When exactly is my Louisiana LLC annual report due?

Louisiana law requires the report on or before the anniversary date of your LLC's organization, so the deadline tracks the day your articles of organization were filed with the Secretary of State. Articles filed on March 12 mean a report due on or before March 12 each year; articles filed on September 5 mean September 5. Your first report is due on the first anniversary of that filing date, not in the calendar year you formed. The fee is $35. You file through the geauxBIZ portal or by mail. Louisiana charges no monetary late penalty, but missing three consecutive annual reports lets the Secretary of State revoke your articles of organization after at least 30 days' written notice to your registered agent, which interrupts your LLC's legal existence until it is reinstated. Because the schedule is anniversary-based, you cannot line up filings for LLCs formed on different dates. Pull your filed articles to confirm the exact date, put it in your business calendar, and set a reminder a couple of weeks ahead.

How do I file my annual report through the Louisiana GeauxBiz Portal?

Log into the Louisiana geauxBIZ portal at geauxbiz.sos.la.gov with your existing account credentials. You will need your LLC's charter number and current registered agent information, and the portal walks you through the report field by field. The fee is $35, payable by card during submission, with an additional $5 statutory convenience fee on card payments. The deadline is the anniversary date of your LLC's organization each year under Louisiana law, and a first-year LLC files on the first anniversary of the day its articles were filed. Louisiana charges no monetary late penalty, but three consecutive missed reports lead to revocation of your articles. The portal generates a confirmation number on successful submission, which you should save. Businesses in fourteen parishes, including Orleans, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Caddo and Lafayette, are required to file all available business documents online rather than by mail.

Does Louisiana require LLCs to have a registered agent?

Yes. Louisiana requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical street address in the state who can accept legal documents and official correspondence for the business. The agent must be available during normal business hours and can be an individual Louisiana resident or an entity authorized to do business in the state. You can act as your own agent if you meet those requirements, or hire a commercial registered agent service, which spares you putting a home address on the public record and means someone is reliably there to sign for service of process. Compare providers on price, address coverage and how quickly they forward what they receive. Your registered agent's address is your LLC's official service address for lawsuits and regulatory notices, and missing service because the agent is invalid or out of date can lead to a default judgment against your business. You designate the agent in your articles of organization when you form the LLC, and you confirm the information every year on the annual report, so keep it current with the Secretary of State whenever it changes.

Compliance · LA

Louisiana LLC Annual Compliance Requirements (2026)

Everything your Louisiana LLC must do to stay in good standing, annual report deadlines, registered agent rules, and state-specific obligations.

First-Year Total$160

Annual Ongoing$35/yr

vs National Avg- $72.13

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 1, 2026

Louisiana keeps LLC compliance cheap and predictable. Articles of organization cost $125, a single fee that also covers the Initial Report (Form 973) the Secretary of State will not accept the articles without, and the annual report costs $35. That makes a first-year state cost of $160, roughly $72 below the national average of about $232 and the 23rd cheapest first-year cost in the country, tied with Wyoming. Both fees rose on October 1, 2026, when a law passed in the 2026 Regular Session took articles of organization from $100 to $125 and the annual report from $30 to $35. Louisiana LLCs file that annual report on or before the anniversary date of organization each year under Louisiana law, with the first report due on the first anniversary of the day the articles were filed. That rolling schedule spreads deadlines across the calendar instead of bunching them on a fixed date, and filings run through the geauxBIZ portal, which businesses in fourteen parishes are required to use. What makes Louisiana distinctive beyond the numbers is a business ecosystem centered on New Orleans and Baton Rouge, with active energy, industrial technology, creative and entertainment technology, and food innovation sectors, and state incentive programs aimed squarely at tech and creative businesses.

Stat card for Louisiana LLC compliance costs: $160 in unavoidable first-year charges and $35 a year after that, −$72.13 against the $232.13 national first-year average. Its annual report costs $35. — First-year total bundles the state filing fee with any report or entity tax due in year one; the recurring figure is what Louisiana costs every year after that. Source: Louisiana's published filing requirements and fee schedule, verified July 2026; national average from MyStateLLC's 50-state compliance dataset.

Annual Report Requirements

Due: Anniversary date of LLC formation

Fee: $35

Frequency: annual

How: Online or mail

Full Louisiana Annual Report Guide →

Registered Agent Requirements

Understand Louisiana's registered agent rules, explore your options, and ensure your LLC stays compliant with state requirements.

Before you compare paid services: in most states the LLC's owner, or another individual who qualifies, may serve as its registered agent themselves, generally subject to that state's rules on keeping a street address in the state and being available there during normal business hours. A paid service is one way to meet the requirement and not the only one. The Louisiana registered agent requirements set out what Louisiana itself asks.

Registered agent services for Louisiana LLCs

Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.

This list is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and every claim below is about the services listed here rather than the whole market.

Northwest Registered Agent$125/yr renewal
Best for: Privacy-focused owners and anyone who just needs an agent, not a formation bundle
Bizee$149/yr renewal
Best for: A free first year on every plan, renewing at $149/yr, if you're comfortable with the BBB caveat
ZenBusiness$199/yr renewal
Best for: First-time founders forming a new LLC who want phone, email and chat support
LegalZoom$249/yr renewal
Best for: Complex structures that want attorney consultations, which come with LegalZoom's Pro and Premium formation plans rather than this renewal price

Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.

Annual renewal is each provider's own standard published rate. Check the current terms at each provider before you buy. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is in our full formation services review →

Louisiana Registered Agent Requirements →

Late Filing Penalties

Penalty: None, Louisiana charges no monetary late fee

Louisiana Late Fee Guide →

Louisiana-Specific Compliance Considerations

Anniversary-Date Annual Reporting

Louisiana requires LLCs to file the annual report on or before the anniversary date of organization rather than on a fixed statewide deadline, and Louisiana's statute itself puts it that way. A new LLC's first report is due on the first anniversary of the day its articles of organization were filed. Track your own anniversary date: Louisiana law allows revocation only after three consecutive years, following 30 days' notice to the last designated agent.

GeauxBiz Portal System

Louisiana uses the GeauxBiz Portal as the primary platform for all business filings, including annual reports and other LLC maintenance documents. Familiarizing yourself with this system early will streamline your ongoing compliance requirements throughout your LLC's life.

No Late Fee, But Revocation Risk

Louisiana charges no monetary penalty for a late annual report. A late filer pays the same $35 as an on-time filer. The real risk is revocation. Under Louisiana law the Secretary of State must revoke the articles of organization of an LLC that fails to file for three consecutive years, after at least 30 days' written notice mailed to the last registered agent on file. Articles can be reinstated within three years of the effective date of the revocation by filing an application, the current annual report, and the reinstatement fee set by Louisiana law.

Creative Business Incentives

Louisiana offers substantial state incentives specifically targeting tech startups and creative businesses, particularly in New Orleans. These programs can significantly offset business costs and should be explored when planning your LLC's operations and growth strategy.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because the penalty for missing a deadline can be administrative dissolution of the company.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Louisiana law requires the report on or before the anniversary date of your LLC's organization, so the deadline tracks the day your articles of organization were filed with the Secretary of State. Articles filed on March 12 mean a report due on or before March 12 each year; articles filed on September 5 mean September 5. Your first report is due on the first anniversary of that filing date, not in the calendar year you formed. The fee is $35. You file through the geauxBIZ portal or by mail. Louisiana charges no monetary late penalty, but missing three consecutive annual reports lets the Secretary of State revoke your articles of organization after at least 30 days' written notice to your registered agent, which interrupts your LLC's legal existence until it is reinstated. Because the schedule is anniversary-based, you cannot line up filings for LLCs formed on different dates. Pull your filed articles to confirm the exact date, put it in your business calendar, and set a reminder a couple of weeks ahead.
: Log into the Louisiana geauxBIZ portal at geauxbiz.sos.la.gov with your existing account credentials. You will need your LLC's charter number and current registered agent information, and the portal walks you through the report field by field. The fee is $35, payable by card during submission, with an additional $5 statutory convenience fee on card payments. The deadline is the anniversary date of your LLC's organization each year under Louisiana law, and a first-year LLC files on the first anniversary of the day its articles were filed. Louisiana charges no monetary late penalty, but three consecutive missed reports lead to revocation of your articles. The portal generates a confirmation number on successful submission, which you should save. Businesses in fourteen parishes, including Orleans, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Caddo and Lafayette, are required to file all available business documents online rather than by mail.
: Louisiana imposes no monetary late penalty on an LLC that misses its annual report deadline. File after your anniversary date and you still pay the standard $35 filing fee. That does not make late filing consequence-free. A past-due report puts your LLC out of good standing with the Secretary of State, which blocks the good standing certificates banks and business partners often require. The serious risk is revocation. Under Louisiana law, if your LLC misses three consecutive annual reports the Secretary of State must revoke its articles of organization, after at least 30 days' written notice mailed to the last registered agent on file. Reinstatement is available within three years of the effective date of the revocation, on an application filed with the current annual report and the reinstatement fee set by Louisiana law. Revocation does not by itself undo the limited liability members already have, but a revoked LLC is not an entity in good standing and the gap in its legal existence is a real problem in contracts and financing. If you have already missed a deadline, file the overdue report through geauxbiz.sos.la.gov. It costs the same $35 and restores your standing.
: Yes. Louisiana requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical street address in the state who can accept legal documents and official correspondence for the business. The agent must be available during normal business hours and can be an individual Louisiana resident or an entity authorized to do business in the state. You can act as your own agent if you meet those requirements, or hire a commercial registered agent service, which spares you putting a home address on the public record and means someone is reliably there to sign for service of process. Compare providers on price, address coverage and how quickly they forward what they receive. Your registered agent's address is your LLC's official service address for lawsuits and regulatory notices, and missing service because the agent is invalid or out of date can lead to a default judgment against your business. You designate the agent in your articles of organization when you form the LLC, and you confirm the information every year on the annual report, so keep it current with the Secretary of State whenever it changes.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Louisiana sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.

Louisiana statute: La. R.S. 12:1308.1 (annual report due date)
Louisiana law: Act 921 of the 2026 Regular Session (filing fee increase)
Louisiana statute: La. R.S. 12:1308.2(A) (revocation for non-filing)
Louisiana statute: R.S. 12:1364(A)(1) (reinstatement fee)
sos.la.gov/business-servicesLouisiana Secretary of State: business entity filings
legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=76256Louisiana statute: Annual Report

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.