Forming a Illinois Limited Liability Company can be an excellent decision for your business.

LLC's enjoy both the simplified pass through taxation of partnerships and the limited liability of corporations. Your LLC will have far fewer corporate formalities after formation than the typical C corporation--allowing you to focus on business, not paperwork.

Protect your personal assets from lawsuits and judgments against your business by forming an Illinois LLC. If you neglect to incorporate your business, you could be held personally liable for business debts and lawsuits. Avoid these problems by forming a legal Illinois Limited Liability Company.

Forming an LLC in Illinois requires filing Articles of Organization with the Illinois Secretary of State office.

LLC Name Requirements

The LLC name must contain the words Limited Liability Company, L.L.C. or LLC and cannot contain the terms Corporation, Corp., Incorporated, Inc., Ltd., Co., Limited Partnership or L.P.

The proposed corporate/LLC name must be distinguishable from any other corporate/LLC name on file with the Illinois Secretary of State's Office.

A corporate name is distinguishable first, when not substantially the same as a name on record, and second, when containing a significant difference from other names on the record which the corporate name distinguishability is plainly recognizable by the Secretary of State by means of sight or sound.

As of September 2005, one can reserve an LLC name in Illinois by filing form LLC-1.15 and paying a $300 filing fee.

License Requirements

Illinois requires most businesses to obtain a license and pay a fee if operating in the state.

Registered Agent

A P.O. Box alone or c/o are unacceptable.

Illinois LLC Filing Fees and Annual Reports

The filing fee for a Illinois Limited Liability Company is $500 (this information updated as of Feb. 2006). This does not include the cost of any additional services such as expedited filing.

Every Illinois LLC must file an annual renewal report with the Secretary of State. The fee associated with this filing is $250. Foreign LLCs must file the same form and pay the $250 fee.