How to start an LLC in Utah

Check the name is free

Search on Business Entity Search. The Division's search lets you look up existing businesses and check name availability, but it warns that a name that looks available is not final until the Division approves the filing.

Name ending

limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C. or LC ("limited" may be shortened to Ltd. and "company" to Co.)

Reserving

Name reservation: $22 for 120 calendar days; it is optional, and the Division asks you not to reserve a name if you are ready to file the LLC itself.

Words to avoid or that need permission:

• Olympic, Olympiad or Citius Altius Fortius (needs consent of the US Olympic Committee)
• the number sequence 911 (banned in names formed or changed on or after May 4, 2022)
• bank, banker, banking, banc, banco, bancorp, savings bank, savings and loan, building and loan, industrial loan, thrift, credit union, trust, trustee, trust company, escrow and similar financial terms (need written approval from the Department of Financial Institutions)
• any name implying the LLC is a Utah state or local government agency

Also worth knowing:

• The name must be distinguishable on the Division's records from existing undissolved Utah entities, registered out-of-state entities, registered DBAs, and reserved or registered names, so an existing DBA can block an LLC name.
• Differences in the entity ending, in the words the, and, a or plus, in punctuation, spacing, special characters, capitals, singular or plural, or abbreviations do not make a name distinguishable.

Choose a registered agent

Can it be you?

Yes: the Division says you can add yourself as the registered agent, and an individual, a Utah entity, an unregistered entity or a commercial agent can serve, as long as there is a Utah street address; owners without one can hire a commercial agent or a Utah attorney.

Address

The agent needs a Utah street address; a PO box is allowed only as an extra mailing address.

Their consent

By naming an agent in the filing, the LLC affirms that the agent has consented; no separate consent form is filed.

• Commercial registered agents file a listing statement with the Division ($52); an LLC using one only gives the agent's name, not its address.
• An LLC may instead name an office or position inside the company (for example its manager) as its agent, with that position's Utah address.
• The Division must publish a daily list of filings that name each registered agent, kept up for at least 14 days.

File the Certificate of Organization

File online at Utah Business Registration. Fee: $59 ($54 filing fee plus the $5 state single sign-on portal fee).

The form asks for:

• LLC name
• street and mailing address of the principal office
• registered agent: a listed commercial registered agent by name, or a noncommercial agent's name and Utah street address
• principal information (managers, owners, organizers and so on)
• any documents required by statute (upload)
• electronic signature with the signer's name and capacity
• optional statements such as purpose or duration, and an optional delayed effective date up to 90 days ahead

What is different about Utah’s form:

• You must create a UtahID (the state's single sign-on) before you can file, and the $5 portal fee is built into the $59.
• Filing Authority switches on automatically for entities created after September 16, 2024: the email that registered the LLC becomes its administrator, and others need that person's approval (or a notarized affidavit to the Division) to file changes.
• The statute only requires the name, principal office and registered agent on the certificate; the Division's old paper form marked members and managers as optional, but the online system asks for principals.
• Utah recodified its business entity law on October 1, 2026: the LLC Act moved from Title 48 Chapter 3a to Title 16 Chapter 20, and naming, filing and registered agent rules now sit in Title 16 Chapter 1a, so many Division pages still cite the old section numbers.

On paper: Formations are now built into the online system; paper documents are submitted by uploading them through 'Submit a Paper Filing' inside the same UtahID system, which goes to manual review (5 to 7 business days).

Wait for approval, or pay to go faster

Most filings are processed immediately; allow 5 to 7 business days for filings that need manual review, such as paper uploads, filings with attachments, ones needing a Utah State Tax Commission review, or name conflict checks.

The Division's renewal page (September 2026 copy) said processing times were 7 to 10 business days, which conflicts with the newer home page wording.

Do what comes after filing

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

• Annual renewal (annual report)every year by the last day of the anniversary month of formation; can be filed up to 60 days early · $18 ($13 plus the $5 portal fee under 2026 H.B. 8); $10 late fee

  The renewal confirms or updates the principal office, registered agent and principals; the Division mails a renewal postcard to the registered agent when the window opens.

• Avoid delinquency and administrative dissolutiona renewal more than 60 days late lets the Division start dissolution · reinstatement $54 plus $18 for each missed year and a $10 delinquency fee (Division fee schedule)

  The Division serves notice and gives 60 days to cure; after that the LLC is administratively dissolved and may only wind up or apply for reinstatement.

• Utah State Tax Commission registration (TC-69)before making taxable sales or paying wages · free (Utah Code 59-12-106 says the sales tax license is issued without a fee)

  The Utah State Business and Tax Registration (TC-69) is filed online through the Tax Commission's Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) to open accounts such as a sales and use tax license or withholding; Utah law makes it unlawful to do business without a required sales tax license.

• Department of Workforce Services unemployment insurance accountonce the LLC employs anyone

  Utah law treats an employer that employs one or more people for any part of a day in a calendar year as subject to unemployment contributions; Workforce Services takes new employer registrations online at jobs.utah.gov.

• Pass-through income tax return (multi-member LLCs)by the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year ends, or the federal due date if later · no entity-level tax for a pass-through LLC

  Utah taxes an LLC the same way as the IRS does; an LLC taxed as a partnership pays no Utah income tax itself but must file a return if it has Utah-source income.

• Local business license (no state general license)before trading

  The Department of Commerce says that after registering with the Division you get your business license from the city, town or county where the business is located or operates.

• DBA registration (if trading under another name)before using the other name; renew every 3 years · $22 to register; $18 to renew

  A DBA is registered with the same Division, must keep a registered agent, and sits on the same name index as LLCs.