LLC Ohio: How to Start an Ohio LLC in 2026

Ohio LLC at a glance

For a small LLC, Ohio is one of the cheapest states to keep: after the one-off $99 filing fee set by Ohio Revised Code section 111.16, there is no annual report and no yearly state fee. The main things to get right are the statutory agent and, if you sell goods, sales tax.

Ohio calls the registered agent a statutory agent. The role is the same: the person or company that receives legal papers for the LLC.

How to start an LLC in Ohio

To start an Ohio LLC you choose a name, appoint a statutory agent who accepts in writing, and file Form 610 with the Secretary of State for $99. Most founders file online through Ohio Business Central. Here are the steps.

1. Choose the name. The Form 610 instructions say the name must contain "limited liability company", "limited", "LLC", "L.L.C.", "ltd." or "ltd", and must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State’s records from other business names. You can reserve a name for $39.
2. Appoint a statutory agent. The agent is an Ohio resident individual or a business entity with an Ohio business address, and must sign a written acceptance of the appointment, which is part of Form 610.
3. File Form 610 and pay $99. File online at Ohio Business Central or by mail. Choose an expedite level if you need the filing quickly.
4. Sign an operating agreement. Ohio does not ask you to file it, but banks and payment providers often want to see it. Our LLC operating agreement guide explains what goes in it.
5. Get an EIN. The EIN is free from the IRS. Owners with an SSN or ITIN apply online; owners without one apply by fax, mail or the international phone line under the IRS EIN rules. Our EIN application service handles the no-SSN route.
6. Register for Ohio taxes you need. A vendor’s license for sales tax if you sell taxable goods or services, employer withholding if you hire, and CAT only once receipts pass $6 million.
7. Keep the statutory agent current. With no annual report, Ohio will not prompt you each year, so any change of agent or agent address is your job to file ($25).

Want our filing team to handle it? We check the name, arrange the statutory agent acceptance, prepare and file Form 610, and keep your approved documents in your portal.

Ohio LLC cost

The official cost of an Ohio LLC is $99 once, with no annual state fee afterward. The filing fees below come from R.C. 111.16, and the expedite fees from Form 610.

The arithmetic: $99 in year one and $0 in state report fees every year after. Over three years the state filing fees total $99, or $199 if you used 2-day expedite at formation. Card processing charges on online filings, a commercial statutory agent and any local licenses are extra and are not state filing fees.

Our US LLC formation service shows the $99 state fee at cost and our own fee separately on the pricing page.

Ohio LLC annual report

Ohio LLCs do not file an annual report, and there is no annual state fee. The Secretary of State’s fee statute, R.C. 111.16, charges a biennial fee only for certain partnership filings, not for LLCs, and Form 610 describes no ongoing report. This is one of the main reasons Ohio is cheap to keep.

No annual report does not mean no yearly obligations. You still have to:

• keep a statutory agent with an Ohio address, and file a $25 update if it changes;
• file Ohio sales tax returns if you hold a vendor’s license, and employer returns if you have staff;
• register and file for CAT if Ohio taxable gross receipts pass $6 million in a year;
• file state and local income tax returns that apply to you as an owner; and
• meet federal filings, including Form 5472 for a single-member LLC owned by a foreign person.

Ohio registered agent (statutory agent)

Every Ohio LLC must appoint a statutory agent with an Ohio address, and the agent must accept the appointment in writing. Form 610 says the agent can be an individual Ohio resident, or a domestic or foreign corporation, nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership or limited liability partnership with an Ohio business address.

The original appointment and the agent’s signed acceptance are part of Form 610, so you do not need a separate form at formation. Changing the agent or the agent’s address later costs $25 under R.C. 111.16. An Ohio resident owner can serve as agent. Owners outside Ohio, or anyone who wants their home address off the public record, usually use a registered agent service.

Ohio LLC registration for taxes

Ohio has no franchise tax on LLCs, but it does have a gross receipts tax, the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), plus sales tax. The Ohio Department of Taxation CAT page sets out the current rules:

• Exclusion: for tax years 2025 onward, only businesses with more than $6 million a year of Ohio taxable gross receipts pay CAT.
• Rate: 0.26% of Ohio taxable gross receipts above the exclusion.
• Annual minimum tax: eliminated starting in 2024.
• Registration: within 30 days of exceeding the threshold.

Most new LLCs will never reach the CAT threshold.

Sales tax

Businesses making taxable sales in Ohio need a vendor’s license. For sellers based outside Ohio, R.C. 5741.01 presumes substantial nexus once the seller has more than $100,000 in gross receipts from Ohio sales, or 200 or more separate transactions, in the current or preceding calendar year. Our sales tax registration service can file the application.

Income tax depends on how the LLC is taxed and where its owners live. A single-member LLC taxed the default way is disregarded, so the owner reports its profit. Take advice from a licensed tax professional before electing corporate tax treatment.

Forming an Ohio LLC as a non-resident

You do not need to live in Ohio or the US to form an Ohio LLC; you need an Ohio statutory agent who accepts the appointment. Points for founders abroad:

• Is Ohio a good fit? With a $99 fee and no annual report, Ohio is inexpensive to keep. If you have no Ohio connection, compare it with Wyoming and New Mexico, which are designed around low upkeep, in our Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico comparison and best state for an LLC guide.
• Trading in Ohio with an LLC from another state: the LLC registers in Ohio as a foreign LLC before doing business there.
• 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, and the penalty for missing it is $25,000. It cannot be e-filed. See our Form 5472 guide.
• BOI: US-formed LLCs, including those owned by non-US persons, no longer file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN under the final rule published 14 August 2026.

Whether you owe US income tax depends on whether the LLC has US trade or business income; a licensed tax professional can review your case. More in our US LLC for non-residents guide.

How to dissolve an LLC in Ohio

To dissolve an Ohio LLC you file a certificate of dissolution with the Secretary of State, and the fee is $50 under R.C. 111.16. Under R.C. 1706.471, the certificate states the LLC’s name and registration number, that the LLC has dissolved, and the effective date.

1. Record the members’ decision to dissolve, following your operating agreement.
2. Wind up: collect what is owed, settle debts and distribute what remains.
3. File final Ohio returns and close your vendor’s license, withholding and any CAT account with the Department of Taxation.
4. File the certificate of dissolution with the Secretary of State and pay $50.
5. Close the IRS account for the EIN and file final federal returns, including a final Form 5472 if one applies.

R.C. 1706.471 does not require a tax clearance certificate with the filing, but taxes owed to Ohio remain payable after dissolution. Our LLC dissolution service can prepare the certificate.

Doing it yourself vs using Borderless Filings

You can file Form 610 yourself on Ohio Business Central for $99. The form is short and includes the agent’s acceptance.

Our service adds a name check, a statutory agent with an Ohio address, preparation and submission by our filing team, tracking and document storage in your portal, and for founders abroad the EIN without an SSN and the yearly Form 5472. You can start your order once you have a name, or read our how to start an LLC guide first. See all US LLC state guides, including neighboring Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana and West Virginia.

Sources

• Ohio Revised Code: Section 111.16, Secretary of State filing fees
• Ohio Secretary of State: Form 610, Articles of Organization for a Domestic Limited Liability Company
• Ohio Revised Code: Section 1706.471, Certificate of dissolution
• Ohio Department of Taxation: Commercial Activity Tax
• Ohio Revised Code: Section 5741.01, Use tax definitions (substantial nexus)
• 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.