Form an Arizona LLC with the Corporation Commission

What is different about forming an LLC in Arizona

Articles of organization for an Arizona LLC go to the Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division. A.R.S. § 29-3201(A) provides that organizers form a limited liability company "by delivering to the commission for filing the articles of organization." Arizona statute calls the agent a statutory agent rather than a registered agent (§ 29-3115).

Three features then shape the work. A newly filed Arizona LLC may owe a published notice within sixty days, and the county it runs in turns on the statutory agent's street address. Arizona LLCs file nothing with the Commission on a recurring schedule: its FAQ states that "LLCs are not required to file annual reports," and the Schedule of Fees for limited liability companies carries no annual, biennial or periodic LLC fee. And the Commission "will not accept Service of Process for LLCs," though it will for a corporation that fails to maintain an agent at its listed physical address.

Filing the articles of organization

Section 29-3201(B) requires the articles to state the company name; the principal address, which may be the same as the statutory agent's mailing address; the statutory agent's name and street and mailing addresses in this state; and whether the company is manager-managed or member-managed. A manager-managed company also lists each manager and each member owning a twenty percent or greater interest in capital or profits; a member-managed one lists every member. Those names and addresses are public record, while the principal address is "not required to be an Arizona address."

The paper form is L010, and every document must carry a Cover Sheet. L010i warns that articles "will be rejected" without the Manager Structure Attachment (form L040) or the Member Structure Attachment (form L041), and that articles are rejected "If no statutory agent acceptance is in the Arizona Corporation Commission system at the time the Articles are examined." Under § 29-3201(D), a company "is formed when the articles of organization become effective."

Fees, portal and processing

The Schedule of Fees prices articles of organization at $50 for regular processing and $85 for expedited, matching § 29-3213(A)(1): "The initial articles of organization, fifty dollars." Expedite is "$35 in addition to the filing fee." Filing fees are nonrefundable and cannot be transferred to another document.

Accelerated service costs $400 for 2-Hour, $200 for Same Day and $100 for Next Day, above the filing fee. What it guarantees is "the examination of a document within the specified service time," not approval: "Same day/next day filing does not guarantee approval of a filing," and the clock "will not start until the statutory agent has accepted the appointment."

Section 29-3213(D) requires the Commission to "publicly post the current wait times for processing regular and expedited services." Its table lists LLC new filings at 12 days regular and 6 days expedite, with 1 day for same day and next day service.

Online filing runs through Arizona Business Center at arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov, which replaced the eCorp portal on January 12, 2026. Paper filings go to the Corporations Division Examination Section at 1300 W. Washington St., Phoenix.

Publishing notice of the filing

Section 29-3201(G) requires that, within sixty days after the Commission files the articles, one of two things happen. Under § 29-3201(G)(1), "A notice of the filing of the articles shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the statutory agent's street address for three consecutive publications containing the information required in subsection B of this section." Under § 29-3201(G)(2), the Commission "shall input the information regarding the approval into the database as prescribed by section 10-130 if the statutory agent's street address is in a county with a population of more than eight hundred thousand persons."

The trigger is the statutory agent's street address, not the company's principal address. L010i names the counties: an agent street address "in Maricopa or Pima county" means "a notice will automatically be published on our website in the public notice section," while one "outside of Maricopa or Pima county" means "you will need to publish notice in a newspaper." Section 10-130(B) requires the Commission to keep that database posted for at least ninety days at no charge to the entity.

Publication follows approval. L010i instructs in capitals, "DO NOT PUBLISH UNTIL THE COMMISSION APPROVES THE ARTICLES FOR FILING," and the Commission "will inform you by letter if your document is required to be published." Eligible newspapers come from a listing the Commission maintains by county. Filing the proof is optional: "An affidavit evidencing the publication may be filed with the commission."

Failure to publish is not among the six grounds for administrative dissolution in § 29-3708(A). Amendments carry the same duty under § 29-3202(H), except that § 29-3202(I) excuses publication where the amendment changes only the names or addresses of members or managers, the principal address, or the statutory agent's name or address.

Naming an Arizona LLC

Section 29-3112(A) requires the name to "contain the phrase 'limited liability company' or 'limited company' or the abbreviation 'L.L.C.', 'LLC', 'L.C.' or 'LC' in uppercase or lowercase letters." Subsection (E) prohibits "association", "corporation" and "incorporated" and their abbreviations, and conditions "bank", "deposit", "credit union" and "trust" words on the company being "actively and substantially engaged" in that business or holding a substantial interest in one. L010i lists the banking words that need prior written approval from the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions.

Subsection (B) requires the name to be distinguishable on the records of the Commission or the Secretary of State from existing, registered, reserved and trade names. The Commission calls that "a minimal standard." Names are capped at 120 characters and checked inside Arizona Business Center.

Reservation is optional. Section 29-3113(A) holds an available name "for the applicant's exclusive use for one hundred twenty days," the hold is non-renewable, and the fee is $10 regular or $45 expedited. Trade names go to the Secretary of State, "not the A.C.C.," for a five-year term under § 44-1460.02(A), and DBA names can be recorded through the Maricopa County Recorder's Office.

Statutory agent

Section 29-3115(A) requires every Arizona LLC to "designate and maintain a statutory agent in this state," and subsection (B) limits the role to "an individual resident of this state, a domestic corporation, a limited liability company, a foreign corporation or a foreign limited liability company authorized to transact business in this state," each with a place of business or residence in this state. "An LLC cannot be its own Statutory Agent," though it may appoint a member or manager in that person's individual capacity. An individual agent must be "a permanent, full-time resident of the State of Arizona," with an Arizona street address and an Arizona mailing address, which "can be a P.O. Box or a personal mail box."

An appointment "is not effective until the agent or the company delivers a record to the commission signed by the agent accepting the appointment" unless the agent signed the appointing document; the paper form is M002. Section 29-3202(C) requires an amendment or statement of change within thirty days after the company changes its statutory agent or principal address, or after a manager, member or agent address changes; that statement costs $5 regular or $40 expedited. More sits on the Arizona registered agent page.

After formation

No annual report is due, but dormancy is watched. Under the Commission's Policy 3, Attestation of Existence for LLCs, the Corporations Division identifies each January the LLCs that have filed nothing for two years and asks them by electronic notice to confirm they still exist. An LLC that does not respond within 60 days faces administrative dissolution "on the grounds that the LLC's statutory agent and/or principal address have not been kept current," with status changing to "pending inactive" until the 120-day process ends.

Section 29-3708(A) grounds an administrative dissolution on an unpaid fee or penalty 60 days past due, sixty consecutive days without a statutory agent or without a principal address, failure to notify the Commission within 60 days of an agent or address change, failure to amend or file a statement of change required by § 29-3202, or failure to answer interrogatories under § 29-3212. The company has 60 days after delivery of notice to cure. Reinstatement runs within six years of the effective date of dissolution for $100 plus the fees and penalties due. Voluntary termination is different: "LLCs that are terminated voluntarily are permanently terminated." See the Arizona dissolution page.

Section 29-3202(B) makes amendment mandatory within thirty days of a change in members of a member-managed LLC, or in managers or twenty-percent members of a manager-managed one; articles of amendment cost $25 regular or $60 expedited. A foreign registration statement costs $150 regular or $185 expedited; see the foreign LLC page.

State taxes and licensing

Section 29-3123 taxes a company and its members "as if the company or foreign company is either a partnership or a corporation or is disregarded as an entity as determined pursuant to the internal revenue code." Pass-through income meets a 2.5% rate on the Arizona individual return, and § 43-1014(A) lets partners consent instead to be taxed at the entity level.

Arizona's sales-side tax is the transaction privilege tax, which the Department of Revenue calls "a tax on vendors for the privilege of doing business in the state," at a state rate of 5.6%. Section 42-5005(A) requires a license "accompanied by a fee of $12" per location and bars doing business without one; violating the section is "a class 3 misdemeanor." Subsection (C) states that "There is no fee for the renewal of the transaction privilege tax license." City privilege tax licenses are separate and capped at $50 by ordinance.

Returns are due on the 20th of the month following the tax period, and a zero return is still a return, since the business must report "even if the gross receipts for the filing period is $0.00." Late filing adds "four and one-half percent of the tax required to be shown on the return" for each month or fraction of a month, capped at twenty-five percent. The Arizona LLC tax page goes further.

The Commission does not license businesses. It directs a company to register with the city where the business is located, or the county if the location is unincorporated, and states that "The Arizona Corporation Commission does not issue business or occupational licenses."

Operating agreement, records and EIN

An Arizona operating agreement is not required by statute, and without one L010i says "the LLC statutes will govern how the LLC conducts its affairs." It may be written or oral, and it is not filed with the Commission. L010i warns that with no agreement providing otherwise both members of a two-member LLC "will always have to agree on every action or decision, because there will never be a majority." See the operating agreement guide.

Records are mandatory even where the agreement is not. Section 29-3410(A) requires a current list of each member and manager, the articles and amendments, and tax returns and financial statements for the three most recent years, produced within ten days of a demand.

An EIN is issued by the Internal Revenue Service and is no part of a Commission filing. The EIN guide covers the application.

Frequently asked questions

Does an Arizona LLC have to publish a notice in a newspaper?

A.R.S. 29-3201(G) gives two paths. If the statutory agent's street address is in a county with a population of more than eight hundred thousand persons, the Commission inputs the approval into its own database instead. The Commission identifies those counties as Maricopa and Pima, and says notice must be published in a newspaper if the statutory agent's street address is outside them.

Does Arizona require an annual report for LLCs?

No. The Corporation Commission states that LLCs are not required to file annual reports and that only corporations are required to file them. The Schedule of Fees for limited liability companies contains no annual, biennial or periodic LLC filing fee.

What does it cost to file Arizona articles of organization?

The Schedule of Fees for limited liability companies prices articles of organization at $50 for regular processing and $85 for expedited processing, and A.R.S. 29-3213(A)(1) sets the initial articles of organization at fifty dollars. Filing fees are nonrefundable and cannot be transferred to another document.

Can an Arizona LLC act as its own statutory agent?

No. The Commission's instructions state that an LLC cannot be its own statutory agent and must appoint someone apart from itself. It may appoint a member or manager in that person's individual capacity.

How long does the Arizona Corporation Commission take to process a new LLC?

A.R.S. 29-3213(D) requires the Commission to publicly post current wait times for regular and expedited services. Its posted table lists LLC new filings at 12 days for regular processing and 6 days for expedite, with 1 day shown for same day and next day service. The instructions say processing times are posted each Monday.