on state record before filing.

You can check the full guidelines for naming an LLC in Illinois in the State Guide for Organizing Domestic LLCs, but the main takeaways are to keep the name unique, include a designator such as “LLC,” and don’t include anything deemed “offensive to good taste.”

We recommend hiring us to file your Illinois Articles of Organization for privacy, ease and professionalism, but if you choose to file the articles yourself, we can still serve as your registered agent and definitely want you to have all the best resources. Before proceeding, check out the full state-issued instructions and downloadable guide to make sure your LLC is set up for success.

Once you’ve chosen a business name and a registered agent, you’re ready to file the Articles of Organization (or hire local experts to do so for you).

An operating agreement is an internal company document that is not submitted to the Secretary of State. While there is no legal requirement to have an operating agreement for your company, you will most likely still need one. Banks and other financial institutions typically require an operating agreement to start a business account. The operating agreement will outline details on how the business operates. Expect to include the members’ names, who owns what percentages, and who has what responsibilities.

When you hire Illinois Registered Office to start your new LLC, we automatically create a tailored operating agreement template for you that will be provided as soon as your LLC is approved by the state.

A Beneficial Ownership Information report (BOI) is a federal filing made with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Reporting LLCs must provide the following information for their beneficial owner(s) and company applicant(s):

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• Residential address
• Valid photo ID

“Beneficial owner” includes anyone with substantial control over a company, like members, managers, or anyone with at least 25% ownership. “Company applicant” is the person who filed formation papers with the state, as well as the person who ordered the filing (if this is a different person). This filing is free and will not be made public.

The BOI requirement is part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which is a wide-sweeping attempt to crackdown on financial crimes in the US. As of January 1, 2024, newly formed companies have 30 days after formation to file their BOI. Companies formed prior to 2024 have until 2025, and they do not need to provide information for a company applicant.

Illinois Registered Office is a team of local Illinois business professionals who have been specializing in Illinois small business for almost a decade.

After steady and consistent growth, we purchased our own building in Springfield to ensure address stability and options to all of our clients. Now, we never have to worry about being pushed out of a rental, which means our clients can confidently take advantage of any our business address services without worrying about unexpected changes.

National business filing and legal companies offer great brand recognition whereas you’ve probably never heard of us unless you have a savvy, small business owner friend who shared our services.

Our almost non-existing marketing keeps our budget low so we maintain modest annual rates, with full transparency on all of our costs and services. No price hikes, no surprises, and no complicated contracts—just professional, Illinois-focused services at sensible rates.