Illinois LLC Cost

Here’s what it costs to start an LLC in Illinois:

Illinois LLC Filing Fee – $153

The Illinois LLC filing fee is $153. You’ll pay this fee when you file your Articles of Organization.

Annual Report Fee – $75

You’re responsible for filing an annual report in Illinois and paying the associated $75 fee for every year your LLC is in business.

Registered Agent Fee – Free (if you serve as your own)

Every Illinois LLC is required to have a registered agent. You can act as your own registered agent for free, or you can appoint someone else to serve as your registered agent (with their permission). You can also use a commercial registered agent service like ours for a fee.

Our registered agent services make it easy for you. We’ll serve as your registered agent and handle any requirements without any work from you.

You paid your Illinois LLC filing fee requirement. What other fees could you be responsible for? Let’s take a look:

Illinois Certificate of Good Standing

You get this document from the Illinois Secretary of State. It costs $25, and it shows that your Illinois business is in compliance with state law.

You don’t need to get an Illinois Certificate of Good Standing as part of the LLC formation process, but you might need one if you want to expand your LLC to another state. Some banks also require one to open a business bank account or to get a loan.

DBA Name in Illinois

Want to go by a different name than your legal LLC name? To do so, you’re required to submit a “Doing Business As” (DBA) name, known in Illinois as an “assumed name.”

LLCs sometimes use a DBA when they want to open a new store or launch a new product line but don’t want to create another business for it.

The Illinois DBA fee structure is a bit complicated and depends on the year you’re requesting it. For each year ending in a 0 or 5, you must pay a $150 filing fee; $120 for years ending in 1 or 6; $90 for years ending in 2 or 7; $60 for years ending in 3 or 8; or $30 for years ending in 4 or 9.

Foreign LLC

If you already have an LLC in another state but want to expand your business to Illinois, then you need to file as a foreign LLC. You’ll do this by completing an Application for Admission to Transact Business.

The fee is the same as a domestic LLC filing, $150, and an extra $100 if you want it expedited.

Business Licenses and Permits

Your type of business may need federal, state, or local licenses and permits to legally open your doors in Illinois. Although Illinois doesn’t require a general business license to operate, you may need other licenses and/or permits depending on factors like your location and industry.

The fees for these licenses and permits will vary, as will the costs for renewing them.

Starting at just $0 plus state fees, we can form your Illinois LLC for you in just minutes. No LegalZoom promo code required: Pay just $0 plus filing fees for fast LLC formation in Illinois.

Yes. For example, the state can charge you $100 if you fail to pay your annual report fee within 60 days of the deadline. Failing to pay some fees at all could result in the state dissolving your LLC.

If you can’t pay your filing fee for the Articles of Organization, the Illinois Secretary of State won’t file your documents.

You’ll pay the LLC formation fees to the Illinois Secretary of State.

The Illinois filing fees you pay will depend on things like your industry and location. At a bare minimum, you’ll have to pay the $153 filing fee to form the LLC.

If you’re filing online, you can pay online by credit card with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. Your card will be charged at the time you submit the Articles of Organization. If the Articles are rejected, the charge will be reversed.

If you’re filing by mail, you’ll need to pay with a certified check, money order, or check from an Illinois attorney or certified public accountant payable to the Illinois Secretary of State.

The main benefit of LLCs over business entity options like sole proprietorships and general partnerships is that LLCs offer liability protection. Your personal assets are separate from your business assets, so they usually can’t be touched if someone sues the business or the business goes into debt.

Corporations also offer personal liability protection for the owners, but they have a more rigid structure, more paperwork, and “double taxation.” Profits for a corporation are taxed both at the business level and again when they’re distributed to the individual shareholders. By default, LLC profits are usually only taxed at the individual level.