How to Start an LLC in Ohio: Fees, Filings and Annual Requirements

By statute, the Secretary of State's fee for filing and recording articles of organization of a limited liability company is ninety-nine dollars.

An Ohio LLC is formed by filing articles of organization with the Secretary of State on the Secretary of State's form. The articles must be accompanied by a signed written appointment of a statutory agent and the agent's signed written acceptance of the appointment.

The name must contain the words "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C.," "LLC," "limited," "ltd.," or "ltd". A name can be reserved by filing an application with the Secretary of State; the reservation gives the exclusive right to use the name for one hundred eighty days, counting the filing date as the first day. The fee for an application to reserve a name is thirty-nine dollars.

Ohio calls the registered agent a statutory agent. Every LLC must continuously maintain an agent in Ohio, who must be either a natural person who lives in Ohio or a business entity with a business address in Ohio. The appointment must list the agent's Ohio street address. The Secretary of State will not accept the original articles unless the written appointment and the agent's signed acceptance are included. By statute, filing a change of agent, resignation of agent, or change of agent's address costs twenty-five dollars.

Ohio's Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) is an annual tax on the privilege of doing business in Ohio, based on Ohio taxable gross receipts. For tax years 2025 and later, only businesses with more than $6 million a year in Ohio taxable gross receipts must pay it. The rate is .26% (.0026). The Annual Minimum Tax ended starting in 2024. Businesses must register within 30 days of exceeding the threshold.

Ohio law defines an operating agreement as any valid agreement, written or oral, of the members, or any written declaration of the sole member, about the company's affairs and activities. No requirement to file it with the Secretary of State was found in the sections reviewed.

Trade names are registered, and fictitious names are reported, with the Secretary of State on the Secretary of State's form. A trade name application costs thirty-nine dollars; a fictitious name report also costs thirty-nine dollars. Registrations and reports last five years and can be renewed (renewal fee twenty-five dollars).

Ohio requires any person or business making taxable sales or providing taxable services to first get a vendor's license, through OH|TAX eServices or the county auditor. The Department of Taxation lists the vendor's license (fixed location; each location needs its own license) at $50 and the transient vendor's license at $50; the fee rose from $25 to $50 effective April 9, 2025. A seller's use tax license for out-of-state sellers has no fee.

An out-of-state LLC files an application to become a registered foreign limited liability company with the Secretary of State, with a signed appointment and acceptance of a statutory agent. The statutory filing fee is ninety-nine dollars.

A dissolved LLC delivers a certificate of dissolution to the Secretary of State on the Secretary of State's form. The filing fee for a certificate of dissolution is fifty dollars. Cancelling a foreign LLC's registration is also fifty dollars.