Start an Indiana LLC

When choosing a name for your limited liability company, you need to ensure that it is unique from any other business in the state of Indiana. You can do a quick business search by following the instructions on our Business Entity Search for Indiana page. There, you can verify that the LLC name you want is available.

After finding your name, you can reserve it before forming your LLC by using our business name reservation service. Once you submit your name reservation, the Indiana government will hold the name for 120 days. If you want to extend your reservation for 120 more days, you can pay an additional fee.

When you choose the LLC as a business structure, to comply with Indiana’s state law, its name must end with the words “Limited Liability Company” or one of two abbreviations, “LLC” or “L.L.C.” According to the Secretary of State, nothing in the LLC’s name can state or imply that the business’s purpose is different from the stated purpose in the LLC’s Articles of Organization.

Check for a Matching Domain Name

After looking up names on the Secretary of State’s website, you can check whether your desired domain name is available. While many top-level domains exist — “.co,” “.net,” etc. — there’s nothing like getting the “.com” stamp of legitimacy to give some credibility to your business. We have a tool to help you do a preliminary domain name search, and our domain name registration service can help you secure the online name that will best serve your business.

Get a Trademark for Your Indiana LLC

Next, visit the United States PatNext, check whether anyone has already registered a federal trademark for your desired business name. You can do it by searching the trademark database on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website. If the name is taken, you may need to find another name for your Indiana limited liability company to avoid legal problems. There are also trademarks that happen at the state level. To find out whether your desired name is trademarked in Indiana or apply for a state trademark of your own, go to the Indiana Secretary of State website page for trademarks.

While you don’t need a trademark to start doing business, registering your business’s name and logo can help prevent others from copying you.

Obtain a DBA Name in Indiana

Please note that you should also do this if you are interested in using a DBA or “Doing Business As” name in Indiana. A DBA is another name to use for an LLC or any other business structure. This will also need to be registered with the Secretary of State and County Recorder.

Indiana Registered Agent Requirement

The state of Indiana requires every limited liability company to have a registered agent for service of process. Indiana registered agents physically accept correspondence from the Indiana Secretary of State and legal documents on the company’s behalf. Your registered agent can be a resident of the state of Indiana or a business entity authorized to do business in Indiana so long as the agent has a physical street address within the state.

Registered Agent Service in Indiana

Some new business owners assume they should appoint themselves as their company’s registered agent. However, this approach may have hidden dangers.  For example, you could be in the middle of a meeting or client presentation when a process server walks in to deliver a giant stack of court documents, embarrassing you and derailing the meeting. Working with an outside registered agent service can help you focus on your business with reduced stress.  Additional benefits of hiring an outside registered agent service like ours include:

• Working when it’s convenient for you (your Indiana registered agent must be available during regular business hours)
• Not having to change your registered office address with the state if you move
• Ensuring you stay compliant with the legal requirements for having an Indiana registered agent

You will need to file the LLC Indiana Articles of Organization with the Indiana Secretary of State and pay a filing fee. Filing official government documents like this can be intimidating and/or complicated for many people, which is why we’re here. With our business formation plans, our team of professionals handles the filing for you. We make sure it’s done quickly and correctly the first time. But, although we can handle this for you, we’ll show you how the process works below.

Required Information

To complete the Articles of Organization, you’ll need to know the following information:

• The name and address of your LLC
• The name and address of your company’s registered agent
• Whether the LLC’s duration will be perpetual or for a specified period
• Whether the LLC will be member-managed (managed by the LLC’s owners) or manager-managed (managed by a manager appointed by the LLC owners)
• The signature of the organizer

Keep Your Indiana LLC Paperwork Digitally Organized

If we help you file Articles of Organization, once the state approves your LLC, your paperwork will be available from your ZenBusiness dashboard. In the dashboard, you can keep this and other important paperwork digitally organized.

Once you get your physical paperwork back from the state approving your new LLC, you’ll want to keep it in a safe location along with your other important documents, such as your operating agreement, member certificates, contracts, compliance checklists, transfer ledger, etc. We offer a customized business kit to help you keep these important documents organized and looking professional.

Operating agreements outline the rules and procedures for the management of the LLC. However, unlike corporations, LLCs can customize their internal practices to fit the needs of the business. Your Indiana operating agreement also makes your business more legitimate and helps protect the LLC’s owners (members) from liability. While Indiana doesn’t require you to file an operating agreement, if you don’t have one, background Indiana state law applies to your company and determines how you must run your business. You should keep your operating agreement with your other business documents so you can refer to it easily.

What should be included?

Typical concepts in an LLC operating agreement may include:

• Procedures for admitting or removing LLC members
• Allocation of profits and ownership
• Management structure and voting requirements
• Dissolution and winding up of the LLC

If you’re not sure as to how to go about creating an operating agreement for your LLC, we have a customizable template to help get you started.

Unless you’re a single-member LLC without employees (and sometimes even then), you’ll likely need to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Even if you don’t legally need an EIN, getting one can help you open a business bank account or obtain credit to grow your business.

You can get your Indiana LLC’s employer identification number through the IRS website, by mail, or by fax. If you don’t want to deal with that particular government agency, we can get it for you. Our EIN service eliminates the hassle.

If your company has employees or collects sales tax, you may need to register your LLC with the Indiana Department of Revenue. For instructions on how to register your business, visit the Indiana Secretary of State business services division (INBiz) website.