Start a Montana LLC: Step-by-Step Guide

Your LLC name has to be distinguishable from every other business name already on file with the Montana Secretary of State, not just other LLCs, but corporations, partnerships, and reserved names too. "Distinguishable" is a legal test, not a gut feeling. Names that differ only by punctuation, spacing, an "the," or a pluralized word may collide, and the state will reject the filing if yours is too close to an existing one.

Start at the Secretary of State's business name search. Run your proposed name and a few near variations. Read them out loud; look for anything that sounds or reads the same. Catching a conflict here saves you a rejected filing later.

Montana naming rules

• Under section 35-8-103, the name must include "limited liability company," "limited company," "l.l.c.," "l.c.," "llc," or "lc." "Limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "company" may be "Co."
• It can't contain another business identifier, such as "Inc.," or language implying it's a different kind of business.
• It must be distinguishable from all names in the Secretary of State's records.
• Certain restricted words (those suggesting banking, insurance, or a licensed profession) may require approval from the relevant Montana regulator before the name is allowed.

Optional: reserve the name

If you have settled on a name but are not ready to file, Montana lets you reserve it through the business portal for $10. The reservation lasts 120 days and can't be renewed, which holds the name while you sort out the rest. Reservation does not create the LLC; it just parks the name.

Assumed business names

Planning to operate under something other than your LLC's legal name? Montana calls that an Assumed Business Name, registered at the state level through the Secretary of State's business portal. It is a separate filing from forming the LLC and does not create a new entity. It simply lets your existing LLC trade under a different name.

Before you can file, you need a registered agent lined up and willing to serve, because the agent goes on the Articles of Organization. Under Montana's Model Registered Agents Act, naming an agent is an affirmation that the agent has consented to serve, so you cannot list someone who has not agreed.

The registered agent is the person or company that receives lawsuits, subpoenas, regulatory actions, and official state mail on behalf of the LLC. Montana requires every LLC to keep one for the entire life of the company.

Who can serve

Montana recognizes two kinds of agents. A commercial registered agent is one listed with the Secretary of State as being in that business. A noncommercial registered agent is anyone else, and the filing gives that agent's name and an actual street address or rural route box number in Montana. The law sets no residency or age rule beyond that.

• Yourself: you can be your own noncommercial agent if you have a Montana street address (a P.O. box can only be a separate mailing address). Your address then appears in the public record.
• Another individual: anyone with a Montana street address who agrees, such as a co-owner, an employee, a friend, or an attorney.
• A commercial registered agent service: a company listed with the Secretary of State as a commercial agent. It keeps its own address on the public record instead of yours and forwards documents to you.

Why it matters

Whatever address you use for the agent becomes searchable on the Secretary of State's public business search. If you use your home, anyone looking up the LLC finds it. Many owners choose a commercial service specifically to keep a home address out of the public database and to make sure papers get accepted and forwarded even when they are traveling or the shop is closed.

The Articles of Organization is the filing that brings your LLC into legal existence in Montana. It is online only. There is no paper alternative to mail. You file through the Secretary of State's Business Filing Portal at biz.sosmt.gov: sign in with your username and password or create an account, go to Forms, choose the Articles, complete the required fields, and pay. The state fee is $35, payable by credit card, debit card, or e-check (series LLCs pay $50 more for each series named).

The Secretary of State doesn't publish a standard turnaround. The office reviews each filing and emails you when it's approved, and then the LLC appears in the state's business search. If timing is tight, Montana charges $20 for 24-hour processing and $100 for 1-hour processing.

What the Articles include

• LLC name: your full legal name with the required LLC designator.
• Term company or not: whether the LLC exists for a set term.
• Principal office mailing address: where the state reaches the business.
• Registered agent: a commercial agent, or a noncommercial agent with an actual Montana street address or rural route box number.
• Management: member-managed or manager-managed, plus the names and business mailing addresses of the managers or the initial members.
• Member liability: a statement on whether members are liable for the LLC's debts under section 35-8-304(3).

What you do not have to disclose

You don't spell out ownership percentages, describe your business activities, or report any financial information. Note, though, that the names and mailing addresses of your managers or initial members do go on the public filing. The private internal details live in your operating agreement, which never goes to the state.

The operating agreement is your LLC's internal rulebook. Montana does not require you to file it and it never touches any public database, but you want one in place before you take on members, sign major contracts, or open a bank account.

What a solid operating agreement covers

• Ownership: who the members are and what percentage each holds.
• Capital contributions: what each member put in at formation and any future obligations.
• Profit and loss allocation: how profits and losses are divided; it does not have to track ownership, though it usually does.
• Distributions: when and how cash goes out, and in what order of priority.
• Management: who runs the day-to-day, their authority, and which decisions require a member vote.
• Voting: whether votes are weighted by ownership, counted per member, or set some other way.
• Transfers: what happens when a member wants to sell or leave, including rights of first refusal or approval requirements.
• Dissolution: the circumstances under which the LLC winds down and how assets are divided.

For a single-member LLC, the agreement underlines that the company is a real, separate entity, something courts consider when weighing liability protection, and something most banks want to see. For a multi-member LLC it is essential: without it, Montana's statutory defaults govern everything, and those defaults frequently clash with what the members actually agreed to.

An Employer Identification Number is a nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS issues for 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 employees.

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 (nearly every bank requires it).
• You have 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 get an EIN anyway. It keeps your SSN off business paperwork and makes opening a bank account cleaner.

How to apply

File the request through the IRS EIN Assistant at IRS.gov. Roughly ten minutes of form-filling gets you the number on the spot: download the confirmation and start using it the same day. You need a U.S. Social Security number or ITIN to complete the online form; applicants without one file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead. If Mainstay Filing forms your LLC, we apply for the EIN for you once the Articles are approved.

Separating business and personal money is not optional if you want the liability shield to hold. Pay personal bills from the business account, run business income through your personal one, or otherwise mix the two, and a court can disregard the LLC and reach you personally. A dedicated account is the simplest, most important habit for protecting yourself.

What banks typically ask for

• Your filed Articles of Organization from the Secretary of State
• Your IRS EIN confirmation
• Your operating agreement (many banks ask, and it is smart to have it regardless)
• Government-issued ID for every authorized signer

Montana's community banks and credit unions are often more flexible with brand-new LLCs than the big national chains, and online business banks have made opening an account without a branch visit realistic. Compare monthly fees, transaction limits, and any minimum balance before you commit.

Most of the compliance work is front-loaded into formation. After that, it comes down to one annual filing and staying on top of any changes to your agent or addresses.

Annual report

File between January 1 and April 15 each year, starting the year after formation, through the Secretary of State's business portal. The report confirms your registered agent, principal office address, and management details. It is not a financial disclosure. The fee is waived for reports filed January 1 through April 15 in 2026 and 2027; after April 15 it's $35. An LLC 140 days late is in default, and if it doesn't cure the default within 90 days of the state's notice, it's involuntarily dissolved.

Registered agent upkeep

If your agent moves, resigns, or you switch to a new one, file a statement of change with the Secretary of State promptly. There's no fee for it. A stale agent address leaves the LLC out of compliance even when everything else is current.

Taxes

Federal treatment depends on your election: a single-member LLC files Schedule C, a multi-member LLC files Form 1065, and an S-corp election files Form 1120-S. Montana income tax flows through to the members' personal returns for a standard pass-through LLC. If you sell taxable goods or services, check your obligations with the Montana Department of Revenue.

Licenses and permits

Montana has no single statewide general business license, but many trades and professions are regulated by state boards, and some cities and counties require local registrations. These run on their own schedules, entirely separate from your Secretary of State filing.