Starting your own business is a big step. It can mean more risk, more paperwork, and a few more sleepless nights. But it can also mean financial independence and more time for the things and people that matter. Keep that in view: stay positive, work through the checklist, and stay focused on your product.
Our goal here is to help you form your own LLC in Louisiana so that setup is one less thing to worry about. Careful preparation now saves a lot of headaches later and frees you to focus on growing the business, building a client base, and enjoying the rewards of running your own company.
There are six steps to forming a limited liability company (LLC). This guide is written for Louisiana, but much of it applies elsewhere too. One thing to note up front: wherever you file your LLC is where your physical business must be based, and any time you do business in another state, you will generally need to register there as well.
For state-specific details we refer to the Louisiana Secretary of State at sos.la.gov, and specifically its geauxbiz portal. We recommend writing out a checklist from the start, beginning with Step One.
The six steps are:
- Choose your name
- Choose a registered agent
- File your paperwork
- Write an operating agreement
- Open for business
- Comply and file
Step One: Choose Your Name
Picking the right company name can make a real difference. No pressure, but if you plan to be in business for the long haul, the name you choose now is what customers will know you by for years.
Your name should say something about you and what you do. You do not want to be the nineteenth "Baton Rouge Boiled Crawfish" in town, and you also do not want a name that is just your own first and last name with no hint of the business behind it.
If you are starting a business in Louisiana, you already know every part of the state has its own flavor. New Orleans is not Shreveport, and neither is Baton Rouge. Use that local knowledge to land on a name that fits you, your business, and your customers.
Stay flexible and brainstorm one or two options. Once you have candidates, check them against a national database and with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
This is a point where having a professional on your side helps. We will cover registered agents in more detail next, but they can assist from the very beginning. The two best registered agent companies we have found are ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent. Both can help you pick your LLC name and check it against the Louisiana and national databases.
A couple of final notes on choosing a name:
- Check whether the name is already trademarked using the official U.S. government tool at the USPTO.
- Run a few web searches. Even if no one has trademarked or registered a name, someone may already own the matching domain, and you would hate to secure your ideal company name only to find you cannot use it as a website address.
Once you have chosen a name and confirmed it is available in your state, it is time to find a registered agent.
Step Two: Choose a Registered Agent
Do not skip any part of this checklist, but choosing a registered agent is absolutely essential. The registered agent is the party the state contacts if there is ever an issue with your LLC.
It is also who receives any legal paperwork filed regarding your business. If you are sued, or if you are entitled to damages, the documents go to your registered agent.
This step matters enough that we recommend hiring a professional service, which buys you peace of mind to focus on the business itself. A service such as ZenBusiness can handle all of your filing needs in one place: help you select a name, submit your paperwork through the Louisiana portal, and keep you compliant going forward.
Northwest Registered Agent can even register you in multiple states for a flat fee. So if you are based in Baton Rouge and take a job in McComb, Mississippi, or you are in Shreveport with clients in Texas or Arkansas, you stay covered without worrying about crossing any legal lines.
Beyond the convenience, remember that a registered agent is mandatory in Louisiana, and in fact in any state where your LLC does business. The next step, filing paperwork, requires you to have a registered agent's name ready.
You are allowed to list yourself or any other Louisiana resident as your registered agent, but we still suggest going with ZenBusiness or Northwest Registered Agent. For a modest fee, they provide one-on-one help with every step of setting up your LLC, from naming it to keeping your filings current in the months and years ahead. No one goes into business for themselves because they love paperwork, so let the professionals handle it.
Step Three: File Your Paperwork
These days almost everything is done online, and filing for your Louisiana LLC is no different. The screenshots below, based on a placeholder company we called "Jax's Fiery Crawfish," show what to expect.
After you create an account at geauxbiz and confirm your email address, the first thing you will see is this:
Fill in your details: name, address, and so on. After that, you will see this screen:
Here you choose to sign in as an individual or an organization. You want to select organization.
Next is a page you will get to know well over the next few days: the dashboard for all your filings.
The dashboard shows the progress of any in-progress filings you have saved, plus alerts such as upcoming due dates and any documents you have uploaded. To begin, click the "Get Started" button at the top right.
The next screen is the "What would you like to do?" page.
You can select only one option at a time, and you can always return to this page to make a different choice after doing your research.
If you pick the first option, "Find resources to help plan," you land here:
Filling this out can lead to more questions and answers. For the direct route, return to the "What would you like to do?" page and click "Register a Louisiana business just starting up."
On the next page:
Select "LLC (Limited Liability Company)" and "Domestic (Louisiana)." At the bottom you will see the state filing fee, which is $100 without any expedited processing. After that you will provide some tax and employer information.
By this point you may already feel buried in web pages, questions, and requests for information before you are even officially a business. This is exactly where a registered agent or filing service earns its keep. A company like Northwest Registered Agent or ZenBusiness can handle all of it for you. There is a cost, but there is also a lot of time saved, and this is a good moment to ask yourself what your time is worth.
We will stop the walkthrough here, since the rest is specific to your situation. Here is a quick checklist of the information to have on hand when you file:
- The LLC's name
- The physical address of the business
- The name and address of the registered agent
- The type of business
- A list of managers and members
- A list of organizers (those involved in owning or founding the LLC)
- The duration of the company (founding and closing dates, or "in perpetuity")
- Your Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Step Four: Write an Operating Agreement
Louisiana does not legally require an operating agreement, but having one is a very good idea even as a placeholder. That way, if you need to flesh it out in more detail later, you already have a template.
You can find blank operating agreements online, some pre-filled with basic terms. If one of those works for you, use it. It is your business, literally.
If you are forming a single-member LLC with no partners or outside investors, the operating agreement is fairly simple. But if you are teaming up with others, especially anyone putting in real money or equipment, you want an ironclad agreement.
A good operating agreement protects you and your partners from the infighting and disagreements that can bring a company down. Things to address include, but should not be limited to:
- Who can open bank accounts and handle money for the LLC.
- How partners are added or removed.
- How property and assets are divided.
- How disputes between partners are settled.
- How documents and business processes are laid out.
A registered agent can handle your operating agreement and tailor it to your specific situation.
Step Five: Open for Business
This is the part you have been waiting for, where you get to shine. Swing that hammer, fire up that oven, or spin those tires. When you open for business, try to leave all the paperwork and planning behind you.
When you are dealing with customers, you do not want to be thinking about the Secretary of State or wondering whether your EIN was filed. That, again, is a great reason to have a registered agent or a trusted partner in your corner.
Step Six: Comply and File
This is the part no business owner can avoid: filing for the licenses certain jobs require (construction, liquor licenses, and the like), making sure you are bonded if your industry calls for it, and staying on top of other paperwork.
A registered agent can help you keep up with all of this, and so can dedicated office staff once you are large enough to afford them.
The main things to watch are annual and quarterly filings. Just as personal taxes revolve around key dates, so does operating an LLC. Keep an eye on your geauxbiz dashboard and make sure your office filing system is airtight.
And with that, you have your LLC. So what is next? We do not have room for a full course on running a business, and we would never presume to tell you how to run your po' boy shop. The important part is getting the paperwork dialed in. After that, do what you do best, whatever it is.
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