How to form an LLC in Ohio (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in Ohio?

Forming an Ohio LLC with the Ohio Secretary of State means clearing the name, lining up a statutory agent, filing the articles and waiting for approval. The list shows the forms and fees involved.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the Ohio Secretary of State. You can reserve a name for $39 for 180 days (Form 534B).
2. Name a statutory agent in Ohio: a person or company with an Ohio address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Articles of Organization for a Domestic Limited Liability Company (Form 610), $99 with the Ohio Secretary of State. The state fee is $99. Filing methods: Online (Ohio Business Central), by mail, or in person.
4. Wait for approval: Regular service: 3 to 7 business days. Faster options: Expedite 1: $100 (2 business days); Expedite 2: $200 (1 business day); Expedite 3: $300 (4 hours if received by 1:00 p.m.; in-person delivery required). All in addition to the filing fee..
5. There is no recurring annual report for Ohio LLCs.

The agent step uses Ohio's own word. Ohio law calls the role statutory agent rather than registered agent, and the appointment paperwork carries the title Original Appointment of Statutory Agent. The role is the same: the agent accepts lawsuits and official notices on the LLC's behalf.^{3, 4}

Approval is the last state step, and Ohio has no yearly report after it. If you would rather pay a service to do the filing, the ranked list of Ohio LLC services shows what each one costs here in both years.

How do you check and reserve an Ohio LLC name?

Search the Ohio Secretary of State's business records before filing to confirm no one holds the name. To hold a name while you prepare, file Form 534B for $39, which keeps it for 180 days.⁵

The state guide says a reservation grants exclusive rights to use the name for that period. You don't need one to form the LLC. It earns its fee when the name is settled but the paperwork isn't, for example while co-owners agree terms or you choose an agent.⁵

A reservation and the articles are separate filings with separate fees. If you file Form 610 right away, there is no need for the reservation, and you pay only the $99 filing fee.¹

Who can serve as statutory agent for an Ohio LLC?

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.09, an Ohio statutory agent can be a natural person who is a resident of this state, or a business entity such as a domestic or foreign corporation, nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, among others. An owner who lives in Ohio can therefore name themselves.³

Our Ohio record quotes the part of the statute that says who may serve. It does not cover the address rules, so read Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.09 itself, or ask the Secretary of State, before you list a home, office or mailbox address for the agent.³

Owners who don't live in Ohio, or who would rather not put their own name in that slot, hire a commercial agent, and the published prices differ a good deal from one provider to the next.

• Northwest Registered Agent sells its agent service at $125 per year.⁶
• Bizee (formerly Incfile) includes a year free with any formation package, then charges $149/year.⁷
• ZenBusiness gives 50% off the first year ($99) when you form with it.⁸
• Tailor Brands prices its agent at $199/year.⁹

The list of services that include an agent sorts plans that bundle one, and the registered agent explainer covers what the role involves.

How do you file Ohio's articles, and how long does approval take?

Ohio takes Form 610 online through Ohio Business Central, by mail or in person, and regular service runs 3 to 7 business days. Faster review costs between $100 and $300 extra, depending on the tier.¹

The state's own guide sends online filers to Ohio Business Central. For paper, it tells owners to obtain a filing form to be submitted by mail or dropped off in person. That gives an owner these routes.⁵

• Online (Ohio Business Central)⁵
• a paper form sent by mail
• a paper form dropped off at the office

Ohio's expedite tiers

Every tier is charged in addition to the $99 filing fee.¹

1. Expedite 1: $100 (2 business days)¹
2. Expedite 2: $200 (1 business day)¹
3. Expedite 3: $300 (4 hours if received by 1:00 p.m.; in-person delivery required)¹

Only the top tier comes with a delivery condition: in-person delivery required. The lower tiers list no delivery condition. Form 610 also lists Preclearance Filing for $50. Our record doesn't describe what that review covers, so ask the Secretary of State before paying for it.¹

A formation service's stated turnaround runs on a separate clock from the state's. A service may send your articles in right away, and Ohio still reviews them on its regular schedule unless an expedite fee is paid. The LLC timeline guide separates the two, and the fastest stated filing list compares providers on their published times.

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

Filing alone, an Ohio LLC costs $99 in year one and owes no state report fee in year two ($0). With a service, add the plan price, any expedite tier and an agent once its free period ends.^{1, 2}

The table gives each provider's total with the plan we compare, ordered by our rating 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.

In Ohio the second-year column has figures in it. With no recurring report fee to add, it shows each plan's renewal and nothing else. That makes it easy to misread. A $0 entry means the plan doesn't renew; it doesn't mean the LLC costs nothing to keep.

The statutory agent is where year two adds up. Inc Authority Free LLC totals $99 in year one, the filing fee alone, but its agent renews at $249/year after the free year. Northwest Registered Agent totals $138, and its included registered agent renews at $125/yr after year 1. On the other side, Tailor Brands Elite and ZenBusiness Premium renew at $249 and $299, and neither compared plan includes an agent. The Inc Authority profile and Northwest profile list what each plan leaves out.^{10, 11}

Use the LLC cost calculator to price your own mix of plan, agent and expedite tier. For the same comparison outside Ohio, see the list ranked by cost across both years and the national guide to LLC costs.

What does an Ohio LLC have to file after formation?

Ohio has no recurring report for LLCs. The Secretary of State's guide says limited liability companies are not required to submit annual or biennial filings, and its website notes that only Professional Associations and LLPs file biennial reports.^{2, 5}

What remains is keeping an agent on file and, once revenue is high enough, a state tax.

That tax is the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT). It runs at 0.26% of Ohio taxable gross receipts above a $6 million annual exclusion. The annual minimum tax ended in 2024. An LLC whose Ohio taxable gross receipts stay under the exclusion owes no CAT on them. Ask an accountant how the tax reads for your own receipts and filing duties.¹²

The agent is the other ongoing duty, and losing one has a firm consequence: if the LLC goes without a statutory agent and does not cure within 30 days after SOS notice, its articles are canceled. To come back, a canceled LLC can file the Reinstatement and Appointment of Agent (Form 525A) for $25, available within two years of cancellation.^{3, 5}

Formation plans often bundle a yearly report service. Tailor Brands Elite lists mandatory report filing and ZenBusiness Premium lists state-required annual reports, yet Ohio LLCs have no such report to file. Neither provider says what the item does for an Ohio company, so ask before you count it as value. The annual report guide explains how these filings work where states require them.^{13, 14}

How do you change an Ohio statutory agent later?

File the Statutory Agent Update (Form 521) with the Ohio Secretary of State and pay $25. Filing it before cancelling the old agent service keeps an agent on record the whole time.^{5, 15}

Agents can also quit. When one resigns, it files a notice with the state and mails a copy to the LLC on or before the filing date; its authority ends 30 days after filing. The statute says the LLC must appoint another agent forthwith, and the state guide names Form 521 as the form for changing agents.^{3, 5}

An LLC left without an agent faces the cancellation rule described above. Reinstatement is possible, but it costs another filing and only works within the statute's time limit.

What if the LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed elsewhere files the Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form 617) to do business in Ohio, and the fee is $99. A registered foreign LLC needs an Ohio agent as well.¹⁶

The cancellation rule in Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.09 reaches foreign LLCs too: the registration of the foreign limited liability company shall be canceled if it goes without a statutory agent and doesn't cure in time.³

With foreign registration at $99 and new formation at $99, the choice between registering an existing LLC and forming a new Ohio one doesn't come down to the state fee. It turns on where the business operates and how it is taxed, which is a question for an accountant or lawyer. The foreign LLC guide explains the difference, and the state fees table compares Ohio with neighbors such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana.^{1, 16}