What Are Articles of Organization? The LLC Term Explained

Articles of organization are documentation that is necessary in the United States to establish a limited liability company, also called an LLC. You file articles of organization with your locality’s secretary of state office or a company registrar to establish your LLC. Although these documents are widely known as articles of organization, some states call them a certificate of organization or certificate of formation. Other countries call them articles of association.

First and foremost, articles of organization establish your limited liability company, or LLC. Beyond that, the articles serve additional important functions.

• The articles outline the company’s structure. The articles of organization also explain the structure of the company, the effective date for the start of business, the street address (or mailing address if you use a p.o. box), and the business entity’s new business name. Each person involved in an LLC is a member or manager. The articles of organization determine the role each LLC member or manager plays in the LLC, as well as the power structure within the new company. This is the LLC operating agreement.
• The articles designate a registered agent. Your LLC also designates someone as the registered agent or statutory agent. They are the legal contact who receives the legal and tax documents from and to the IRS for the LLC. A registered agent can be an individual within the LLC or an outside company who specializes in offering registered agent services.
• The articles separate your personal assets and business assets. LLC formation creates separation between yourself, your personal assets, and the business. Without articles of organization filed with your secretary of state office, your company is not an LLC and can only be a sole proprietorship for a single-owner company or a partnership with companies made of more than one person.

The process of filing articles or organization, also called articles of incorporation, to establish your limited liability company, or LLC, changes from state to state, so check with your local secretary of state’s office for further information. If you have concerns about the legitimacy of a website that does LLC filing for your state, look for a .gov domain, as those are official properties of the United States government. Some states offer online filing and other business services for your new LLC as well.

There is a filing fee for the process, which can range from $40–$500 depending on the state. You have to provide the name of the LLC, address of the LLC, contact information, any organization form required by your state, and all other legal documents for your LLC articles of organization. If you are filing online, you will use a credit card to pay for the filing fee.

Fill out your state’s paperwork entirely, leaving no spots blank as you fill in your LLC’s registered agent, the home state, and effective date. Check that you meet all of your state’s filing requirements before you submit anything. Make sure that you sign any necessary spots on the documents, and, if required, get a notary signature.

The process of filing your articles of organization varies from state to state. Some states offer expedited processing for a fee, which can set up your limited liability company, or LLC, in under a week. Otherwise, it can take up to 30 days to complete the process.

Once the process is complete, you will get an envelope in the mail with all of your LLC legal paperwork and an EIN, which is an employer identification number. You use this number in certain scenarios, like if you are a private contractor who works for another business. In that scenario, you would provide your EIN over your Social Security Number.

Get the MasterClass Annual Membership for exclusive access to video lessons taught by business luminaries, including Sara Blakely, Chris Voss, Robin Roberts, Bob Iger, Howard Schultz, Anna Wintour, and more.