How to Start an LLC in Montana
Montana registered agent representation, billed at $99 per year. Includes the office address on your filings, same-day scanning of legal mail, and reminders for state deadlines.
Building a Montana LLC step by step starts with one formation document, continues with an agent on file, and finishes with annual maintenance. The state charges $35 to file, takes about a handful of business days to approve, and then your ongoing obligations kick in. Next sections: every formation step, the cost details, and where we come into the picture.
Open Your Montana LLC — $199
Pay $199 once and we handle everything: prep, review, submission to Montana Secretary of State. A handful of business days from filing to active.
What A Montana LLC Is (and Why People Form One)
A LLC entity is the small-business entity that combines liability protection for the owner with simple tax treatment by default. Across Montana's business community, the LLC dominates as the small-business entity of choice for its protection-plus-simplicity package.
What It Costs in Montana
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Our LLC formation service | $199 one-time |
| State filing fee (Montana Secretary of State) | $35 one-time |
| Registered agent (required for every Montana LLC) | $99/year |
| State annual report fee | $20/year |
$199 is our filing service. The state fee is collected by Montana Secretary of State. Registered agent plan is a separate $99 per year line.
Important Montana-specific notes: Lowest LLC filing fee in the nation at $35. Annual filing $20 due by April 15. $15 late fee if filed after deadline ($35 total). Montana has no sales tax.
The Steps to Form a Montana LLC
1. Name Your Montana LLC
An LLC name in Montana must signal its entity type with an approved designator and must be visibly different from any name already on the state's records. Before you settle on a name, run it through Montana Secretary of State's online entity search to confirm nothing similar already exists.
Names suggesting you are a financial institution, insurance company, or government office are restricted unless you have the underlying licensure.
2. Appoint Your Montana Registered Agent
Every LLC in Montana needs a designated agent. That agent has to maintain a real physical address inside Montana and has to be available to accept official mail throughout the business day. Once filed, the agent designation is searchable in Montana Secretary of State's public filings — including the agent's address.
Our agent product in Montana is $99 a year. You list us on the form; your address never enters the public database.
3. Send the Articles of Organization to Montana Secretary of State
This is the actual formation step: file the Articles of Organization with Montana Secretary of State and pay the $35 state fee. The filing covers the entity name, the principal place of business, the registered agent's contact details, the management designation (member or manager-run), and the people serving as organizers.
Most filers go through Montana Secretary of State's online portal at Montana Secretary of State's online portal, since paper takes longer.
Plan on a handful of business days for the state to process the filing. Rush filing is often available for added state fees.
4. Create Your LLC's Operating Agreement
Montana doesn't require an operating agreement to be filed with the state, but having one is fundamental to running the LLC properly. An operating agreement nails down ownership, profit allocation, decision rights, and the procedures for adding or removing members. If you skip the agreement, Montana's statutory defaults govern the LLC by operation of law. Those defaults won't always reflect your intentions.
5. Get an EIN from the IRS
The federal EIN functions as the federal-level identifier the IRS uses for the LLC. Banking, payroll, and federal taxes all need it. Apply free at IRS.gov. The process runs about ten minutes; the number is yours when you finish the form.
There's no upside to paid EIN services — the IRS application is free and takes ten or so minutes.
6. Stay Compliant After Formation
Once formed, the LLC must be maintained. The recurring obligations are:
- Maintain your registered agent connected to a in-state street address every day the LLC exists
- Send in the annual filing filing annually, by the state's deadline
- Stick to strict separation between business and personal finances (separate bank accounts and recordkeeping)
- Stay compliant with federal income tax filings plus state requirements as the calendar requires
Montana Secretary of State can dissolve LLCs that fall out of compliance. After dissolution, the liability shield disappears until you reinstate.
Hand it off? $199 flat and we file your Montana LLC on your behalf.
Why the Registered Agent Rule Matters
All Montana LLCs must maintain a registered agent. It's a statutory requirement, not a recommendation. The agent's job is to:
- Keep an actual Montana location with a street address (a PO box won't meet the rule alone)
- Be reachable all through normal business hours to receive legal mail
- Pass along incoming state correspondence and legal documents fast enough to preserve the LLC's response time
Owners often use their home address as agent and later wish they hadn't. Process servers, marketers, and any curious party can pull it up at will.
$99/year buys you our agent plan. We handle the public side of the agent role for you.
Common Montana LLC Questions
How much does it cost to form an LLC in Montana?
Filing costs $35 at the state level. That's among the most affordable state filing fees nationally. Above the formation cost, the annual filing charges $20/year.
How long does it take to form an LLC in Montana?
The state generally returns approval inside a handful of business days.
Does Montana require an annual report?
Yes — The state collects $20/year for the annual filing.
Do I need a registered agent for my Montana LLC?
Yes. Montana requires a registered agent located in Montana from formation onward. The requirement begins at formation and lasts so long as the LLC exists.
Can I form an LLC in Montana if I live in another state?
Yes. The one in-state requirement is the agent; we fulfill that requirement at $99/year. Montana doesn't require LLC owners to be residents.
Begin Your Montana LLC
Montana allows direct filing through Montana Secretary of State through Montana Secretary of State's online portal. $35 is the state's portion, the agent obligation remains regardless of how you file.
Our registered agent plan is what you list on the formation paperwork. At $99 annually, you get our address on the filing, scans the day mail arrives, and a heads-up before every state deadline.
Want the agent service without the LLC formation? The registered agent option costs $99/year.
More to know about Montana LLCs or how the agent role works? Visit our FAQ page or reach out any weekday.
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Lock in agent representation for the annual rate — address, scans, deadline reminders.