How To Start an LLC in Georgia
Form a Missouri LLC in 6 steps: choose a name, appoint a registered agent, file Form LLC 1 Articles or a Certificate of Organization with the Secretary of State, create an operating agreement, obtain an EIN, and secure required licenses and permits. Follow state naming rules and confirm local license requirements.
Starts at $0 + MO state fee and only takes 5-10 minutes
Last Updated: March 12, 2026
LLC requirements vary state by state, so it’s important that you are well-versed in Missouri laws before proceeding. Generally, it comes down to these six steps:
Give your Missouri limited liability company a name. Brainstorming names is one of the more fun parts of running a business. Still, keep in mind there are rules you’ll need to follow. If the Missouri Secretary of State rejects your name, you’ll have to start the whole filing process over.
Missouri law requires you to follow these rules when naming your LLC:
So, how do you know if the name you want hasn’t already been claimed by someone else? You can conduct a Missouri business search to find out if your desired business name is available.
If you’ve decided on a name but aren’t ready to register your LLC in Missouri, you can reserve it with the state for 60 days by completing an Application for Reservation of Name and paying a filing fee.
Although the Secretary of State may accept your LLC name, that doesn’t mean it’s available to use. Business names can be trademarked at the federal and state levels. Check with the United States Patent and Trademark Office website to see if anything similar is already trademarked at the federal level.
State trademarks apply only within the state, but they’re easier and less expensive to get than federal trademarks. To check to see if your name has been trademarked in Missouri or apply for a state trademark of your own, contact the Missouri Secretary of State office at (866) 223-6535.
It’s also a good idea to do some independent research to see if anyone else has laid claim to the name you want. You can conduct internet searches or even consult a trademark attorney.
Securing a domain name that matches or closely resembles your Missouri LLC’s name is crucial for online presence, even if you’re not selling directly online. A memorable URL is essential for branding and will be displayed on your business cards and marketing materials. If an exact match isn’t available, consider similar alternatives or even select a business name based on available domain names.
You can also check to see what social media handles are available. Many businesses market on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, so getting the appropriate social media names can be important for effective online marketing.
If your company will be doing business under a name that’s different from its legal name, Missouri law also requires you to complete a Fictitious Name Registration with the Secretary of State and pay a small filing fee. It’s also known as “doing business as” registration in many states.
This form allows you to market your business under a name other than its official legal name. You can file online or by mail, and the registration must be renewed every five years.
Name a registered agent for your LLC. The state needs you to name an individual or business entity that’s responsible for receiving service of process and other important legal notices in person. This person or business is called a registered agent.
Missouri requires you to have a registered agent at all times, as well as a registered office where the agent can be found. The registered office must be a physical street address in Missouri, not a P.O. box or something similar. The registered office does not have to be your business address.
Missouri law states that the agent may be either an individual who’s a resident of Missouri with a business office identical to the entity’s registered office, or it may be a corporation authorized to transact business in Missouri with a business office identical to the entity’s registered office.
Your Missouri registered agent must be available to accept legal notices in person at the registered office during normal business hours.
The state also expects you to keep your agent information current. If your agent or registered office changes, you’ll need to file a statement of change of the registered agent. You also need to get the new agent’s written consent and submit it along with this statement.
Some business owners assume that the easiest way to meet the registered agent requirement is to appoint themselves as the agent. But this could have some unintended consequences, which is why many use a registered agent service. Some of the benefits include:
You’ll need to include your agent information in your paperwork when you file your LLC with the state. Missouri also allows you to change your agent at any time if necessary.
Some business owners think that serving as their own registered agent is the simplest way to meet Missouri’s agent requirement.
This can occur if you aren’t in the office (for example, out of town, on vacation, sick, etc.) when someone needs to reach the agent. It can also happen if you move and forget to update your paperwork with the state.
In addition to legal penalties for being out of compliance, failing to maintain an agent could mean that a process server can’t find you to notify you of a lawsuit. In that scenario, a court case against you could actually go forward without your knowledge, meaning you wouldn’t even have a chance to defend yourself.
File Articles of Organization with the Missouri Secretary of State. Once the state approves your Missouri LLC online filing and you pay the required filing fee, your LLC will be official.
To file your Missouri Articles of Organization online, you’ll first need to create an account on the Business Registration Online Portal on the Missouri Secretary of State website. To file by mail or in person, send or deliver your documents to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office at the following address:
Corporations Division
P.O. Box 778
600 W. Main St., Rm. 322
Jefferson City, MO 65102
To complete your Articles, you’ll need the following information (be aware that the information you provide becomes public record):
The Articles form also asks if you want to form a Series LLC. In a Series LLC, a “parent” LLC serves as an umbrella LLC over multiple separate entities, which are shielded from each other’s liabilities. This option is available only in certain states, and Missouri is one of them.
Missouri’s Articles of Organization form has a line that reads, “The management of the limited liability company is vested in…” and asks you to choose “managers” or “members.” They’re asking you how you want your LLC to be governed, by the members/owners (member-managed) or by a manager (manager-managed).
Most LLCs choose to be managed by the members because they only have a few owners or just one. In those cases, it usually makes sense for the LLC owner(s) to do member-management because they’re running the business themselves. All members are sharing in running the business and making decisions for it.
But some LLCs prefer to appoint or hire a manager instead. In the manager-managed option, one or more LLC members can be appointed to make management decisions, or someone from outside the LLC can be hired to manage the company.
Manager-management can be helpful when some of the members want only to be investors in the company as opposed to running the business and making daily decisions about it. LLCs with a lot of members also sometimes find it easier to have a manager because it’s difficult to get all the members together to make decisions on a regular basis.
You only need to file your Articles of Organization once. However, if certain information in the Articles changes, such as contact information or the name and address of your registered agent, you’ll need to update your information with the state by filing Missouri Articles of Amendment and paying a filing fee.
Some entrepreneurs, especially if it’s near the end of the calendar year, will delay their LLC filing date to January 1 of the coming year. This way, they can avoid the hassle and cost of having to pay taxes on an LLC in the current year. This is especially true if the future LLC owners don’t need to establish the company right away.
Ordinarily, the effective filing date would be the day the Missouri Secretary of State approves your filing. But you also have the option to tell the state that you want your effective date to be at a later time. You can choose to have your LLC’s effective date be up to 90 days past the date you submit the filing.
Make an LLC operating agreement. Missouri requires all LLCs to have an operating agreement. This agreement is an internal business document that details how the business will run and much more. Though required, the document doesn’t have to be filed with the Secretary of State or any other governmental agency.
A good Missouri operating agreement may include:
The agreement may also include the appointment of a manager or managers and details on the scope of their authority.
If you don’t write an operating agreement of your own, then by default, your business will be governed by the exact terms set out in Missouri’s LLC statutes. These terms aren’t always ideal for some LLCs. For example, the act dictates how property can transfer to and from the LLC and its members. Your LLC might need different terms. The same applies for voting at member meetings and much more.
Apply for an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN). To pay your federal taxes, you’ll likely need to apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an EIN, also known as a federal tax identification number. Think of it as a Social Security number for your LLC. It helps the IRS identify your business, and banks usually require it to open a business bank account.
You can get your EIN through the IRS website, by mail, or by fax.
Once you have your EIN, you’ll need to register your business with the Missouri Department of Revenue and, if you have employees, the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Employment Security. You can register online for the following:
After you’ve finished the online registration, you’ll receive a confirmation number and additional information about your registration. Processing usually takes two to three days. Keep the confirmation number for your records. For more information, contact the Missouri Department of Revenue.
The LLC business structure gives you more flexibility than a corporation. That extends to how you can choose to have your LLC taxed.
By default, an LLC has pass-through taxation. This appeals to most owners of LLCs because it avoids “double taxation,” in which a corporation pays taxes at both the business level and again when the income is distributed to the individual owners. But some LLCs opt to be taxed as a C corporation or an S corporation because, in their case, it works to their advantage.
Being taxed as a C corporation does mean you get double taxation, but, for certain LLCs, the pros can sometimes outweigh the cons. One benefit is that C corporations have the widest range of tax deductions, which could be an advantage in some scenarios, especially for more profitable LLCs. For example, some employee benefits can be written off as a business expense.
S corp is short for “Subchapter S Corporation” and is a tax status geared toward small businesses. Having your LLC taxed as an S corp has pass-through taxation like a standard LLC, but there’s another potential advantage for some LLCs: It could reduce your self-employment taxes.
Self-employment taxes are the portion of your taxes that pay for Social Security and Medicare. In a typical LLC, you would pay these on all of your profits.
But filing as an S corp allows you to be an “employee-owner” and split your income into your salary and your share of the company’s profits. That way, you pay employment taxes on your salary, but not self-employment taxes on your profits. (You’ll still pay the other applicable taxes on your LLC profits, of course.)
The drawback is that the Internal Revenue Service scrutinizes S corps more closely, meaning you’re more likely to get audited. S corps also have more restrictions for qualifying.
While it’s possible that one of the above options could work better for your LLC, remember that business taxes are very complex and specific to your situation. That’s why you truly need to consult a tax professional to see which taxing method works best for your Missouri business.
If you plan to hire employees, you’ll need to report all new hires to the Missouri Department of Social Services within 20 days of the hire date. You’ll also be responsible for withholding employee taxes, providing workers’ compensation insurance, and registering with the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations – Division of Employment Security for unemployment insurance tax.
By default, an LLC has “pass-through taxation,” meaning that the business itself typically doesn’t pay federal income tax on its profits. Instead, the responsibility to pay income taxes falls only on the individual business owner or owners. In a typical corporation, profits are taxed at both the business level and the individual owners’ level.
A single-member LLC doesn’t have to file a separate federal return for the LLC. The member reports the LLC income on their personal income tax return (Form 1040). But LLCs with more than one member must file a separate information federal return for the LLC, Form 1065. Then each LLC member reports their share of the profits on Schedule K-1 and attaches it to their own personal federal tax return.
In addition to federal and state taxes, you may owe taxes to your county, municipalities, and other tax districts. You’ll need to check with your local tax authorities to make sure you’re paying all the taxes you owe.
Finally, we don’t need to tell you that taxes can get very complicated, more so at the business level. We strongly recommend consulting a tax professional about your specific business’s circumstances. They can keep you out of trouble with tax collectors and potentially find tax savings you weren’t aware of.
There’s a very good chance that your Missouri LLC will need at least one license or permit. But it’s not quite as simple as saying, “File this form with the Missouri Secretary of State.” For this step, you’ll need to dig in and do some research.
For starters, some LLCs need to get federal licenses. For example, suppose you’re going to start an Augusta vineyard and winery with Missouri’s best Norton grapes. In that case, you’d need to get a license from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau since you’d be manufacturing and selling alcohol. Meanwhile, aviation businesses would need to get a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. If your LLC involves a heavily regulated activity, there’s a good chance you’ll need a federal license, but it’s your responsibility to research and know for sure.
Next, you’ll have to check state-level licenses. Unlike some states, Missouri doesn’t have a statewide general business license that all state companies need. But there are other statewide requirements, including getting a sales tax license from the Department of Revenue. You could also be required to obtain alcohol or tobacco licenses from the state if you’re involved in those types of sales.
You may also need to get local licenses from your city or county. This is often where a general business license requirement can appear; many Missouri cities or counties require one. For example, Springfield, Kansas City, and St. Peters all require a general business license. Meanwhile, businesses in Boone County need a merchant’s license if they’re selling merchandise in the county. Your city and county (and maybe both) could have their own requirements.
You may also need to get zoning permits for your location. Similarly, if you’re working out of your home, you may be required to get a home occupation permit. Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to research your local requirements.
Last but not least, you’ll need to research licenses related to your industry or profession. Missouri’s Division of Professional Registration has 41 different licensing boards and committees, all entrusted with overseeing the state’s licensed professionals. These industries include anesthesiologists, dentists, barbers, interpreters, and more.
Long story short: you’ll need to do plenty of research to ensure you get all of the licenses that apply to your unique business — your unique industry, services, and business location.
Just because you’ve set up your LLC doesn’t mean that your work is done. There are other steps to complete to help ensure that your business stays compliant and operates smoothly in Missouri.
Once you’ve secured your Federal Employer Identification Number, you’ll be able to open a business bank account. Having separate accounts for your business and your personal banking is critical for sorting out your finances at tax time and helps you avoid mixing your personal assets with business assets. Having a business bank account may also allow you to get a business credit card.
Setting up a robust accounting system is crucial for tracking finances, managing taxes, and maintaining clear financial records. Depending on your goals and needs, you might just use a simple spreadsheet, or accounting software, or you might consider hiring a professional to manage it for you. Ultimately, the important thing is that you have a system in place to track your business finances.
Stay informed about ongoing legal requirements, including renewing business licenses. Regular compliance helps avoid penalties and maintains your LLC’s good standing.
It’s also a good idea to consult with a state tax professional or a business attorney (on a somewhat regular basis) to get updates about tax updates and policy changes.
Starting a business in Missouri entails a wide variety of different expenses. While no two businesses will have the exact same start-up costs, here are some of the most common expenses you should budget for.
Granted, this list isn’t exhaustive; there are other costs you might encounter. But this can give you an idea of what to expect. Also, prices change over time, so see the most recent fee schedule on the Secretary of State website.
A Missouri LLC is a popular choice for small business owners, but it’s not quite right for everyone. Let’s walk through what a business structure is, and the types of alternative structures you can consider.
“Business structure” is a phrase used to refer to the way a business is organized. It’s like a business’s format or layout, describing who the owners are, who manages the business, and who gets the profits (and how they get them). Some business structures, like a sole proprietorship or partnership, are more informal. Others are more regimented and governed by detailed state statutes, such as LLCs or corporations.
In Missouri, the following types of businesses are registered business structures:
Let’s explore the nuances of these LLC alternatives.
A sole proprietorship is the simplest business structure, with minimal paperwork; often, a DBA registration and tax registrations are the main requirements. In this business structure, the owner maintains full control over the business. However, it offers no personal liability protection to the owner.
Partnerships are much like sole proprietorships, but they are owned by two or more individuals. In a general partnership (the simplest partnership), both partners share profits, responsibilities, and liabilities. If one partner defaults on a loan or gets sued, all partners can be held liable, and their personal assets can be seized.
A corporation is a registered business entity that offers personal liability protection to all its owners (called shareholders). It is governed by a board of directors, and it can raise funds by selling shares of stock.
Compared to an LLC, a corporation has more involved compliance requirements, such as adhering to bylaws, holding regular shareholder meetings and a board meeting, and more.
If you follow all the steps above, you should be the proud owner of a new LLC! But there’s still more to know than just how to start an LLC in Missouri. You need to know about things like hiring employees, getting business licenses and permits, getting additional financing if you need it, and staying in compliance with the government.
We offer many business formation services beyond just helping you form your LLC. Our business experts can also give you long-term business support to help run and grow your company.
So, if dealing with the red tape of starting a business feels like navigating summer road construction, we can turn it into a peaceful inner tube float down the Black River. Let us take care of LLC formation, compliance, and more. That way, you can get back to running your dream business, whether it’s a T-shirt printing business in Joplin or a fried ravioli food truck in St. Louis.
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Missouri LLC FAQs
The processing time to form an LLC in Missouri varies due to many factors. However, it’s faster to file online than through the mail, which typically takes three to six business days for processing alone.
Before starting the dissolution process, the members of an LLC should consult the operating agreement to review the established procedure for dissolution.
Yes, you can use a foreign LLC to transact business in Missouri after you register it with the state. Registering a foreign LLC is a somewhat different process and requires you to get a Certificate of Good Standing from your state of origin to prove that your business exists there and is following all state laws.
Missouri doesn’t currently offer a professional limited liability company structure. If you’re in a licensed profession like law, medicine, or accountancy, then you’ll need to look into other structures. Thankfully, there are plenty of options, including a standard LLC, a professional corporation, partnerships, or even a sole proprietorship. If you’re not sure which structure would be right for you, we highly recommend consulting with a Missouri business attorney for customized advice.
Yes, you can form an LLC in Missouri even if you are a non-U.S. resident.
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Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. For specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
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