Start a Louisiana LLC: Step-by-Step

Your LLC name has to be distinguishable from every other business name already on record with the Louisiana Secretary of State. "Distinguishable" is a legal test, not just a gut check: two names that differ only by punctuation, spacing, or a filler word like "the" may not be treated as different. The state reviews all entities on file, not only LLCs but corporations, partnerships, and reserved names too.

Start with the Louisiana commercial name search. Run your proposed name and a few close variations. If something is already too similar, the state may reject your Articles, which costs you time and pushes back your formation date.

Louisiana naming rules

• Under R.S. 12:1306, the name must contain "limited liability company," "L.L.C.," or "L.C."
• It must be distinguishable from other names on the Secretary of State's records, and it can't include "doing business as" or "d/b/a."
• It cannot imply that the company is a state agency.
• "Bank," "trust," "credit union," and similar words need approval from the Office of Financial Institutions; "insurance" is limited to agencies and brokers; and names using "engineer," "engineering," "surveyor," or "architect" require notice to the relevant licensing board.
• A revoked company's name stays unavailable for three years after revocation.

Reserving a name

If you've settled on a name but aren't ready to file, you can reserve it with the Secretary of State for $25. The reservation lasts 120 days and can't be renewed. Reservation doesn't create the LLC. It just holds the name while you handle everything else, and if you reserve on geauxBIZ and later convert the reservation into your new business registration, the state applies the $25 you paid toward the filing.

Trade names (DBAs)

If you plan to operate under a name that isn't your LLC's legal name, you register a trade name separately. In Louisiana a trade name registration runs for a ten-year term and can involve both the state and the parish Clerk of Court depending on your situation. It's a distinct filing from forming the LLC.

Before you file, you need a registered agent decided and willing to serve, because the agent is named in the Initial Report and has to sign a notarized affidavit accepting the appointment.

Louisiana requires every LLC to maintain at least one registered agent at a registered office, a Louisiana municipal address (not just a P.O. box), for the entire life of the company. R.S. 12:1308 treats that registered office as the LLC's domicile for all purposes. The registered agent is who receives lawsuits, subpoenas, regulatory actions, and official Secretary of State mail on the LLC's behalf.

Who can serve

• You: If you're a Louisiana citizen who lives in the state, you can be your own agent. Your address then appears in the public record.
• Another resident: Any Louisiana citizen who resides in the state, such as a business partner or an employee.
• A law firm: A partnership or professional law corporation authorized to practice law in Louisiana.
• A company: A domestic or foreign corporation or LLC authorized to do business in Louisiana, provided it has a certificate on file with the Secretary of State naming at least two individuals at its Louisiana address. Commercial registered agent services serve this way, putting a professional address on the public record instead of yours and forwarding documents to you promptly.

Why the choice matters

Whatever address you list becomes searchable in Louisiana's public business records; the Secretary of State notes that an agent's name and address are publicly available. If you use your home, anyone looking up the LLC can find it. Owners who work from home, travel often, or keep irregular hours frequently choose a commercial service so papers have a dependable place to land and their personal address stays private.

This is the step that actually creates your LLC, and Louisiana bundles two documents together: the Articles of Organization (Form 365), which forms the company, and the Initial Report (Form 973), which lists your registered agent, registered office, and the people managing the LLC at the start. You can file both on the geauxBIZ portal, which requires an account and is mandatory in 14 parishes, including Orleans and Jefferson. On paper, the Articles are acknowledged before a notary and mailed to the Commercial Division in Baton Rouge.

Since October 1, 2026 (Act 921), the state fee is $125, up from $100, plus a $5 convenience fee if you pay by card. The Secretary of State publishes no standard processing time; if you're on a deadline, expedited handling costs $35 for processing within 24 hours or $60 for priority service while you wait.

What the Articles of Organization include

• LLC name: Your full legal name with the required designator
• Purpose: Any lawful activity is acceptable; you don't have to spell out your exact activities
• Low-profit status: Whether the LLC is a low-profit company
• Optional provisions: Such as whether the LLC is managed by members or managers

What the Initial Report adds

• Registered agent: Name and Louisiana municipal address, with each agent's notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance
• Registered office: The Louisiana municipal address of the office (a P.O. box alone won't do)
• Managers or members: The names and municipal addresses of the first managers, or of the members if the LLC is member-managed. These become public record.

Because the Initial Report is a separate document, plenty of first-time filers overlook it. The Secretary of State's form is blunt about it: the Articles cannot be accepted for filing unless an Initial Report is also filed. That's one of the reasons owners hand the whole packet to a filing service.

The operating agreement is your LLC's internal rulebook. Louisiana doesn't require you to file it, and it never becomes part of the public record, but you should have one in place before you take on partners, open accounts, or start signing deals.

What a solid operating agreement covers

• Ownership: Who the members are and each member's ownership percentage
• Capital contributions: What each member put in, and any obligation to contribute more later
• Profit and loss: How profits and losses are divided, usually, but not necessarily, in line with ownership
• Distributions: When and how cash is paid out to members
• Management: Who runs day-to-day operations, their authority, and which decisions require a member vote
• Voting: Whether votes are weighted by ownership or counted per member
• Transfers: What happens when a member wants to sell or leave: approval rights, rights of first refusal
• Dissolution: How the company winds down and how assets are split

For a single-member LLC, the agreement reinforces that the company is genuinely separate from you, something that matters if your liability protection is ever challenged. For a multi-member LLC it's essential: without it, Louisiana's default statutory rules govern everything, and those defaults may not match what the members actually intended.

An Employer Identification Number is a nine-digit federal tax ID from the IRS, and it's free. Think of it as a Social Security number for the business. You use it on tax filings, to open bank accounts, and to hire.

When you need one

• Your LLC has more than one member (a multi-member LLC files a partnership return and needs an EIN)
• You plan to hire employees
• You want a business bank account (most banks insist on one)
• You've elected S corporation or C corporation tax treatment

A single-member LLC with no employees can technically use the owner's Social Security number for federal taxes, but most advisors still recommend getting an EIN. It keeps your SSN off business paperwork and makes opening a bank account smoother.

How to apply

Head to the IRS EIN Assistant on IRS.gov and complete the online form there. It takes about ten minutes and the number is issued on the spot, so you can use it the same day. The online tool needs a U.S. Social Security number or ITIN. If you don't have one, you apply by fax or mail on Form SS-4. If Mainstay forms your LLC, we apply for the EIN for you.

geauxBIZ suggests an order of its own if you don't have an EIN yet: reserve the name first, get the EIN from the IRS, then convert the reservation into your new business registration.

Keeping business and personal money separate isn't optional if you want to keep your liability protection. Paying personal bills from the company account or dropping business income into your personal account blurs the line, and a court can use that to set the LLC aside and come after you personally.

What banks usually want

• Filed Articles of Organization
• The stamped Initial Report or your Louisiana filing confirmation
• Your IRS EIN letter
• The operating agreement (many banks ask for it)
• Government-issued photo ID for each authorized signer

Community banks and credit unions across Louisiana are often more flexible with brand-new LLCs than the big national chains, and several online business banks now let you open an account without setting foot in a branch. Compare monthly fees, transaction caps, and minimum-balance rules before you commit.

Most of the effort is front-loaded into formation. After that, the recurring work is one annual filing plus staying on top of any change to your registered agent or address.

Annual report

File your Louisiana annual report each year on or before the anniversary of your LLC's formation, on geauxBIZ or by fax or mail. The fee is $35, plus $5 by card. It states your registered office, registered agents, and managers or members. It is not a financial statement. Miss it and the LLC is not in good standing, which bars commercial dealings with state agencies; three consecutive missed years lead to revocation after a 30-day notice.

Registered agent upkeep

If your agent moves, resigns, or you switch to a new one, file Form 983 with the Secretary of State promptly. It costs $30, and the new agent signs a notarized affidavit accepting the role. An outdated registered agent address leaves the LLC non-compliant even when everything else is current.

Taxes

Federal treatment depends on how the LLC is taxed: Schedule C for a single-member LLC, Form 1065 for a multi-member LLC, Form 1120-S for an S corporation election. Louisiana has a state income tax that reaches pass-through profits on your personal return. If you sell taxable goods or services, register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue for state and local sales tax.

Local licenses

Most Louisiana parishes and municipalities require an occupational license to operate within their limits, and many trades need a state professional license. These are separate from your LLC filing and run on their own renewal cycles.