Missouri LLC at a glance
A Missouri LLC is cheap to form online and cheaper still to keep, because the state has no annual report for LLCs. The Secretary of State’s business FAQ answers the question "Do limited liability companies have to file an annual report?" with a plain "No."
| Item | Missouri rule |
|---|---|
| Formation document | Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) |
| State filing fee | $50 online, $105 on paper |
| Payment fees online | Card 2% plus $0.25; e-check $0.50 |
| Where to file | Missouri Secretary of State, Business Services online portal (bsd.sos.mo.gov) |
| Annual report | None for LLCs |
| Registered agent | Required, with a Missouri street address |
| Change of registered agent | $10 |
| Future effective date | Up to 90 days after filing |
| Publication requirement | None at formation |
If you live or trade in Missouri, forming here avoids registering an out-of-state LLC in Missouri as well. If you live outside the US and have no Missouri link, compare the options in our Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico LLC comparison and the LLC state fee comparison tool. Missouri compares well on cost because there is nothing to pay each year.
How to start an LLC in Missouri
You start an LLC in Missouri by filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State, online for $50. Missouri LLC registration happens in the Business Services portal, and the Secretary of State publishes a step-by-step guide to registering an LLC with screenshots. These are the steps in order.
- Choose the name. The Articles of Organization form (LLC-1) says the name must include "Limited Liability Company", "Limited Company", "LC", "L.C.", "L.L.C." or "LLC". Search the business database to check it is free. A name can be reserved for up to 60 days, renewable for two more 60-day periods.
- Appoint a Missouri registered agent. The agent’s name and Missouri address go on the Articles. A PO box can only be used in addition to a physical street address.
- Decide how the LLC is managed. The form asks whether the LLC is managed by its members or by managers, and for its purpose and duration. Duration can be perpetual or a number of years; the form warns that this answer "could cause possible tax consequences".
- File the Articles and pay $50 online. Organizers sign the form and do not have to be members or managers. Online filing allows up to five organizers; six or more means a paper filing at $105. You can choose an effective date up to 90 days after filing.
- Sign an operating agreement. Missouri does not collect it, but it proves ownership to banks and payment providers. Our operating agreement guide explains what goes in it.
- Get an EIN. The IRS issues it free. Without an SSN or ITIN you apply by fax, mail or phone, as the IRS EIN page explains; our EIN application service handles that route.
- Register with the Missouri Department of Revenue if needed. A sales tax license if you sell taxable goods or services, and withholding registration if you have employees.
- Diary your federal and state tax dates. There is no annual report, so the dates that matter are tax returns. Our compliance deadline calendar lists them.
Prefer our filing team to handle it? We check the name, prepare and file the Articles, act as your registered agent and keep your documents in your portal. The general version of these steps is in our how to start an LLC guide.
Missouri LLC cost
A Missouri LLC costs $50 in state fees to form online and $0 a year after that. The Secretary of State’s schedule of fees lists the LLC filings below, and its e-payment page sets the card and e-check charges.
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization, online | $50 | At formation |
| Articles of Organization, paper | $105 | At formation |
| Card convenience fee | 2% plus $0.25 | Online card payments |
| E-check fee | $0.50 | Online e-check payments |
| Amendment to Articles | $25 | If details change |
| Change of registered agent or office | $10 | When you change agent |
| Notice of Winding Up | $25 | When closing |
| Articles of Termination | $25 | When closing |
| Annual report | None | Not required for LLCs |
The arithmetic: $50 plus a card fee of $1.25 (2% of $50 is $1.00, plus $0.25) makes $51.25 by card, or $50.50 by e-check. Nothing is due to the Secretary of State in later years unless you file a change. Closing the LLC costs $50 in filings ($25 plus $25).
Other costs depend on you: a commercial registered agent if you will not serve yourself, a business address, local licenses, and the federal filings a foreign-owned LLC makes each year.
Missouri LLC annual report
There is no Missouri LLC annual report. The Secretary of State’s FAQ confirms that limited liability companies do not have to file one, and the fee schedule has no annual report fee for LLCs.
That makes Missouri one of the few states where an LLC has no recurring state filing to stay in good standing. Some things still need attention:
- Keep the registered agent current. Without an annual report, the agent change form is how the state learns about a new agent or address. If your agent resigns and you do not replace them, legal papers may not reach you.
- Amend the Articles when facts change. An amendment costs $25.
- Tax returns still apply. Federal returns, Missouri income tax returns where required, and sales tax returns if you hold a sales tax license.
Mail offering to file a "Missouri LLC annual report" for a fee does not come from a state requirement. Check any notice against the Secretary of State’s own site before paying. If your LLC is registered in other states, their annual reports still apply; our LLC annual report service covers those.
Missouri registered agent
Every Missouri LLC must name a registered agent with an address in Missouri. The Articles of Organization ask for the agent’s name and Missouri address, and the statement of change of registered agent (Corp. 59) says the "agent and address must be in the State of Missouri", with a PO box allowed only alongside a physical street address.
- Who can serve: a person with a Missouri street address, including you if you live there, or a business that provides registered agent services in Missouri.
- What the agent does: receives lawsuits and official notices for the LLC, so the address must be reliable during business hours.
- Changing agent: file the Statement of Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office, which costs $10.
Owners outside Missouri, and anyone who does not want a home address on the public record, usually appoint a commercial agent. Our registered agent service is part of the formation package.
State taxes that affect a Missouri LLC
Missouri has no annual LLC fee or report, so the state taxes that matter are sales tax, withholding and income tax. By default a single-member LLC is taxed as part of its owner and a multi-member LLC as a partnership.
- Sales tax license: the Department of Revenue says a business must register for a sales tax license if it makes sales of tangible personal property and taxable services. You register online or with Form 2643.
- State rate: the state sales and use tax is 4.225 percent, and local taxes are added on top.
- Remote sellers: a seller outside Missouri collects vendor’s use tax once its gross receipts from taxable Missouri sales exceed $100,000, measured over the preceding 12 months at the end of each calendar quarter. Collection must start no later than three months after that quarter ends, according to the Department’s remote seller FAQ.
- Withholding: an LLC with employees registers to remit withholding tax.
If you need a permit, our sales tax registration service can file it. Choosing how the LLC is taxed is a decision to make with a licensed tax professional.
Forming a Missouri LLC as a non-resident
You do not need to live in Missouri or the US to form a Missouri LLC. Organizers do not have to be members, and the state asks only for a registered agent in Missouri. For founders abroad:
- Choosing the state: if you have no Missouri customers, staff or property, Wyoming or New Mexico are the usual choices; our best state for an LLC comparison sets out why. Missouri’s lack of an annual report still makes it cheap to keep.
- EIN: apply by fax, mail or the IRS international phone line if you have no SSN or ITIN.
- Form 5472: a single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with no income. The penalty for not filing is $25,000. See our Form 5472 guide.
- BOI: US-formed LLCs no longer file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN since the final rule published 14 August 2026.
- Foreign qualification: if the LLC actually does business in another state, it may need to register there as a foreign LLC.
Whether you owe US income tax depends on whether the LLC has US trade or business income; a licensed tax professional should review that. Neighboring state pages: Illinois LLC, Kansas LLC and Tennessee LLC, or see all US LLC states.
How to dissolve an LLC in Missouri
To dissolve an LLC in Missouri you file a Notice of Winding Up (Form LLC-13, $25) and then Articles of Termination (Form LLC-5, $25) with the Secretary of State. Both forms are on the Secretary of State’s forms page.
- Agree to dissolve in line with your operating agreement.
- File the Notice of Winding Up. It tells creditors where to send claims, with the amount, basis and documentation of each claim. The form says a claim is barred unless a proceeding to enforce it starts within three years after the notice is published.
- Wind up: collect what is owed, pay debts, file final tax returns and close Department of Revenue accounts.
- File the Articles of Termination. The form refers back to the notice of winding up and can take effect up to 90 days after filing.
Neither Secretary of State form asks for a tax clearance certificate, but final federal and state returns are still due. Our LLC dissolution service prepares both filings.
Doing it yourself vs using Borderless Filings
You can register a Missouri LLC yourself online for $50 plus the payment fee; the Secretary of State’s guide walks through each screen. Our service adds a name and address check, preparation and filing by our filing team, a Missouri registered agent, a US business address with mail forwarding, the EIN letter, document storage in your portal and reminders for your tax dates. See our pricing page for the package, with the state fee at cost, or start your order.
Sources
- Missouri Secretary of State: Business Frequently Asked Questions
- Missouri Secretary of State: Schedule of Corporation Fees and Charges
- Missouri Secretary of State: E-Payment Convenience Fees
- Missouri Secretary of State: Articles of Organization (LLC 1)
- Missouri Secretary of State: How to Register a Limited Liability Company
- Missouri Secretary of State: Statement of Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office (Corp. 59)
- Missouri Secretary of State: Business Forms
- Missouri Secretary of State: Notice of Winding Up (LLC 13)
- Missouri Secretary of State: Articles of Termination (LLC 5)
- Missouri Department of Revenue: Business Registration Requirements
- Missouri Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax
- Missouri Department of Revenue: Remote Seller and Marketplace Facilitator FAQs
- IRS: Get an employer identification number
- IRS: Instructions for Form 5472
- FinCEN: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting
Fees, deadlines and rules on this page were last checked on 27 September 2026.