How to start an LLC in Louisiana

Check your business name is free

Search for your name on Louisiana business filings search. You can search by business name, by charter number (the ID number the state gives a business) or name reservation number, or by an officer's or agent's name. This is only a first check. A fuller name review happens when you submit your filing.

Your name must end with

"limited liability company", "L.L.C." or "L.C.". The law does not list "LLC" or "LC" without periods. Low-profit LLCs use "low-profit limited liability company", "L3C" or "l3c".

Holding a name

Reserving a name (holding it before you file) costs $25 and lasts 120 days. It cannot be renewed. Passing a reservation to someone else costs $25, and so does canceling one.

Words you can’t use, or need permission to use:

• No "doing business as" or "d/b/a" in the name
• "Insurance" only for an independent insurance agency or brokerage firm
• bank, banker, banking, savings, safe deposit, trust, trustee, building and loan, homestead, credit union: you need written approval from the Office of Financial Institutions. It must be dated at least 14 days before you file
• engineer, engineering, surveyor, surveying (or related words): 10 days' written notice to the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board, or a waiver (permission to skip this) from it

Also worth knowing:

• Your name must be clearly different from corporations, LLCs, reserved names and registered trade names on the Secretary of State's records. The office also checks other spellings and names that sound the same. Its example is Cajun and Kajun.
• If the state revokes (cancels) a Louisiana corporation or LLC, its name stays unavailable for 3 years after that.

Choose your registered agent

Every LLC needs a registered agent: a person or company with an address in Louisiana who receives legal papers and official letters for it.

Can you do it yourself?

Yes. A registered agent is the person or company that receives legal papers for your LLC. The Secretary of State lists an organizer, an owner (member), an employee, a lawyer or an accountant as possible agents. By law, a person acting as agent must be a Louisiana citizen who lives in the state. The state's FAQ says 'of legal age and a legal resident of Louisiana'.

Address rules

The registered office (your LLC's official address on state records) and each agent both need a street address in Louisiana. A post office box on its own is not enough.

Do they need to agree?

Yes. Each registered agent signs the 'Agent's Affidavit and Acknowledgement of Acceptance' on the Initial Report (a required form filed with your Articles). On paper, they sign it in front of a notary.

• A company or law firm acting as agent must have a certificate on file with the Secretary of State. The certificate names at least two people at its Louisiana address who can receive legal papers.
• The agent's name and address are public and shown on the Secretary of State's website.
• The registered office counts as your LLC's official legal home (domicile). If the office is left empty and no change is filed within 30 days, others may treat the Secretary of State's office as your registered office.

Or compare what the main registered agent services charge, in year one and after.

File the form that creates your LLC

The form is called the Articles of Organization and Initial Report. File it online at geauxBIZ. The fee: $125 since October 1, 2026 (Act 921 of 2026). This covers the Articles and the required Initial Report. Card payments add a $5 convenience fee set by law

You’ll be asked for:

• LLC name
• Purpose: any lawful activity, or a limited purpose
• Whether the LLC is member-managed (run by its owners) or manager-managed (run by managers you name)
• How long the LLC will last (it can be forever) and any other provisions (extra rules)
• Signature of each person signing the Articles. These organizers do not have to be owners (members). On paper, each signature must be confirmed in front of a notary
• Initial Report: registered office street address in Louisiana
• Initial Report: full name and street address of each registered agent
• Initial Report: each agent's signed affidavit (sworn statement) accepting the role
• Initial Report: names and street addresses of the first managers, or of the owners (members) if the owners run the LLC

Good to know about the Louisiana form:

• The Articles of Organization (the form that sets up your LLC) cannot be accepted unless the Initial Report (Form 973) is filed with them. That report names the managers, or the owners (members) if they run the LLC, with street addresses.
• On paper, a notary must witness the Articles and each agent's affidavit (signed statement). The notary must print their name and their notary ID number or bar roll number (a lawyer's registration number). Under Act 554 of 2016, a filing made online and signed electronically does not need a notary.
• If managers or owners (members) have not been chosen when you file, you must file a Supplemental Initial Report ($30) as soon as they are.
• If you file the Articles within five working days after signing them before the notary, your LLC exists from the time of that notary signing.

Prefer paper? Yes, by mail (P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge), fax or in person at 8585 Archives Ave. Paper Articles and the agent's affidavit must be notarized (signed in front of a notary). The Secretary of State's forms say owners in 14 named parishes (counties) must file online through geauxBIZ.

Wait for approval (or pay to speed it up)

No usual processing time is published. The Secretary of State only says expedited documents (faster, for an extra fee) are handled before other documents received the same day.

The Secretary of State describes both faster service levels for in-person, fax and mail filings. No official page says whether you can buy them inside geauxBIZ.

After approval: what to do next

Once your LLC is approved, get its EIN (the business tax number), free from the IRS. Then work through what Louisiana asks for next:

• Initial Report (filed with the Articles)When you form, with the Articles · Included in the $125

  Lists the registered office, the agent(s) with their signed acceptance, and the first managers or owners (members). If those people are not yet chosen, file a Supplemental Initial Report ($30) once they are.

• Annual report to the Secretary of StateOn or before each anniversary of forming your LLC (the first one is at one year) · $35

  Confirms the registered office, agents, and managers or owners (members), with street addresses. File it in geauxBIZ even if nothing has changed. If you are late, you get a Notice of Intent to Revoke, which gives you 30 days to file. By law, the state can revoke (cancel) your LLC after three missed years. An LLC that is behind cannot do business with state agencies.

• Louisiana Department of Revenue tax accounts (LaTAP)Before you start making taxable sales or paying employees

  Register through LaTAP ('Register My Business') or in geauxBIZ. The Department of Revenue (LDR) warns you not to register for sales tax or withholding (tax held back from staff pay) until you actually have to. Registering early means you must file returns. The state sales tax rate is 5%, and local taxes also apply.

• Unemployment insurance account (Louisiana Workforce Commission)When you hire employees

  geauxBIZ asks for an unemployment insurance account number when you register a new business. The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) also takes registrations through its employer pages (LAWATS).

• Local occupational license and other permitsBefore you start trading

  No general business license for the whole state appears on the Secretary of State or Department of Revenue pages checked. Parishes (counties) and towns may charge an occupational license tax (a local tax for the right to do business there). geauxBIZ's free Business License Checklist lists the federal, state and local licenses for your industry and location.

• State business tax checkOnly if your LLC is taxed as a corporation

  An LLC taxed as a partnership (profit is taxed on the owners' own returns) is treated as one for Louisiana income tax. An LLC taxed as a corporation (the LLC pays tax on its own profit) files Form CIFT-620 at a flat 5.5%. It is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after the tax year ends. The corporation franchise tax (a yearly state business tax) no longer applies to periods starting on or after January 1, 2026.