How to form an LLC in Utah (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in Utah?

The steps below take a Utah LLC from a name idea to an active company, with each step's form and fee. The Division of Corporations takes the name reservation, the formation filing and the yearly renewal.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code (Utah Department of Commerce). You can reserve a name for $22.
2. Name a registered agent in Utah: a person or company with an Utah address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Certificate of Organization ($59) with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code (Utah Department of Commerce). The state fee is $59. Filing methods: Online through the Division's business registration system (UtahID login); paper filings are uploaded via its "Submit a Paper Filing" option.
4. Wait for approval: Most filings processed immediately; 5 to 7 business days for filings needing manual review (paper filings, attachments, name conflicts). Faster options: $75 per filing.
5. File the recurring report (Annual Report/Renewal): due One year from the date of registration, then every year after that, fee $18.

How long step four takes depends on the filing. The Division says most filings are processed immediately, but a filing that has to go through manual review takes 5 to 7 business days, and the examples it gives of what sends a filing there are paper filings, attachments, name conflicts.⁴

Utah ties the renewal to each company's registration date, so it is due one year from the date of registration and then yearly.⁵

If you would rather hand the filing to a service, the Utah LLC services ranked with first- and second-year totals page compares each provider's plan with the state fee added.

How do you check and reserve a Utah LLC name?

Check the name with the Division before filing, and reserve it for $22 if you aren't ready to file yet. Our record doesn't include how long a Utah reservation lasts, so confirm the term with the Division.⁶

A clean name also saves time. Name conflicts are on the Division's list of reasons a filing goes to manual review, which turns a filing that could clear at once into a wait of 5 to 7 business days.⁴

Who can be a registered agent for a Utah LLC?

When a Utah filing gives a registered agent's address, the statute says it must be a street address in this state. The law names a commercial registered agent and a noncommercial registered agent, and the formation filing lists whichever one the LLC uses.⁷

The agent is the person or business that receives lawsuits and official notices on the LLC's behalf. Under Utah's statute, the entities it lists shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state. These rules are in Chapter 16-1a of the Utah Code (effective 10/1/2026), which replaced the older Model Registered Agents Act.⁷

The filing treats them differently. An LLC using a commercial agent names that agent; an LLC using a noncommercial agent gives the agent's name and address. Under Chapter 16-1a, the designation affirms the agent's consent, so the agent's agreement comes before the filing.⁷

If the noncommercial agent is an owner, that owner's Utah street address goes on the filing. Naming a commercial agent service keeps that field to the service's name. Northwest Registered Agent, for example, states that Northwest's address is listed on public filings instead of the owner's, and Bizee (formerly Incfile) includes its agent free for the first year with any Bizee formation package, then charges $149/year. The list of plans that include a registered agent and the registered agent explainer cover what an agent service does and costs.^{8, 9, 10}

How fast does Utah approve an LLC, and can you pay for speed?

Utah says most filings are processed immediately, while a filing that needs manual review takes 5 to 7 business days. The state sells expedited handling at $75 per filing, but it doesn't publish how fast an expedited filing is reviewed.^{4, 6}

You file through the Division's online business registration system with a UtahID login. Paper forms go through that same system too; the Division tells filers to select "Submit a Paper Filing" from the menu and upload the document. Its current LLC page doesn't describe mailing, faxing or delivering a filing in person, so ask the Division before you put anything in the post.³

Paper filings appear on the Division's own list of manual review triggers. Filling in the online form instead of uploading a paper one avoids that trigger.

A service's stated speed is a separate clock. It covers the provider's own preparation and submission, and the Division still processes the filing on its schedule. The guide to how long LLC formation takes explains both clocks, and the fastest stated filing list orders providers by their published times.

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

Year one costs the $59 filing fee plus any plan, reservation or expedite charge you choose. Year two costs the $18 renewal, plus whatever your plan or registered agent renews at.^{2, 6}

The table shows both years for each provider with the plan we compare. Rows follow our rating, and providers that tie keep 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 fee schedule notes that renewal fees include a $5 surcharge for the state's single sign-on portal.⁶

The second-year column counts plan renewals but not agents that start billing after a free period. Inc Authority shows how far apart those can be. Its Free LLC plan comes to $59 in year one and $18 in year two, which are the state's charges alone, yet its included agent renews at $249/year if you keep it. doola runs the other way: its Starter plan bills yearly and lists Registered Agent Service. Its second-year figure of $315 repeats this year's plan price, but doola says the plan renews at rates then in effect and publishes no renewal price, so that figure is an estimate. See Inc Authority's profile and doola's profile for the rest of each plan.^{11, 12, 13}

For your own mix of plan, agent and expedite, try the LLC cost calculator. The list ordered by cost across both years ranks every provider on that basis, and the national guide to LLC costs puts Utah's fees beside other states.

What does a Utah LLC file after it is formed?

A Utah LLC files an Annual Report/Renewal with the Division every year, first due one year from the date of registration, and the fee is $18. The filing confirms or updates the company's details and must name at least one manager, member or other governing person.^{2, 3, 5, 6}

So the renewal names a person every year. A registered agent service fills the agent field, but it doesn't take the manager or member name off the renewal.

Late filing has a set price. The Division adds a $10 late renewal fee. If the LLC has to be reinstated, the fee is $54, plus $18 for each year the annual renewal was missed, and a $10 delinquency fee on top.⁶

Plans split on who handles this. Tailor Brands Elite lists mandatory report filing, and ZenBusiness lists filing of state-required annual reports on Pro and Premium. Northwest Registered Agent sells a renewal filing service at $100 + state fees. Bizee (formerly Incfile) lists lifetime compliance alerts, which remind you of the date but don't file for you. The annual report guide and the package contents guide explain the difference between a filing and an alert.^{14, 15, 16, 17}

How do you change a Utah registered agent?

You change a Utah registered agent online or on the Limited Liability Company Registration Information Change Form, and the Division charges $17 for the change. The fee schedule shows the same $17 for online changes, so the price doesn't depend on the method.^{6, 18}

Make the change before you cancel the old agent service. Utah law makes it grounds for administrative dissolution when an LLC fails to keep a registered agent in the state for 60 consecutive calendar days.⁷

The agent can leave on its own, too. A resignation takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the 31st day after the Division files the statement of resignation, or earlier if the LLC names a new agent first, and the agent must promptly notify the LLC of the filing date. Our facts don't include a separate deadline for naming a replacement; the rule above on going 60 consecutive calendar days without an agent is the limit we have a source for.⁷

What if your LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed outside Utah registers with the Division to do business here for $59, then pays the same $18 yearly renewal as a Utah LLC.⁶

The fee schedule lists that renewal fee for domestic and foreign LLCs alike. Our facts don't cover the agent rules for a foreign LLC, so confirm them with the Division.

Forming a new Utah company costs $59. Whether to register an existing company or start a new one depends on where the business operates and how it is taxed, which is a question for an accountant or lawyer. The foreign LLC guide covers the choice, and the state fees table compares costs across states, including neighbors Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and Wyoming.²