How to form an LLC in Indiana (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in Indiana?

Each step below is filed with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division, from the name check to the recurring report. The list gives each step with its form and fee.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division. You can reserve a name for $10 (electronic application).
2. Name a registered agent in Indiana: a person or company with an Indiana address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Articles of Organization (State Form 49459) with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division. The state fee is $75 online, $100 by paper filing. Filing methods: Online through INBiz, or by mailing a paper state form.
4. File the recurring report (Business Entity Report (biennial, State Form 48725)): due every two years, in the anniversary month of the LLC's formation, fee $20 online, $50 by paper filing.

For most filings in the table below, Indiana sets one fee for filing online and a higher one for paper. The gap is easy to overlook when you read one fee at a time, so this table lines them up.

A founder who files every document online for the life of the company pays less in state fees than one who mails paper. If you would rather hand the filing to a formation service, the Indiana list of LLC services with first-year totals compares what each one charges on top of the state fee.

How do you check and reserve an Indiana LLC name?

Check the name with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division before you file, and reserve it if you aren't ready to file yet. The Indiana Code sets $10 for an electronic reservation, and no fee is set for a paper application.⁵

Our Indiana record doesn't confirm how long a reservation holds the name, so ask the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division before you count on it. A reservation is optional. It suits a founder who has picked a name but still needs time to settle members, an agent or funding.

Who can be a registered agent for an Indiana LLC?

Indiana allows an individual, a general partnership, a domestic filing entity, or a registered foreign entity to act as registered agent (Ind. Code § 23-0.5-4-3). An owner with an Indiana street address can name themselves, and so can a business partner or a company that sells agent service.²

The registered agent is the contact who receives lawsuits and official state mail for the LLC. Where Indiana's agent chapter asks for an address, the record must state a street address in this state. So the agent needs a physical Indiana street address, and an out-of-state owner can't list a home address in another state.²

Every Business Entity Report asks for the LLC's name, its registered agent details and the street address of the entity's principal office, so the agent details the state holds are updated each time the LLC reports. Our Indiana record doesn't say which of these details the state shows to the public. Owners who act as their own agent put their own street address in the agent field. A paid agent puts its own address there instead, though the principal office address on the report is still yours to supply.⁶

Prices for that service vary widely. Northwest Registered Agent lists its agent at $125 per year, Tailor Brands at $199/year, and Bizee (formerly Incfile) gives one year of Registered Agent Service for free with any of its formation packages, after which it renews at $149/year. See Northwest's prices, Bizee's prices, the plans that include an agent and the registered agent explainer.^{7, 8, 9, 10}

How do you file the Articles of Organization, and how long does it take?

Indiana accepts the Articles online through INBiz, the state's business portal, which the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division says saves time and money. The other option is the paper Articles of Organization, mailed with payment to 302 West Washington Street, Room E-018, Indianapolis.³

Our Indiana record has no verified standard review time and no paid rush tier from the state. We don't estimate a figure the state hasn't given us, so this guide can't tell you how many days the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division takes to approve a filing.

What we can compare is the processing time each formation service publishes. Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness state 1 business day on their compared plans, Bizee (formerly Incfile) states approximately 4 business days, and LegalZoom lists 5 to 14 business days (standard processing), which it describes as service time, not state approval time. The others don't all say whether their figure includes the state's review. The LLC timeline guide separates the two waits, and the list of providers by stated filing speed sorts them on their published times.

What does an Indiana LLC cost in the first and second year?

An Indiana LLC costs $75 in state fees for year one when filed online, plus the plan you buy. For year two, the table below counts the $20 online Business Entity Report fee and any plan renewal.^{2, 5}

The table gives each provider's first- and second-year totals in Indiana with the plan we compare. Rows follow our rating, ties in the editorial order set out in how we rate.

First year: state filing fee plus the provider's compared plan. Second year: the recurring state fee plus the plan's renewal, if it renews.

Totals are our arithmetic on the published figures. Registered agent renewals are extra unless a plan includes the agent. Try other plans in the calculator.

The report fee needs one caveat. Indiana collects it every other year, not yearly, so the LLC pays it in alternate years only. The table places it in year two; the year your first report falls due follows the schedule the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division sets.

The Inc Authority and Tailor Brands rows show how much the plan choice moves the bill. Inc Authority has a Free LLC plan, so its first year is $75, only the online state fee, and its second year is $20. Its bundled agent then renews at $249/year, which the second-year column leaves out. Tailor Brands Elite renews each year, so its total runs $324 in year one and $269 in year two. The Inc Authority profile and the Tailor Brands profile list what each plan covers.¹¹

To test a different plan, a paper filing or an added agent, try the LLC cost calculator. For figures outside Indiana, see the national LLC cost guide or the lowest first-year totals by provider.

What does an Indiana LLC file after it is formed?

An Indiana LLC files a Business Entity Report (State Form 48725) with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division every other year, in the anniversary month of the LLC's formation. The fee is $20 online or $50 by paper filing.^{1, 4, 5}

Indiana law requires it to state the LLC's name, its registered agent details and the street address of the entity's principal office, which keeps the state's record of who receives legal papers up to date.⁶

Indiana law lets the Secretary of State begin administrative dissolution when an LLC still hasn't delivered its report sixty (60) days after it is due. An LLC left without an agent falls under the same section of the code, as the section on changing agents explains. A dissolved LLC can apply to come back with an Application for Reinstatement. The fee is $20 online or $30 on paper, and paper reinstatement also requires a Certificate of Clearance and a Business Entity Report with its fee. One more limit applies to older cases. Entities dissolved over 5 years must file on paper with a reason statement.^{2, 5}

Formation services handle this report in different ways, and one of them makes an exception for Indiana. Tailor Brands Elite lists mandatory report filing as part of the plan. Northwest Registered Agent sells an annual report service at $100 + state fees, charged at filing. LegalZoom lists an automatic annual report filing subscription, but its footnote limits automatic filing to states where a report is required, excluding Indiana, Maryland, and Wyoming; it also lists a one-time report filing at $99 + state filing fees. Apart from LegalZoom's exclusion, none of these facts mentions Indiana's biennial report. Read the annual report guide and LegalZoom's pricing page before relying on a plan to file it for you.^{12, 13, 14, 15}

How do you change an Indiana registered agent later?

You change an Indiana registered agent by filing the Statement of Change of Registered Agent (State Form 56367) with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division. There is no fee for filing a registered agent or office statement of change.^{1, 2}

With no fee in the way, the order of steps is the main thing to get right. Name the new agent on the state record first, and cancel the old service afterwards.

An agent can also step down on its own. Its resignation takes effect on the thirty-first day after the day on which it is filed by the secretary of state, or earlier if a new agent is designated. The statute also says the agent promptly shall furnish to the represented entity notice in a record, so you should hear about it. Use the weeks before that date to file the change.²

Leaving the seat empty carries a real penalty. Indiana can start administrative dissolution against an LLC that lacks a registered agent in the state for sixty (60) consecutive days.²

What if your LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed elsewhere registers in Indiana with a Foreign Registration Statement (State Form 56369). The fee is $75 online or $125 on paper.²

The online price equals what a new Indiana LLC pays to file its Articles. Indiana's list of entities that may act as a registered agent includes a registered foreign entity (Ind. Code § 23-0.5-4-3), so a registration also puts an out-of-state company on that list.²

Whether to register an existing LLC or form a new Indiana one depends on where the business actually operates; an accountant or lawyer can weigh that for your case. The foreign LLC guide explains the choice, and the state fees table compares Indiana with Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky.