How to Form an LLC in Arkansas
Arkansas charges $45 to form an LLC online, $50 on paper, and then a flat $150 a year in franchise tax, filed with the Secretary of State and due May 1. A registered agent is required but changing one costs nothing, closing takes a dissolution filing plus a mandatory $150 final franchise tax report, and a DBA here is a fictitious name filing with the state, plus a copy filed with the county clerk.
Arkansas at a glance
Filing fee: $45 for the Certificate of Organization, filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State. Recurring: An Annual Franchise Tax Report with the Secretary of State for a flat $150, due on or before May 1 every year. Online filing adds a $5 processing fee, for $155 all in. There is no separate annual report fee. Registered agent: required, with a physical address in Arkansas. Every figure on this page was checked against the Arkansas Secretary of State's, the Arkansas General Assembly's, and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's official sites on November 8, 2026.
The Arkansas filing steps
Check your name on the state's own search
Check the name on the Secretary of State's Business Entity Name Search before you file. Under Arkansas Code section 4-38-112(a), an Arkansas LLC name must contain the words "Limited Liability Company" or "Limited Company," or the abbreviation "L.L.C.", "L.C.", "LLC", or "LC". "Limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "Company" may be abbreviated "Co." A company performing a professional service must additionally contain "Professional Limited Liability Company", "Professional Limited Company", or "P.L.L.C.", "P.L.C.", "PLLC", or "PLC", and must not contain the name of a person who is not a member, except that of a deceased member. Under section 4-38-112(b), the name must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of State from the name of an existing person whose formation required filing a record with the Secretary of State and that is not administratively dissolved, from the name of an LLP whose statement of qualification is in effect, from a name under which a person is registered to do business in Arkansas by a Secretary of State filing, from a name reserved under section 4-38-113 or other Arkansas reservation law, from a name registered under section 4-38-114 or other Arkansas registration law, and from a name registered under sections 4-26-405, 4-27-404, 4-38-122, and 4-42-707. A search does not reserve the name. To hold one, file an Application for Reservation of a Limited Liability Company Name for $22.50 online or $25 paper; it reserves the name for 120 days, and the Secretary of State form treats an LLC reservation as renewable once.
Choose your registered agent
A registered agent is required in Arkansas, and the Certificate of Organization itself cannot be completed without one: the form requires the name and address of the registered agent, through Arkansas Code section 4-20-105(a) of the Model Registered Agents Act, which section 4-38-201(b)(3) incorporates. Arkansas's registered agent rules sit in the Model Registered Agents Act, section 4-20-101 et seq. The agent is the person or entity designated to receive service of legal action or other official communication. The registered agent's address must be a street address in Arkansas, and the agent must be located at that address. A post office box or mail drop may not be used as the registered agent address. Changing the agent costs nothing: a Statement of Change of Registered Agent is listed at no fee on the Secretary of State's LLC Filing Fees schedule, the Notice of Change of Registered Agent form is listed at no fee online and no fee on paper, and the change form itself is printed no fee. A notice of change of principal office address is also no fee, and an agent's resignation is no fee.
File the Certificate of Organization with the Secretary of State
File the Certificate of Organization for a Limited Liability Company, Form LL-01, under Arkansas Code section 4-38-201, through the Secretary of State's Corporations Online Filing System, or on paper with Business and Commercial Services. The fee is $45 online or $50 paper. The paper form and the LLC Filing Fees schedule print only the $50 figure; the $45 online figure is on the Secretary of State's forms and fees web page, and the $5 online discount is the same pattern across the Arkansas LLC fee table. The certificate states the name of the LLC, the address of the principal office of business, a physical street address with city, state, and ZIP, the name and address of the registered agent, a physical street address with city, state, and ZIP, and the name and title of at least one officer for franchise tax purposes, a member or manager. The Secretary of State's FAQ gives the reason for that last item: Business and Commercial Services must have the name of at least one individual responsible for payment of franchise taxes. The organizer signs under penalty of perjury. A separate Franchise Tax Registration sheet is filed with the certificate at no fee, giving the LLC's tax contact, address, phone, e-mail, and Federal Tax ID, and stating that franchise taxes are due by May 1 of the year following formation. The Secretary of State's FAQ states generally for Business and Commercial Services filings that the office completes most filings such as articles of incorporation, amendments, mergers, or dissolutions within two business days of receipt, and that filings delivered in person can often be completed while you wait; that is a general statement for those filings, not a formation specific guarantee.
Get an EIN from the IRS
Free, online, and takes minutes once your Arkansas filing is approved. Never pay a service for this. See EIN for an LLC for the walkthrough and the one IRS rule (a real person as responsible party) that surprises people.
Write your operating agreement
The operating agreement is governed by Arkansas Code section 4-38-105, the section on the operating agreement's scope, function, and limitations, and section 4-38-201(c) provides that a certificate of organization may not vary section 4-38-105(e) and (f) in an inconsistent manner. The agreement is an internal document. No operating agreement form, filing, or fee appears on the Secretary of State's Domestic LLC forms and fees page or in the LLC Filing Fees schedule, and the Certificate of Organization does not call for one. It is not filed with the Secretary of State and carries no state fee.
Open the business bank account and handle licenses
Bring your approved formation document and EIN letter. Then check your city and county for a general business license and your industry for state permits. Arkansas issues no single statewide general business license through the Secretary of State. Licensing is industry specific, through state agencies and boards, or local, through your city or county. The near universal state level step is tax registration with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration for the taxes your activity triggers. Check your industry and your city before you budget, because those offices, not the Secretary of State, set those charges.
Filing details that trip people up
- No publication requirement to form. No publication step appears on the Certificate of Organization form, on the Secretary of State's Domestic LLC forms and fees page, or in the LLC filing fee schedule. That finding rests on the primary formation materials, stated as such.
- Foreign LLCs pay $270 online, and the home-state certificate is required. An out-of-state LLC files an Application for Certificate of Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company, Form FL-01, for $270 online or $300 paper. With the completed application, the LLC shall deliver a certificate of existence, or a document of similar import, duly authorized by the Secretary of State or other official having custody of its records in the home state. The Secretary of State's FAQ states the freshness rule for foreign filings: an original certificate of existence from the home state, dated within the last 30 days. A registered foreign LLC owes the same $150 annual franchise tax as a domestic one.
- A DBA in Arkansas is a fictitious name filed with the Secretary of State, plus a county clerk copy. For an LLC, file an Application for Fictitious Name with the Secretary of State for $22.50 online or $25 paper. A copy returned by the Secretary of State must then be filed with the county clerk in the county in which the entity's registered office is located, unless the registered office is in Pulaski County. Do not use the county assumed name route as an LLC's DBA step: the assumed name subchapter, section 4-70-201 et seq., is the county level regime for businesses that are not Secretary of State filed entities, and it does not apply to an LLC that has filed its certificate of organization with the Secretary of State. No term, expiration, or renewal for a fictitious name filing appears on the fictitious name form or the Secretary of State's LLC pages, so this page publishes no DBA duration. Our DBA guide covers the details.
- Closing costs $45 online plus a mandatory $150 final franchise tax report. A domestic LLC closes with a Statement of Dissolution, Form LL-04, for $45 online or $50 paper, and a Final Franchise Tax Report, $150, must be submitted with it. That final report is a Secretary of State franchise tax gate under section 26-54-105(d)(1), not a Department of Finance and Administration clearance: every LLC that dissolves shall pay at the time of dissolution the franchise tax for the prior calendar year and the minimum franchise tax for the year in which it dissolved, and failure to file the final report with payment will result in the LLC's inability to dissolve. If the prior calendar year's $150 is still unpaid, it is due as well. The Secretary of State's dissolution materials list no separate Department of Finance and Administration clearance certificate step.
- Changing your registered agent or your principal office address costs $0. Both filings are listed at no fee on the Secretary of State's fee schedule and forms pages, and the change of agent form itself is printed no fee. Keeping the agent record current in Arkansas is a free filing, which removes the usual excuse for letting it lapse.
After your Arkansas LLC is approved
Get the EIN, open the business bank account, and register with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration for the tax accounts your activity triggers. Then set the recurring reminder that defines Arkansas compliance: the Annual Franchise Tax Report, $150, due on or before May 1 every year, filed with the Secretary of State. The first one is not due at formation; it is due May 1 of the year following formation. If you file it online, budget $155, because online filing adds a $5 processing fee. There are no extensions. Keep the registered agent and principal office current as well; in Arkansas both changes are no fee filings.
The full recurring picture for Arkansas, with fees and due dates, is on the Arkansas annual report and compliance page, and the money view is on the Arkansas LLC cost page.
Arkansas LLC questions
Is the Arkansas $150 franchise tax really owed by every LLC?
Yes. The Annual Franchise Tax Report form states that all limited liability companies pay $150, and Act 459 of 2023, amending section 26-54-104(a)(8), provides that an organization formed under the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act shall pay the minimum franchise tax, which is $150. It is filed with the Secretary of State, not the Department of Finance and Administration, due on or before May 1, with a $5 processing fee added to online filing. See the Arkansas franchise tax page.
What happens if I miss the May 1 franchise tax deadline?
A $25 late filing penalty, plus interest on the tax and penalty at 0.000274 per day, which is the daily equivalent of 10 percent per year. The Secretary of State mails a warning notice on or before November 1, and on or before January 31 the charters or authorities of entities delinquent for a prior year are proclaimed revoked. Franchise taxes keep accruing after revocation until the business is dissolved, withdrawn, or merged, and further Business and Commercial Services filings are barred while the tax is past due.
How does an Arkansas LLC reinstate after a franchise tax revocation?
By filing all delinquent franchise tax reports and paying all taxes and penalties due for each year of delinquency, under section 26-54-112. Reinstatement is retroactive to the time the authority was declared revoked. It is not allowed after five years from the date the charter or permit authority was declared revoked and the charter was forfeited. No separate reinstatement fee for an LLC appears on the Secretary of State's LLC Filing Fees schedule.
Does an Arkansas LLC file a BOI report?
No. US-formed companies are exempt under the federal final rule of August 14, 2026. See the BOI tracker.
General Information Only
LLCForming publishes general information about forming and running an LLC. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not create an attorney or advisor relationship. Rules vary by state and by your situation. For a decision that matters, talk to a licensed attorney or tax professional in your state.