How to form an LLC in Louisiana (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in Louisiana?

Louisiana asks for two documents at formation, the articles and an Initial Report, so the filing step below covers both. Where the state charges a fee for a step, the step shows it.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division). You can reserve a name for $25.
2. Name a registered agent in Louisiana: a person or company with a Louisiana address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Articles of Organization, filed with an Initial Report with the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division). The state fee is $125 (from October 1, 2026; was $100).
4. Wait for approval. Faster options: $35 for 24-hour service; $60 for while-you-wait service (from October 1, 2026).
5. Recurring filing: Annual Report (due on or before the anniversary date of organization; $35 from October 1, 2026), fee $35 (from October 1, 2026; was $30).

The pair of documents in the third step is the part to plan for. Louisiana law calls for Articles of Organization, filed with an Initial Report. That report is signed by the organizers, giving the registered office, each registered agent (with notarized acceptance) and the first managers or members if already chosen. In practice that means the agent's signed, notarized acceptance has to be ready before you file, not after.⁴

Check the date on any fee you read elsewhere. Louisiana raised its LLC filing fees from October 1, 2026, so guides and calculators written earlier may still quote the old amounts. If you'd rather hand the filing to a service, the ranked list of LLC services in Louisiana shows each one's first- and second-year total at the new fees.¹

How do you check and reserve a Louisiana LLC name?

Search the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) records for your proposed name, then reserve it for $25 if you aren't filing right away. The reservation fee did not change when the other fees rose.⁵

Our Louisiana record doesn't include how long a reservation lasts, so check the term with the Commercial Division before relying on it. A reservation only holds the name; it doesn't form the company, and the articles still have to be filed with the Initial Report later.

Who can be a registered agent for a Louisiana LLC?

A Louisiana registered agent can be a person or one of several kinds of businesses, as long as the LLC also keeps a registered office in the state. The statute, La. R.S. 12:1308, lists who qualifies.⁶

• A citizen of the state who resides in this state⁶
• A partnership or professional law corporation, which is authorized to practice law in this state, or a domestic corporation, domestic limited liability company⁶

The same section requires the LLC itself to keep a registered office in this state. The agent is whoever accepts lawsuits and official notices on the LLC's behalf, and the registered office is the street address where that happens. Each annual report repeats that address, and the record describes the field this way: Registered office address (not a P.O. box only). A post office box on its own won't work.^{2, 6}

Louisiana adds a notary step. The Initial Report filed at formation lists each registered agent (with notarized acceptance), and a later change of agent needs a notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance signed by the new registered agent. If a friend or relative agrees to act as your agent, plan a trip to a notary with them.^{4, 6}

Acting as your own agent puts your street address in the public filing. A commercial agent puts its own Louisiana address there instead. Northwest Registered Agent sells its agent service at $125 per year, and Inc Authority includes one free with formation before it renews at $249/year. The registered agent guide covers what the role involves, and the list of plans that include an agent shows which services bundle one.^{7, 8}

How fast does Louisiana process a new LLC?

The state's regular processing time isn't in our verified Louisiana record, so we can't quote one. What the statute does set is the price of speed: $35 for 24-hour service, or $60 for while-you-wait service.¹

Both expedite fees went up from October 1, 2026. They are charged by the state on top of the $125 filing fee, whether you file yourself or a service files for you.¹

Keep the two clocks apart when you compare services. A formation service states how quickly it prepares and submits your papers, and the Secretary of State then reviews them on its own schedule. Unless someone pays the state's expedite fee, a quick service doesn't shorten the state's part. The LLC timeline guide explains the difference, and the fastest stated filing list compares the providers' own times.

What does a Louisiana LLC cost in the first and second year?

A Louisiana LLC costs $125 to form and $35 for each annual report after that, so filing yourself comes to the formation fee in year one and the report fee in year two. A service adds its plan price and any renewals.¹

Unlike states where the recurring cost depends on revenue, Louisiana's second-year state cost is a flat report fee, so the table can total both years for every provider. Rows follow our rating, highest first, with 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 spread is wide. Inc Authority charges nothing for its Free LLC plan, so its total is $125 in the first year and $35 in the second. That second figure leaves out its registered agent, which is free for the first year and then renews at $249/year. Northwest Registered Agent comes to $164 in year one, with an agent that costs $125 per year once the included year ends.^{7, 8}

Plans that bill every year move the second-year column the most. Tailor Brands Elite renews at $249/yr and reaches $284 in year two, and ZenBusiness Premium renews at $299/yr for $334. doola shows $332 in year two, but its plan renews annually at rates then in effect, so that figure assumes today's price holds. See Inc Authority's pricing and Tailor Brands' pricing for what each tier renews at.^{9, 10, 11}

To test a different plan, or add the state's expedite fee, use the LLC cost calculator. The national guide to LLC costs puts the Louisiana fees next to other states'.

What does a Louisiana LLC file after it is formed?

A Louisiana LLC files an annual report with the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) each year on or before the anniversary date of organization, and the fee is $35 (it was $30). The due date follows the day your LLC was formed, not a single statewide date.^{1, 2}

The report lists the registered office, the name and address of each registered agent, and each manager (or member if member-managed). So each year a manager-managed LLC lists its managers with the state, and a member-managed LLC lists its members.²

If managers or members weren't named in the Initial Report, Louisiana expects a supplementary report as soon as they have been selected. Owners who form the company before deciding who will run it should keep that second filing on their list.⁴

The penalty for a missed report runs on a long clock. The statute sets no late fee for it. Instead, an LLC's articles are revoked after three consecutive years without an annual report.¹²

Franchise tax isn't part of the yearly bill for current periods. The Louisiana Department of Revenue states it plainly: The franchise tax has been repealed for franchise tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026. State income tax questions are separate, and an accountant can say how they apply to your LLC.³

Some providers sell annual report filing. Northwest Registered Agent's filing service costs $100 + state fees, charged at filing, and it enrolls its own agent customers in that service automatically. Separately, LegalZoom lists Compliance Filings, an auto-filing subscription that starts at $199/year and auto-renews. The annual report guide explains the difference between a service that files the report and one that only reminds you.^{13, 14}

How do you change a Louisiana registered agent later?

You change a Louisiana registered agent by filing for record with the secretary of state a statement authorizing the designation or change, with a notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance signed by the new registered agent. The state fee is $30 (was $25).^{1, 6}

Line up the new agent first, because their notarized acceptance has to go in with the statement. Cancel the old service only after the change is on file, so there is no stretch with nobody named.

An agent can also step down. Resignation is effective only on written notice to the LLC and the secretary of state, and a successor agent must be appointed within 30 days. That window is short, so treat a resignation letter as a task for the same month.⁶

What if your LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed elsewhere applies for authority to do business in Louisiana, and the fee is $185 (it was $150).¹

The application for authority costs more than forming a new Louisiana LLC at $125. Which route fits depends on where the business actually operates and is taxed, which is a question for a lawyer or accountant. The foreign LLC guide explains the choice, and the state fees table compares Louisiana with neighbors such as Texas and Mississippi.¹