LLC Filing Rejected or Taking Too Long? What to Do, by State

Check Your State: Processing Time, Faster Handling and Where to Look

Choose your state to see the processing time it publishes, any fees it lists for faster handling, how it takes the filing, and where to look your LLC up. Where we have not confirmed a processing time we say so rather than guess, and a gap in our record is never a statement that the state publishes nothing.

Taking Longer Than Expected? What to Check First

Start with the clock. Compare how long it has been with the processing time your state publishes, counting business days where the state counts them, and allow extra time for anything sent by mail. Then search the state's business register for your LLC's exact name to see whether the state lists it yet.

1. Check your state's processing time in the picker above, and whether it counts business days.
2. Search the state's business register for the exact name you filed under.
3. Check the email address and mailing address you gave on the filing, including spam folders, for a message from the filing office.
4. If the time has passed and nothing shows, contact the filing office with the date you filed, the LLC's name, and any confirmation or payment number you received.
5. If you need the LLC sooner, ask whether the state offers paid faster handling. The picker lists any fees in our record.

Common Reasons an LLC Filing Comes Back

Rejections commonly come down to a few fixable problems: a name the state will not accept, missing or wrong registered agent details, a missing signature or organizer, the wrong fee, or the wrong or an outdated form. The rejection notice usually names the problem, so read it before you change anything else.

• The name. The state found it too close to a name already on its register, it uses a word the state restricts, or it leaves out an ending the state requires, such as “LLC”.
• Registered agent details. The registered agent's name or address (or, where the state's form asks for one, the registered office) is missing or incomplete, or the address is not one the state accepts.
• Signature or organizer. The form is unsigned, or the organizer's name or address is missing.
• The fee. The amount is wrong or out of date, the payment did not go through, or a check was made out to the wrong payee.
• The form. The filing used an outdated version of the state's form, or a form meant for a different kind of business.

How to Fix and Refile a Rejected LLC Filing

Read the rejection notice, fix exactly what it names, and file again. Depending on the state, a corrected filing may go in as a new submission with a new fee, or the office may let you resubmit, so check whether your state charges again before you send it. Check any new name first.

1. Read the notice. Note the reason and any reference number or deadline it gives.
2. Fix what it names, then check the rest of the filing against the state's current form.
3. If the name was the problem, search for a new one on the state's business register (linked for your state in the picker above). Our LLC name checkerlooks at domains and social handles and screens one spelling against federal trademark filings. It does not search any state's register.
4. Ask the filing office whether you must pay again and how to send the corrected filing.
5. File again on the state's current form, and keep the confirmation.

If a Formation Service Filed It for You

Contact the service first, with your order number and the LLC's name. It placed the filing, so it holds the order details and can usually tell you where the filing stands and what the state sent back. Ask whether it will correct and resubmit the filing for you, and whether that costs anything extra, before you file anything yourself.

Prefer to Have a Service File It?

The steps above cost nothing beyond the state's own fees, so a paid service is optional. Each service below files LLC formation paperwork and sets its own prices. They are listed in the order our formation service comparison computes from three-year service cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score, and that computation never reads which service pays us.

Affiliate disclosure: Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We list only formation services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.

1. Northwest Registered Agent Visit Northwest Registered Agent →
2. Bizee Visit Bizee →
3. ZenBusiness Visit ZenBusiness →
4. LegalZoom Visit LegalZoom →

Prices, ratings and the date each was recorded are on the comparison page. Neither MyStateLLC nor these services is a law firm, and none of us provides legal advice.