How to start an LLC in Louisiana in 2024

Louisiana is a well-known arts and culture hub that attracts visitors and residents alike, making it an attractive place to start a business. When starting a new endeavor, you must choose a business structure, which determines tax treatment and liability protections and operational procedures. Forming a limited liability company (LLC) not only provides business owners more legitimacy but also some protection by separating personal assets in case of a lawsuit. 

9 steps to start an LLC in Louisiana

If you want to start an LLC in Louisiana, here’s how to get started.

1. Create a geauxBIZ account online.
2. Check business name availability. 
3. Choose a registered agent. 
4. Submit your articles of organization and initial report.
5. Apply for business-specific licenses as needed. 
6. Create an operating agreement. 
7. Submit an EIN application. 
8. Register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue
9. File an annual report. 

1. Create a geauxBIZ account online

In the state of Louisiana, you can create a geauxBIZ account to more easily file LLC-formation documents online, such as your LLC name reservation and your articles of organization. While this can minimize paperwork and streamline the business formation process for you, in some parishes, filing online is a requirement. 

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website, these parishes must file business paperwork through the geauxBIZ website:

• Ascension.
• Bossier.
• Caddo.
• Calcasieu.
• East Baton Rouge.
• Jefferson.
• Lafayette.
• Livingston.
• Orleans.
• Ouachita.
• Rapides.
• St. Tammany.
• Tangipahoa.
• Terrebonne.

You can create a geauxBIZ account online. To do so, you will need the following information:

• Your email address.
• A secure password. 
• Your address.
• Your phone number.
• Your consent to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s terms. 

Once you provide this information, click “create account.” Then, you will receive an email to verify your account. Click the link within the email and sign in. After you sign in, follow the prompts to finish setting up your account and enable text message updates if you’d like notifications about filing deadlines. Click “save” to complete your account setup. 

2. Check business name availability

Coming up with a business name is a process. Ideally, you have a handful of names ready that clearly illustrate the purpose of your business. An effective name can showcase what your business does or what type of products or services it offers. While you might think you have come up with the perfect names for your new endeavor, you need to check and see if they’re available before settling on one. 

To do so, input your name in the search for Louisiana business tool to determine if your name is already in use by another Louisiana business. If a name you want already exists, unfortunately, you’ll need to come up with another name that’s considered “distinguishable” from other businesses in the state of Louisiana. 

When choosing a business name in Louisiana, keep in mind the following:

• Your business name must contain the words “limited liability company” or its abbreviation, “LLC.” 
• You can’t use names that suggest your business is a state or federal agency. 
• Words that might deceive consumers or be used in a false manner must be avoided, such as words implying the LLC is a nonprofit when it is not. 
• Avoid using regulated terms such as “insurance,” “bank,” “trust,” “credit union,” “engineer,” “engineering” or “surveyor” (unless these words denote the actual purposes of your LLC and has obtained approval to operate from entities such as the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board or the Commissioner of the Office of Financial Institutions). 

When you’ve confirmed an available LLC name, also use the trademark electronic search system (TESS) from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Performing this search ahead of filing any paperwork is key to avoiding a name that could infringe on another entity’s trademark. 

If you have narrowed down an available name but are not ready to file your LLC paperwork with the state, you can reserve your business name for up to 120 days using your geauxBIZ account. Or, you can fill out a reservation of corporate/limited liability company/L3C/partnership name form and send it to:

Commercial Division 

P. O. Box 94125 

Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125

A $25 fee payable to “Secretary of State” is required to reserve your business name and must be paid using a check or money order. 

3. Choose a registered agent

By law, Louisiana LLCs must appoint a registered agent when filing business formation documents with the Louisiana Secretary of State. Registered agents are set up to receive tax or legal documents on your LLC’s behalf. It’s their job to receive these communications and pass them on information to the LLC owner(s). The registered agent may be an individual or entity. 

If an individual, the agent must meet certain requirements, including:

• Be 18 years of age.
• Have a physical address in Louisiana, not a P.O. box.
• Be available during business hours throughout the year at the listed registered agent address. 

While it’s possible to appoint an individual, hiring a registered agent service provider can offer additional protections and benefits, including: 

• Privacy. A registered agent’s information is available for public viewing in a public registered agent database. By hiring a service provider, you can keep your personal information private by replacing your address with that of a service provider. For home-based business owners, this is a major benefit. 
• Schedule flexibility: A registered agent must be present during all regular business hours throughout the year at the listed registered agent address. This means no leaving for paid time off or business travel. By hiring a service provider, you can pass this duty to another entity so you can be free to leave the office as necessary without risking penalties or other adverse consequences. 
• Document storage. A registered agent service receives documents addressed to your LLC, scans and uploads them to an online portal viewable only by authorized individuals within your LLC. These documents can be retrieved any time they are needed. 
• Automated reminders. Some registered agent services like Northwest Registered Agent send annual-report and other document reminders to help ensure you file LLC paperwork on time, thereby avoiding penalties. 
• Compliance tools. Some registered agent service providers offer additional tools to help you stay compliant. Incorp, for example, offers a calendar with an entity management system (EMS) to alert you to compliance events. Using its EMS mobile app, you can view documents, set reminders and mark events as complete so you never miss important deadlines or upcoming filings. 

Costs for registered agent services vary by provider. For example, if you use Bizee’s business formation services to start an LLC in Louisiana, you get registered agent services as an add-on for free during the first year. The cost is $119 per year after the first year. In contrast, LegalZoom offers registered agent services for $249 per year. 

To find the best registered agent service provider for your needs, read our best registered agent service guide. 

4. Submit your articles of organization and initial report

To start an LLC in Louisiana, you must fill out and submit LLC articles of organization. Doing so officially registers (forms) your business with the state. 

“The Louisiana Secretary of State’s website geauxBIZ features a user-friendly platform that guides users through generating the necessary forms, the articles of organization and the initial report,” says Andrew Legrand, business lawyer at Spera Law Group, LLC based in New Orleans. “During the process, users provide details such as the names of the LLC members and managers, a physical business address and the registered agent responsible for receiving service of process for the company.”

To begin, use form 365 to fill out your articles of organization. You’ll be asked to provide:

• Your business name.
• The name of the individual filing the document.
• Your LLC’s address or the address where you wish the evidence of filing to be mailed. 
• Your phone number. 
• Your fax number (if applicable).
• Your email address. 
• Your LLC’s parish or county. 
• Your LLC’s purpose. 
• The planned duration of LLC operations (here you can select “perpetual”).
• Your signature and the date.
• Your LLC’s North American industry classification system (NAICS) code, a code given to different industries and which can be searched for and retrieved on the NAICS Association website.
• A notary’s signature. 

“The forms require notarization. If filing online, the geauxBIZ site will prompt the filer to complete additional information regarding tax classification, tax withholding accounts and NAICS codes,” says Seth Levine, Partner at Jones Walker LLP, a Louisiana-based law firm providing legal services to major multinational public and private corporations.

The cost to file LLC articles of organization in Louisiana is $100. You can pay using a check, money order or credit card (online). 

Accompanying your articles of organization, you’ll need to file an initial report. Filing this report requires you provide the following information:

• The name of your Louisiana LLC.
• Your registered agent’s full name.
• The registered office address.
• Your members’ and/or managers’ names and addresses.
• The signatures of all parties who signed the articles of organization. 

If you don’t currently know if there will be additional members or managers, you can submit a supplemental initial report later on and include them. In this document, you can provide new members’ names and addresses. The supplemental initial report filing fee is $25. 

New LLC reporting requirement alert 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has implemented a new reporting requirement for all non-exempt LLCs starting on January 1, 2024. 

The requirement is called the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report and it is estimated to only take about 20 minutes to complete. 

Here’s what you need to know:

• LLCs formed before January 1, 2024 have until January 1, 2025 to file.
• LLCs formed between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025 have 90 days to file from the confirmed date of the businesses’ registration.
• New LLCs formed after January 1, 2025 will have 30 days to file from the confirmed date of formation.

For all details, FAQs and to file, visit FinCEN’s BOI website. 

5. Apply for industry-specific business licenses (as needed) 

Many LLCs need licenses or permits to operate in Louisiana. For example, veterinarians, lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and social workers need to obtain permits to practice their professions. Unfortunately, there is no one place to go to apply for the licenses or permits you may need to operate. 

However, the state of Louisiana does provide one resource you can use to find out the types of business licenses or permits you may need: the Lousiana.gov licenses page. On this page, look down the list of professions to see if yours is listed. Then, click on the entity name to the right of your listed profession to learn more about the required licenses or permits for that industry. 

For example, if you are a veterinarian, click “board of veterinary examiners” to the right of “veterinarian.” On the next page, you will find a link to apply for the required license to operate your veterinarian practice. 

6. Create an operating agreement 

An operating agreement is a key document when setting up an LLC in Louisiana. It not only differentiates your business from a sole proprietorship (which is important for liability protection purposes), but it also outlines the roles and responsibilities of your LLC members and clarifies the best operating practices and procedures for your LLC. 

An operating agreement can help your LLC:

• Avoid miscommunications. Having operational guidelines provides clarity around how your LLC will operate, thereby helping to avoid miscommunication among members and potentially avoid internal conflict. 
• Limit liability. An operating agreement confirms your LLC status and therefore reduces your personal liability. It should clearly state ownership percentages among members, which provides more protection by clearly delineating the portion of the company for which each member is responsible. 
• Provide financial clarity. An operating agreement prevents confusion by clearly stating how the company will distribute profits and losses among members. This helps members know how to file their personal income taxes and protects them against being penalized for discrepancies related to another member’s share. 
• Preplan. Drafting an operating agreement allows your members to pre-plan for confusing, chaotic or emotionally-charged events, such as when a member wants to leave, sell or dissolve the company. In doing so, it prevents operational breakdowns should these events occur. 
• Protect against state default laws. You likely have a vision for your business and how you want to operate it. It’s best to have all of that in writing. If not, your business could be at the mercy of the state, which creates default laws for LLCs that do not have an operating agreement in place. 

“Without an operating agreement, the company is governed by Louisiana‘s limited liability company act default provisions,” explains Levine. 

To ensure full control over your LLC’s operating rules, here are key concepts that should be covered in your operating agreement:

• Your LLC’s name and business structure. 
• Your management structure. 
• Your members’ names, financial contributions and ownership percentages. 
• Your LLC members’ powers, rights, responsibilities and voting rights. 
• How your LLC can be dissolved. 
• The process by which your LLC inducts new members. 
• Your accounting methods (accrual or cash basis, for example). 
• A non-compete clause. 
• How member disputes will be resolved. 
• How profits and losses will be distributed among members. 
• How meetings will be held. 
• Member buy-out rules. 
• The procedures for transfer of interest in the event of a member’s death. 

Some business formation services, such as Rocket Lawyer, offer free operating agreement templates. Others, like ZenBusiness, include an operating agreement template or the drafting of an operating agreement as part of formation packages or as a stand-alone service. 

Such templates are helpful for creating a first draft. However, to create an agreement that is highly catered to your LLC, we strongly recommend working with a business lawyer who can help draft up this important document so all of your bases are covered. 

Once you’ve finalized your operating agreement, remember that this is a legally binding document. As such, all of your members should sign it as a demonstration of agreement to its terms. At this point, file your operating agreement with your other important LLC documentation for future use and reference. 

7. Submit an EIN application

When you start an LLC in Louisiana, you need to apply for an employer identification number (EIN). An EIN is used by the IRS to identify your business and is typically required for tax purposes and financial matters. For example, an EIN is often used to open a business bank account, hire employees, apply for business licenses and loans and submit business tax returns. 

You can easily get an EIN through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website. As the owner of the business or the “responsible party,” you will be asked for your Social Security number (SSN) when submitting your application. The application process takes ten to fifteen but must be completed in one session during IRS business hours (from Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET). 

Once you submit your EIN application, you’ll receive the number immediately on a downloadable confirmation page. Download the file and put it with your other business documents, such as with your operating agreement and certificate of formation. 

8. Register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue

Registering your LLC with the Louisiana Department of Revenue registers your business to pay taxes within the state. For example, if you have to pay withholding taxes because you have employees, this application will register you for that tax. 

To register with this department, you must fill out an application for Louisiana Revenue account number. As you do, you are required to provide the following information: 

• If you will engage in certain types of sales, such as food, lodging or vehicle rentals. 
• If you will have employees that make over $375 per month. 
• The reason you are applying (i.e., started a new business). 
• Your LLC’s name and structure (in this case, an LLC). 
• Your LLC’s physical and mailing address. 
• The type of LLC you operate (such as a sole proprietorship or partnership). 
• Your LLC’s NAICS code (see step four for instructions on obtaining this code). 
• Your LLC’s EIN. 
• Your LLC’s charter number (find this number by searching for your business using the “search for Louisiana business filings” tool). 
• Your LLC’s formation date and location. 
• Your business’s purpose. 

Once you’ve filled out the form, mail it to the Louisiana Department of Revenue using the address listed at the bottom of the form. 

9. File an annual report

An annual report is a form you must fill out and submit to the state to confirm your business’s information remains the same (or change information as needed), such as your registered agents’ and your members’ names and contact information. 

Filing an annual report is a requirement for Louisiana LLCs and costs $30. It can be sent by mail, fax or submitted online through your geauxBIZ account. The due date for your annual report is your business formation anniversary. You can file up to 30 days before this date.

You will need the following information to file your annual report: 

• Your LLC’s name. 
• Your registered agent’s name and address (not a PO box). 
• Your members’ names and business addresses. 
• Your signature. 
• Debit or credit card information to pay the filing fee, plus a $5 convenience fee for using a debit or credit card.

The easiest and quickest way to complete your annual report is to file online. After logging into your geauxBIZ account, click “getting started,” then “next.” Enter your LLC’s charter number when prompted (see step eight for instructions on how to find this number) and select “file annual report.” Follow the instructions to complete your annual report. 

Find the best LLC services for Louisiana: Best LLC formation services

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Can I set up an LLC for free in Louisiana?

No, you cannot set up an LLC for free in Louisiana. You must submit your articles of organization and pay a $100 filing fee. There may be additional costs. For example, registered agent services range from $0 to $300 per year and reserving your business name is $25. You may also need to consult with an attorney for an average fee of $69 per hour. Finally, your annual report filing fee is $30.

Working with a business formation company can help streamline the process and may include free registered agent services for the first year, as is the case with Bizee.

Do Louisiana LLCs pay taxes?

Typically Louisiana LLCs don’t pay taxes, but its owners or members do. As a pass-through entity, tax obligations are the responsibility of the individual members of the LLC based on their percentages of ownership. Personal income taxes are filed with members’ personal income tax returns each year.

Do I need a registered agent in Louisiana?

By law, Louisiana LLCs must appoint a registered agent. This individual or company acts as an intermediary to receive and handle legal documents and communications on the LLC’s behalf. To qualify, the agent must be 18 years old and have a physical address in Louisiana, where they will be available during all regular business hours throughout the year. There are numerous top-rated registered agent service providers that can help you meet this requirement.

Do Louisiana LLCs need to file an annual report?

Louisiana LLCs are required to file an annual report with the Louisiana Secretary of State by their business formation anniversary each year. Business owners can easily submit the report through their geauxBIZ account online. The fee for filing this report is $30.

How do I dissolve an LLC in Louisiana?

To dissolve an LLC in Louisiana, first review your operating agreement and follow its instructions for internal LLC dissolution procedures (such as a member vote). You must then submit an affidavit to dissolve limited liability company form and pay a $100 fee. The form must include all members’ signatures and be signed by a notary. You can mail it and then wait for your certificate of dissolution.