To form an LLC in Arizona, file Articles of Organization with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) along with a signed Statutory Agent Acceptance, and pay a $50 filing fee. After the ACC approves your filing, you may need to publish a notice in a local newspaper, and you’ll want to get a federal EIN and put an operating agreement in place. The whole thing can be done online in one sitting, and the state doesn’t require annual reports afterward.
Pick a Name That Meets Arizona’s Rules
Your LLC name has to include “Limited Liability Company” or an accepted abbreviation: LLC, L.L.C., LC, or L.C. Arizona also accepts “Limited Company.”1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 29-3112 – Permitted Names Beyond the designator, the name must be distinguishable from every other entity already on file with the ACC or the Secretary of State. That standard is stricter than it sounds. Adding “LLC” to a name already taken by a corporation is not enough.
Check availability through the ACC’s online entity search before you commit to signage, a domain, or business cards. If you’re not ready to file but want to hold a name, the ACC will reserve it for 120 days for a $10 nonrefundable fee.2Arizona Corporation Commission. Application to Reserve Limited Liability Company Name – General Information The reservation is nonrenewable, so time your filing accordingly. Reserving a name doesn’t form the LLC on its own.
If your profession requires a state license — real estate, law, medicine, accounting, and similar fields — you may need to form a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) instead. Check with your licensing board before filing standard articles.
Appoint a Statutory Agent
Every Arizona LLC must designate a statutory agent before filing. The agent accepts legal documents and official correspondence for the company.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 29-3115 – Statutory Agent The agent must be either an Arizona resident or a business entity authorized to operate in the state, with a physical place of business or residence here. The Articles specifically require a street address; a P.O. Box won’t work.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 29-3201 – Formation of Limited Liability Company
You can serve as your own statutory agent if you live in Arizona, but the address becomes public record. Many owners hire a commercial registered agent service, typically $50 to $300 per year, to keep a home address off state filings.
The agent has to formally accept the role by signing the Statutory Agent Acceptance, Form M002.5Arizona Corporation Commission. Statutory Agent Acceptance Form M002 This signed form must accompany your Articles of Organization. Without it, the ACC will reject the entire package.
Complete the Articles of Organization
The Articles of Organization, Form L010, is the document that actually creates your LLC. The required contents are set by statute:4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 29-3201 – Formation of Limited Liability Company
- The LLC name, complying with the naming rules above.
- A principal address (which can be the same as the statutory agent’s).
- The statutory agent’s name plus a street address and mailing address in Arizona.
- The management structure, plus the names and addresses of the relevant people.
The management structure choice deserves thought. In a member-managed LLC, every owner has authority to act for the business, and you must list every member’s name and address. In a manager-managed LLC, only designated managers have that authority, and you must list each manager plus any member holding 20 percent or more of the company’s capital or profits.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 29-3201 – Formation of Limited Liability Company All of this information is public. Decide the structure before you file.
Arizona does not require you to specify a duration for the LLC. Unless you later dissolve it, the company exists indefinitely.
File With the ACC and Pay the Fee
You can file the formation package online through the ACC’s eCorp portal or mail paper documents to the ACC’s Phoenix office. The online system confirms receipt immediately and lets you track status. Most people file online because it’s faster and avoids mailing delays.
The base filing fee is $50 with standard processing. If you need faster turnaround, expedited tiers are available:6Arizona Corporation Commission. Schedule of Fees – Limited Liability Companies
- Expedited processing: $85 total ($50 filing fee plus $35 expedited fee).
- Next-day service: $100 additional, and the filing must arrive before 5 p.m.
- Same-day service: $200 additional, and the filing must arrive before 10 a.m.
- Two-hour service: $400 additional, available 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All fees are nonrefundable, even on rejected filings. After you submit, watch your email for either a Notice of Approval or a deficiency notice. Deficiency notices spell out what needs correcting; common issues are a missing Form M002, a name too similar to an existing entity, or an incomplete management structure disclosure. Fix and resubmit promptly. Your LLC doesn’t legally exist until the ACC approves the filing.
Handle the Publication Requirement
Within 60 days of ACC approval, you must publish a notice of your LLC’s formation in a newspaper of general circulation.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 29-3201 – Formation of Limited Liability Company The notice runs for three consecutive publications in the county where your statutory agent’s street address is located, and it must contain the same information you put in your Articles.
There’s an important exception. If your statutory agent’s street address is in a county with a population over 800,000 (in practice, Maricopa or Pima), the ACC handles publication by posting your LLC’s information on its own website, and you don’t need to do anything extra.7Arizona Corporation Commission. Instructions for Articles of Organization L010i For every other county, you arrange the publication with a local newspaper and keep the Affidavit of Publication it provides after the three-week cycle.
The statute says the affidavit “may be” filed with the ACC, so submitting it is not strictly required. Failing to publish at all is different. The ACC can administratively dissolve an LLC that misses its publication obligation, and reinstatement gets expensive.6Arizona Corporation Commission. Schedule of Fees – Limited Liability Companies Publish on time.
Get a Federal EIN
Once the state approves your LLC, apply for an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. This nine-digit number is your business’s federal tax ID. You need it to open a business bank account, file federal returns, and hire employees. The online application is free, takes a few minutes, and the IRS issues the EIN immediately upon approval.8Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
You’ll provide the entity type and the Social Security number of a “responsible party,” the person who controls or manages the LLC. The IRS recommends forming the entity with the state first; applying earlier can delay the application.8Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
Put an Operating Agreement in Place
Arizona doesn’t require you to file an operating agreement with the state, but skipping it is a mistake. Under state law, the operating agreement governs the relationships among members, the rights of managers, and the conduct of the company’s activities.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 29-3105 – Operating Agreement; Scope, Function and Limitations Where the operating agreement addresses a topic, it overrides the state’s default rules. In practical terms, it’s the constitution of your LLC.
A solid agreement covers profit and loss distribution, voting rights, procedures for admitting or removing members, buyout terms, and dissolution. Single-member LLCs need one too. Without a written agreement documenting that the LLC operates as a separate entity, a creditor has an easier time arguing that the liability shield shouldn’t apply. Courts look at whether owners followed their own formalities, and having none is the worst position to be in.
The statute limits what the agreement can do. It cannot eliminate the duty of good faith and fair dealing, strip away members’ rights to access company information, or override certain provisions about statutory agents and filings with the ACC.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 29-3105 – Operating Agreement; Scope, Function and Limitations Everything else is open to negotiation among the members.
Ongoing Obligations After Formation
Arizona does not require LLCs to file annual reports.10Arizona Corporation Commission. Business Services FAQs Corporations must, but LLCs are exempt. You are still responsible for keeping your ACC information current. If the statutory agent, principal address, or management structure changes, file the appropriate amendment. Stale records are a ground for administrative dissolution.
State Taxes and TPT
Arizona does not impose a franchise tax or a separate entity-level tax on LLCs. By default, a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity for tax purposes, and a multi-member LLC is treated as a partnership. Members report their share of income on their personal Arizona returns.
If your LLC sells products, rents property, or provides certain taxable services, you’ll need a Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) license from the Arizona Department of Revenue. The state license fee is $12.11Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT License TPT is Arizona’s version of a sales tax, though it’s technically levied on the seller’s privilege of doing business rather than on the buyer. Retail sales, restaurants, construction contracting, and commercial leasing are among the activities that can trigger it.
Federal Beneficial Ownership Reporting
The Corporate Transparency Act originally required most small LLCs to file Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports with FinCEN. As of March 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule removing the BOI reporting requirement for all U.S.-formed entities.12Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. FinCEN Removes Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for U.S. Companies and U.S. Persons Arizona LLCs formed domestically are currently exempt. This area has shifted more than once, so check FinCEN’s site if you’re reading this well after publication.
Already Have an LLC in Another State?
If your LLC is formed elsewhere and you want to operate in Arizona, you don’t form a new one. You register as a foreign LLC. That means filing a Foreign Registration Statement with the ACC, appointing an Arizona statutory agent, and providing a certificate of good standing from your home state dated within 60 days. The filing fee is $150, and the same expedited processing options apply.13Arizona Corporation Commission. Foreign Registration Statement Instructions If your LLC’s name doesn’t meet Arizona’s naming rules or is already taken here, you’ll need to adopt a fictitious name for use in the state.