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How to Form an LLC in Utah

Utah charges $59 to form an LLC under the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code's FY2026 fee schedule, effective July 1, 2025, and $18 a year to renew it. Two traps dominate Utah advice. Older guides quote $54 or $70 as the formation fee, and both figures belong to other filings on the current schedule. And Utah recodified its LLC law effective October 1, 2026, so citations to the old LLC chapter are stale even when the underlying rule sounds familiar.

By the LLCForming research teamFees checked Nov 8, 2026

The Utah filing steps

1. Check your name on the state's own search

   Search the Division's Business Name Availability service on its Searches page at commerce.utah.gov before you file. That search is a basic check only, and a name is deemed available only upon final approval of the Division of Corporations. Under Utah Code 16-1a-303(5), an LLC name shall contain the phrase "limited liability company" or "limited company," or the abbreviation "L.L.C.," "LLC," "L.C.," or "LC"; "limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "company" as "Co." The name may not contain "association," "corporation," "decentralized autonomous organization," "incorporated," "partnership," "limited partnership," or "L.P.," or a word or abbreviation of similar import. Under 16-1a-302, the name shall be distinguishable on the records of the division from other filing entity names, registered foreign entity names, registered D.B.A.s, and reserved and registered names, and a name is distinguishable if it contains one or more different words, letters, or numerals. If you want to hold a name while you prepare, an optional name reservation costs $22 and reserves the name for 120 calendar days under 16-1a-304.

2. Choose your registered agent

   Utah calls this role the registered agent, and under Utah Code 16-1a-402 every domestic filing entity and every registered foreign entity shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state. A registered agent filing states one of three things under 16-1a-404: the name of a commercial registered agent, whose address is in its listing statement; the name and address of a noncommercial registered agent; or the title of an office or other position within the entity whose holder may accept service, plus that position's mailing address. Designating an agent is an affirmation that the agent has consented to serve. Any address a filing must state must be a street address in Utah, and a mailing address in Utah if different, under 16-1a-403. Changing the agent later costs $17 on a standalone statement of change, and changes made with the annual renewal are free, as the agent change note on the compliance page explains.

3. File the Certificate of Organization with the Division of Corporations

   File a Certificate of Organization under Utah Code 16-20-201 through the Division's Business Registration System at businessregistration.utah.gov, logging in with a UtahID. From the left menu select "Formations," then the Domestic sub-option, then the entity type. The fee is $59 under section 1 of the Division's FY2026 fee schedule, effective July 1, 2025, and the schedule lists one fee with no online or paper split. The certificate must state the LLC name, the street and mailing address of the principal office, and the registered agent information, and, if applicable, a low-profit LLC statement, professional services company information, and a series liability limitation notice. Under 16-20-201(4), an LLC is formed when the certificate becomes effective and at least one person becomes a member, and 16-1a-204 allows a delayed effective date up to 90 days after filing. Expedited processing costs an additional $75 per filing under section 11 of the schedule. The schedule states no expedited turnaround time, and no official page read states one, so do not rely on a promised turnaround. All processing fees are nonrefundable.

4. Get an EIN from the IRS

   Free, online, and takes minutes once your Utah 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.

5. Write your operating agreement

   Under Utah Code 16-20-107(1), the operating agreement governs relations among the members and between the members and the LLC, the rights and duties of a manager, the LLC's activities and affairs and their conduct, and how the agreement is amended. Section 16-20-101 defines it as the agreement of all the members, whether or not referred to as an operating agreement and whether oral, implied, in a record, or in any combination thereof, including a sole member. The certificate of organization may not vary the matters in 16-20-107(3) inconsistently, under 16-20-201(3)(a). The agreement is not filed with the Division, which is exactly why it should be written at formation rather than reconstructed later.

6. 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. Utah has no single statewide general business license issued by the Division of Corporations. The Division system covers entity formation and registration and D.B.A.s, tax account registration is with the Utah State Tax Commission, and business licensing is handled locally and by industry regulators. No general license fee is stated on any Division page read, so no such figure is included in the totals on this site.

Filing details that trip people up

• Utah recodified its LLC law effective October 1, 2026, and old chapter citations are stale. The LLC Act is now Utah Code Title 16, Chapter 20, with the certificate of organization at 16-20-201, and the shared filing, name, registered agent, foreign registration, and administrative dissolution rules are now in Title 16, Chapter 1a. Those provisions were formerly in Title 48, Chapter 3a, noted here once as the former citation. Cite the current sections.
• The $54 and $70 figures in other guides are not the Utah LLC formation fee. On the current FY2026 fee schedule, $54 is the reinstatement fee for a domestic LLC and $70 is the formation fee for an LLP, LP, or LLLP. The domestic LLC certificate of organization is $59, and the page can only be read one way: the current schedule controls if any older form or guide disagrees.
• Foreign LLCs pay the same $59, and a home state certificate is required. An out-of-state LLC files a Foreign Registration Statement under Utah Code 16-1a-504 for $59, the same fee as a domestic formation. Under 16-1a-504(3), it shall include a certificate of existence, or a document of similar import, from the official with custody of corporate records in its home jurisdiction, dated within 90 days before the registration statement is delivered. An unregistered foreign entity may not maintain an action or proceeding in Utah until it registers, under 16-1a-503, though its contracts stay valid and it may defend an action.
• Trading under a different name is a state filing in Utah, and it lasts three years. A D.B.A. is registered with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, not at the county, through the same Business Registration System, for $22. A D.B.A. registration is effective for three years under Utah Code 42-2-204, renewal may begin 60 days before expiration, and the renewal fee is $18. Cancellation and transfer are listed as No Charge on the fee schedule. If a D.B.A. does not renew, the Division sends notice to its registered agent, and if renewal is not made within 30 days after the notice, the registration is permanently expired and another person may immediately claim the name. Our DBA guide covers when you need one and when you do not.
• No publication requirement. Utah Code 16-20-201(2) lists the complete required contents of the certificate of organization and imposes no newspaper publication, advertising, or affidavit of publication step. No publication filing or fee appears anywhere in the FY2026 fee schedule. Formation is complete on the certificate becoming effective plus one person becoming a member.

After your Utah LLC is approved

Get the EIN, open the business bank account, and handle tax account registration with the Utah State Tax Commission for the taxes your activity triggers. Then set the one recurring date that matters in Utah: the Annual Renewal is due on the last day of the anniversary month, filing opens 60 days early, and the fee is $18. Keep the registered agent record current the whole time. Going 60 consecutive days without a registered agent in Utah is a ground for administrative dissolution, and agent changes are free when you make them with the annual renewal, so there is no cost reason to let the record go stale.

The full recurring picture for Utah, with fees and due dates, is on the Utah annual report and compliance page, and the money view is on the Utah LLC cost page.

Utah LLC questions