How to Form an LLC in Missouri (2026 Guide)

Step 1Pick a name Missouri will accept

Under RSMo 347.020, your LLC’s name must include “limited liability company,” “limited company,” or one of the abbreviations LLC, L.L.C., LC, or L.C. It may not include “corporation,” “incorporated,” “limited partnership,” “limited liability partnership,” “limited liability limited partnership,” or “Ltd.” (or abbreviations of those), and it can’t suggest a purpose not stated in your articles or imply that you are a government agency.

The name also has to be distinguishable from every corporation, LLC, and partnership already on the Secretary of State’s records. Check with the free Missouri business entity search. The state notes its search is sensitive to spacing and punctuation, so try short versions of your name.

Not ready to file yet? You can reserve a name for $25. A reservation lasts 60 days and can be renewed twice, for a total of no more than 180 days. After that, the same party can never reserve that name again (though you can still use it in a formation filing if it remains available).

Step 2Name a registered agent in Missouri

Every Missouri LLC must continuously maintain a registered office in the state and a registered agent at that office (RSMo 347.030). The agent can be:

• an individual who lives in Missouri and whose business office is the registered office, or
• a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to do business in Missouri, with its business office at the registered office.

The agent receives lawsuits and official notices for the company. A PO box can appear on the form only together with a physical street address. If you later change agents, the new agent must consent; the online system asks you to upload a signed letter of consent. The Secretary of State’s fee schedule lists $10 to change a registered agent or office address.

Step 3File Articles of Organization

Missouri’s Articles of Organization (Form LLC 1) ask for:

• the LLC’s name and its purpose (which can be any lawful business);
• the registered agent’s name and Missouri street address;
• whether the LLC is managed by its members or by managers;
• how long the LLC will last: a number of years, the events that end it, or perpetual (the form notes this choice may have tax consequences);
• the name and address of each organizer, who all must sign (organizers don’t have to be members or managers);
• optional items: series LLC details (each series files an LLC 1A attachment), a principal office address, and a delayed effective date up to 90 days out.

Online: Create an account on the Missouri Business Filings portal, choose “Create LLC,” complete each screen, and pay by credit card or e-check. The fee is $50. Credit cards add a vendor convenience fee of 2% + $0.25, and e-checks add $0.50. The online system allows up to five organizers; six or more requires a paper filing.

By mail: Send the completed LLC 1 with the $105 fee, payable to “Secretary of State,” to the Corporations Division, PO Box 778, Jefferson City, MO 65102.

Timing: Missouri doesn’t publish a standard turnaround or sell expedited processing. Its corporations page says many online filings are processed immediately. If you want staff to review a document before you formally submit it, the state offers a pre-clearance examination for $55.

Step 4Know what Missouri does (and doesn’t) require each year

This is where Missouri stands out. Missouri corporations file annual or biennial registration reports, but Chapter 347, the law that governs LLCs, has no equivalent requirement for domestic LLCs, and the state fee schedule lists registration report fees only for corporations and nonprofits. There’s no state LLC renewal fee either.

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to keep up with:

• Keep your registered agent current. If your agent quits or moves and you don’t replace them, the Secretary of State becomes your agent for service of process by default, and you could miss a lawsuit.
• Amend your articles with the Secretary of State if information in them, such as your name or management structure, changes.
• Property-control affidavits. An LLC that owns rental or unoccupied real property in certain large Missouri cities, or in some cases in a county of more than one million people, must file a free affidavit with the local clerk naming a person responsible for the property (RSMo 347.048).