How to start an LLC in Louisiana

Check the name is free

Search on Louisiana business filings search. You can search by business name, charter or name reservation number, or by an officer's or agent's name; the Secretary of State says this is only a preliminary check and a fuller name review happens when you submit your filing.

Name ending

"limited liability company", "L.L.C." or "L.C." (R.S. 12:1306). The statute does not list "LLC" or "LC" without full stops. Low-profit LLCs use "low-profit limited liability company", "L3C" or "l3c".

Reserving

Name reservation costs $25 and lasts 120 days. It cannot be renewed (R.S. 12:1307). Transferring a reservation costs $25, and so does canceling one.

Words to avoid or that need permission:

• 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: written approval from the Office of Financial Institutions dated at least 14 days before filing
• engineer, engineering, surveyor, surveying (or derivatives): 10 days' written notice to, or a waiver from, the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board

Also worth knowing:

• The name must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from corporations, LLCs, reserved names and registered trade names; the office checks alternative spellings and sound-alikes (its examples: Cajun vs Kajun).
• Names of revoked Louisiana corporations and LLCs stay unavailable for 3 years after revocation.

Choose a registered agent

Can it be you?

Yes. The Secretary of State lists an organizer, a member of the LLC, an employee, an attorney or an accountant as possible agents. An individual agent must be a Louisiana citizen who lives in the state (statute); the FAQ words this as 'of legal age and a legal resident of Louisiana'.

Address

Both the registered office and each agent need a municipal (street) address in Louisiana, not a post office box only.

Their consent

Yes. Each registered agent signs the 'Agent's Affidavit and Acknowledgement of Acceptance' on the Initial Report, before a notary on paper.

• A company or law firm acting as agent must have a certificate on file with the Secretary of State naming at least two individuals 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 the LLC's legal domicile. If it is vacated and no change is filed within 30 days, others may treat the Secretary of State's office as the registered office.

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

File the Articles of Organization and Initial Report

File online at geauxBIZ. Fee: $125 since October 1, 2026 (Act 921 of 2026). It covers the Articles and the required Initial Report; card payments add a $5 statutory convenience fee.

The form asks for:

• LLC name
• Purpose: any lawful activity, or a limited purpose
• Whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed
• Duration (may be perpetual) and any other provisions
• Signature of each person signing the Articles (organizers need not be members), acknowledged before a notary on paper
• 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 accepting the appointment
• Initial Report: names and street addresses of the first managers (manager-managed) or of the members (member-managed)

What is different about Louisiana’s form:

• The Articles cannot be accepted unless the Initial Report (Form 973) is filed with them, and that report names the managers, or the members if member-managed, with street addresses.
• On paper, a notary must witness the Articles and each agent's affidavit and print their name and notary or bar roll number. Under Act 554 of 2016, a filing made online and signed electronically can skip the notary.
• If managers or members have not been chosen at filing, a Supplemental Initial Report ($30) must be filed as soon as they are.
• If the Articles are filed within five working days after they were acknowledged before the notary, the LLC exists from the time of that acknowledgment.

On paper: Yes, by mail (P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge), fax or walk-in at 8585 Archives Ave. Paper Articles and the agent's affidavit must be notarized, and the Secretary of State forms say owners in 14 named parishes must file online through geauxBIZ.

Wait for approval, or pay to go faster

No routine turnaround is published. The Secretary of State only says expedited documents are processed before other documents received the same day.

The Secretary of State describes both expedite levels for walk-in, fax and mail filings. No official page says whether they can be bought inside geauxBIZ.

Do what comes after filing

Approval is the start. Get the LLC’s EIN, free from the IRS, then work through what Louisiana expects next:

• Initial Report (filed with the Articles)At formation, with the Articles · Included in the $125

  Lists the registered office, the agent(s) with signed acceptance, and the first managers or 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 organization (first one at year one) · $35

  Confirms the registered office, agents, and managers or members, with street addresses; file in geauxBIZ even if nothing changed. Late filers get a Notice of Intent to Revoke with 30 days to file. The statute allows revocation after three missed years, and 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. LDR warns not to register for sales tax or withholding until you are actually required to, because registering early creates filing duties. The state sales tax rate is 5%, and local taxes also apply.

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

  geauxBIZ prompts for an unemployment insurance account number during new business registration; LWC also takes registrations through its employer pages (LAWATS).

• Local occupational license and other permitsBefore trading

  No statewide general business license appears on the Secretary of State or LDR pages checked. Parishes and municipalities may levy an occupational license tax (R.S. 47:341). geauxBIZ's free Business License Checklist lists the federal, state and local licenses for your industry and location.

• State entity tax checkOnly if the LLC is taxed as a corporation

  An LLC taxed as a partnership is treated as one for Louisiana income tax. An LLC taxed as a corporation files Form CIFT-620 at a flat 5.5%, due the 15th day of the fifth month after year-end. The corporation franchise tax is repealed for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026.