Start an Illinois LLC
Forming an LLC in Illinois is easier than you think, especially when you have help from real Illinois business experts.
Read our straightforward guide to form your LLC on your own, or hire us to do it for you. LLC formation includes local registered agent service for just $49 a year—and our price never goes up.
Our LLC Formation Service
At Illinois Registered Office, we offer more than just basic formation service. We provide you with everything you need to start, maintain, and grow your business, including:
- Local registered agent service.
- A FREE attorney-drafted operating agreement, initial resolutions, and more.
- Enrollment in Annual Report Compliance Service at no upfront cost.
- A secure online account.
- Same-day mail scans.
- FREE domain for one year.
- FREE website, email and phone service for 90 days.
- Online access to additional services such as trade name service.
- Lifetime customer support.
How to Form an Illinois LLC
To start an Illinois LLC, you need to file Articles of Organization with the Illinois Secretary of State and appoint a registered agent. We break down the steps you need to take.
1. Select a name for your LLC
2. Appoint a legal registered agent
3. File Articles of Organization
4. Create an operating agreement
5. Obtain an EIN for your Illinois LLC
6. Open a business bank account
1. Select a Name for Your LLC
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.”
2. Appoint a Legal Registered Agent
All Illinois LLCs must appoint a registered agent to accept state and legal mail on behalf of your company. Your registered agent must have a physical Illinois address and be available during regular business hours.
At Illinois Registered Office, we scan your mail to your online account same day so that you never miss a notice, no matter where you are. And we process everything in house, here in our own building. No shipping it off to third-party facilities like many national companies.
3. File Articles of Organization
Once you’ve chosen a business name and appointed a local registered agent, you can file the Illinois Articles of Organization online, in person, or by mail. Paper filings must be submitted in duplicate. The filing fee is $150 (paper) or $154 (online).
Articles of Organization Filing Options
| Filing Method | Appx. Processing Time | Filing Fee |
| Standard Paper | 30+ Days | $150 |
| Standard Online | 10 Business Days | $154 |
| Expedited In-Person | 1-2 Business Days | $256 |
You’ll need the following information on hand to fill out the Articles of Organization.
- Company Name. Make sure to include your preferred designator, like “LLC” or “L.L.C.”
- Company Address. Must be a physical address. A P.O. Box will be rejected.
- Effective Date. Typically businesses elect to have the company active immediately upon filing, but it is possible to set a future date up to 60 days.
- Registered Agent and Registered Office Information. The full legal name of the individual or commercial registered agent, and physical address in Illinois.
- Business Purpose. This may be a generic business purpose such as “any legal business dealings,” or you may refine it to your industry such as “real estate.”
- Business Duration. By default, all Illinois LLCs will be defined as “perpetual,” but if you need your business to be dissolved after a set date, you can list that date here.
- Member(s) and/or Manager Names and Addresses. Members are the owners of an LLC. Addresses do not have to be in Illinois but will be listed publicly.
- Organizer Name and Address. The Organizer is the person filing the articles. This person may be a representative of the company, or may be a hired third party. If you file your own articles, you will list yourself. If you hire us, we’ll list ourselves.
4. Create Operating Agreement
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.
5. Obtain an EIN for your Illinois LLC
Once your LLC is approved by the state, you’re ready to apply for a tax ID called an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS. We recommend waiting until your LLC is approved so that you can confidently apply knowing that you LLC’s name and formation date are accurate. Your company will need an EIN to file taxes, apply for a bank account, and handle business in general.
If you search for the EIN application online, you’ll likely get hit with ads to file an EIN costing you $100s, but that’s not how we do business. The EIN application—whether you do the fast online option, or much longer paper version—is completely free directly with the IRS. If IRS paperwork isn’t your thing, you can hire our team to file for you. We charge $50 for the online, same day filing (available for business owners with an SSN), or $200 to complete the SS4 paper application for international clients without a US Social Security Number.
6. Open a business bank account
It’s important to open a separate bank account for your LLC to keep business and personal assets separate. If you mix LLC and personal finances, a court could rule that you are “piercing the corporate veil,” and your LLC could lose its limited liability protection.
Each bank has different requirements for opening a business bank account, so call ahead to see what documents you’ll need.
The Illinois Registered Agent Difference
We’re proud to be able to offer our customers perks and services our competition can’t. With Illinois Registered Office, you can count on a stable Illinois business address. Our team does everything in-house in our Springfield office, and because we own our building, you can rest assured that your mail is being delivered to and processed in the same, secure location. Sign up today, and you’ll get:
Stability & Expertise for your LLC
Illinois Registered Office is a team of local 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 to all of our clients. 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.
Committed Compliance Support
Our small but capable team of business professionals work with Illinois businesses like yours all day, every day.
We’re here to share our years of expertise and keep your business in good standing. When you hire us to form your LLC, we give you enrollment in our Annual Report Compliance Service at no additional upfront cost. It’s our goal that none of our clients miss their annual report deadline and face the negative consequences of failing to file, such as late fees or administrative issues with the state. We send a reminder about your annual report prior to the due date and then file on your behalf ahead of the deadline ($100 + state fee). To file by yourself, just cancel the service in your online account.
Reasonable, Transparent Rates
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.
Illinois Limited Liability Company FAQs
The least expensive route possible to start an LLC in Illinois is $150. However, that is the 1 month+ processing time, DIY filing option. If you hire someone to start your LLC for you, who you hire, and the state processing method you select will all contribute to the total cost to start your LLC in Illinois. Illinois Registered Office charges $254 for standard, 10 day processing, or $356 for expedited processing.
Illinois LLCs are required to file an annual report with the IL Secretary of State each year. This report is due the month prior to the business’s anniversary month. So, if an LLC was formed on October 4th, their report would be due in September of the following year (and every year after that). If you miss the deadline, you’ll be charged a late fee and, depending on how overdue your filing is, possibly face administrative consequences.
To help prevent you from missing a report, we include enrollment in our Annual Report Compliance Service with LLC formation. The service costs nothing upfront. You’ll receive reminders about your report as the deadline nears and can choose to keep the service or cancel and file on your own. Compliance service is $100 plus the $75 state fee, charged only at the time of filing.
LLCs with default tax status are “pass through entities,” which means the business itself doesn’t pay taxes. Instead, the tax responsibility passes through to the individual members who will file individual income taxes. Some LLCs may have other taxes to consider such as sales tax, or industry specific taxes, so check the Illinois Department of Revenue business page for more information.
Illinois does allow DBAs, also called trade names. Your trade name is any a name your company uses to conduct business that is not listed on your Articles of Organization.
The process to adopt a trade name for your LLC is a little weird in Illinois. Tradename registrations are based on 5 year increments and pro-rated accordingly. You can find more information on the IL Secretary of State website, or take the easier route and hire us to obtain your trade name(s) after your LLC is formed through your online account with us. Our fee is always $125 plus the state’s filing fee. Check out the chart below for detailed pricing:
| Years Ending in… | State Fee |
| 0 or 5 | $150 |
| 1 or 6 | $120 |
| 2 or 7 | $90 |
| 3 or 8 | $60 |
| 4 or 9 | $30 |
Hire Local Illinois LLC Business Experts
Let our local registered agents form your LLC and get a FREE operating agreement, FREE domain registration for 1 year, and more.