To file an LLC in Wyoming, you submit Articles of Organization to the Secretary of State with a $100 fee, list your LLC’s name and a Wyoming registered agent, and include the agent’s signed consent. The state’s online portal handles most of the work in a single sitting, and Wyoming’s statute keeps the required information unusually short.1Wyoming Secretary of State. Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act and Close LLC Supplement
Pick a Name Wyoming Will Accept
Your LLC name has to include a designator identifying the entity type. “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” and “L.L.C.” are the usual choices, and Wyoming also accepts “LC” and “L.C.” among others.2Wyoming Secretary of State. Wyoming Code 17-29-108 – Name The name must also be distinguishable from every business already on file with the Secretary of State, including registered trademarks and service marks.
Search the Secretary of State’s online business database before you file. If another entity uses the name or something deceptively similar, the state will reject the filing. Singular and plural forms of the same word count as potential conflicts, so watch for that too.2Wyoming Secretary of State. Wyoming Code 17-29-108 – Name
Not ready to file yet but want to hold the name? Wyoming lets you reserve it for 120 days by submitting a name reservation application with a $60 fee. If you plan to file the Articles right away, skip the reservation.3Wyoming Secretary of State. Limited Liability Company Application for Reservation of Name
Line Up a Registered Agent
Every Wyoming LLC needs a registered agent to receive legal documents and official state mail. The agent can be an individual who is at least 18, lives in Wyoming, and keeps a business office at the registered office address. It can also be a business entity authorized to operate in the state.4Justia Law. Wyoming Code 17-28-101 – Registered Office and Registered Agent
The registered office has to be a physical Wyoming street address where someone is actually present to accept service of process. A P.O. box will not satisfy the statute, which requires the agent (or a person with an agency relationship to the agent) to be physically present at that location.4Justia Law. Wyoming Code 17-28-101 – Registered Office and Registered Agent If you don’t live in Wyoming or would rather not use your home address, commercial registered agent services handle this for roughly $100 to $300 per year.
Keep the agent’s information current after formation. If the state cannot reach your registered agent, Wyoming can revoke your LLC’s authority to do business.
Complete the Articles of Organization
The Articles of Organization is the document that officially creates your LLC. By statute the form needs only two things: your LLC’s name and the street address and name of your initial registered agent.5Wyoming Secretary of State. Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act – Section 17-29-201 In practice, the Secretary of State’s form also asks for a principal office address and a mailing address, both of which can be outside Wyoming.
The filing is actually two documents together: the Articles of Organization and a Consent to Appointment by Registered Agent. The consent is the agent’s signed acknowledgment that they have agreed to serve. Without it, the state will not process the filing.6Wyoming Secretary of State. LLC Articles of Organization
The “organizer” who signs the Articles doesn’t have to be an owner or manager. Any person can act as the organizer, and their signature certifies that the information is accurate and that the entity is being formed under the Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act.5Wyoming Secretary of State. Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act – Section 17-29-201
Member-Managed or Manager-Managed
Wyoming LLCs are member-managed by default, meaning every owner has a say in running the business. For a manager-managed structure where only designated managers make decisions, you have to say so in either the Articles of Organization or your operating agreement.7Wyoming Secretary of State. Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act – Section 17-29-407
File and Pay
The fastest route is the Wyoming Secretary of State’s online portal at wyobiz.wyo.gov. Online filings process quickly and you get confirmation by email. The filing fee is $100, plus a $3.75 convenience fee for online transactions.8Wyoming Secretary of State. Instructions to Form or Register a New Business9Wyoming Secretary of State. Business Division Filing Fee Schedule
If you prefer paper, mail the completed forms with a $100 check to the Secretary of State’s office in Cheyenne.10Wyoming Secretary of State. Contact Information Mailed filings take longer to process, and there is no convenience fee. Once the state approves the filing, you’ll receive a Certificate of Organization confirming the LLC exists and is authorized to do business in Wyoming.
Get an EIN
An Employer Identification Number is a nine-digit federal tax ID from the IRS. You need one if your LLC has more than one member, hires employees, or files certain tax returns. Single-member LLCs with no employees usually need an EIN anyway to open a business bank account.11Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
Apply online through the IRS and you’ll get the number immediately at no cost. Third-party sites that charge for this are selling something the IRS gives away.12Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
Put an Operating Agreement in Writing
An operating agreement is the internal rulebook: how profits and losses are split, how decisions get made, what happens when a member leaves, and how the company can be dissolved. Wyoming law gives the operating agreement broad authority over the company’s internal affairs, including relations among members, management rights, and voting.13Justia Law. Wyoming Code 17-29-110 – Operating Agreement; Scope, Function and Limitations
You don’t file it with the Secretary of State. It stays with the company as a private document. If a conflict arises between the operating agreement and the Articles on file, the operating agreement controls among members, managers, and transferees, though third parties who reasonably relied on the public record can hold the company to what’s in the Articles.
Single-member LLCs benefit from a written agreement too. It reinforces the separation between you and the entity, which is what liability protection depends on.
Annual Report and License Tax
Every Wyoming LLC files an annual report and pays a license tax to stay in good standing. The deadline is the first day of the month in which the LLC was originally formed. Form the LLC on May 15, and the annual report is due by May 1 each following year.14Justia Law. Wyoming Code 17-29-209 – Annual Report for Secretary of State
The license tax is based on the value of the LLC’s assets located in Wyoming, at two-tenths of one mill per dollar ($0.0002 per dollar of assets), with a $60 minimum.15Wyoming Secretary of State. Annual Report and License Tax Rules For most small LLCs, that means the $60 minimum. The tax only exceeds $60 once Wyoming assets top $300,000.
File the annual report online through the Secretary of State’s portal, or print the completed form and mail it with a check.16Wyoming Secretary of State. Annual Report Online Filing Miss the deadline and the Secretary of State will administratively dissolve the LLC, stripping its legal authority to do business. Reinstatement requires the overdue report and a separate reinstatement form; if the fee owed exceeds $500, you cannot reinstate online. Set a calendar reminder a few weeks before your anniversary month.
Federal Taxes and Wyoming Sales Tax
Wyoming has no state income tax for individuals or corporations, which is one of the main draws. Federal tax obligations still apply, and how the IRS treats your LLC depends on how many members it has.
A single-member LLC is a “disregarded entity” by default, so business income and expenses go on your personal return. A multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership, with each member receiving a Schedule K-1. Either type can elect corporate tax treatment by filing IRS Form 8832, or S-Corporation treatment by filing Form 2553.17Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
The S-Corporation election can reduce self-employment taxes for profitable LLCs, but the requirements are strict and the deadline is two months and 15 days after the start of the tax year. Talk to a tax professional before electing, because reversing it is harder than choosing it.
If your LLC sells taxable goods or services in Wyoming, register with the Wyoming Department of Revenue for a sales tax license. The one-time fee is $60. Remote sellers without a physical presence in Wyoming must also collect and remit sales tax once they exceed $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions within the state.
What Wyoming Formation Does Not Cover
The federal Corporate Transparency Act originally required most new LLCs to report their beneficial owners to FinCEN. As of March 2025, FinCEN issued a rule exempting all entities created in the United States from this requirement.18FinCEN.gov. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Older guides telling you to file a BOI report no longer apply to domestic LLCs.
Forming in Wyoming also does not give you the right to operate elsewhere. If your business has a physical location, employees, or regular transactions in another state, that state will likely require you to register as a “foreign LLC” and pay its own fees and taxes. States that catch unregistered foreign LLCs operating within their borders can deny access to their courts, impose back fees, and charge penalties. If your actual operations are concentrated somewhere other than Wyoming, count the cost of dual registration before choosing Wyoming for its low fees or tax treatment.