How much does it cost to start an LLC in Indiana?

The Indiana Secretary of State charges $95 to file your Articles of Organization, making Indiana one of the more affordable states for LLC formation nationally. Your total first-year costs will be approximately $95, with the $31 biennial report fee not due until your second year, so your first year of operating an Indiana LLC costs only $95 in state fees. For example, if you form in 2026, your first biennial report and $31 fee are due in your anniversary month in 2028, giving you nearly two full years before any compliance payment is required. Additional costs may include registered agent services, EIN registration (free from the IRS), and any required business licenses for your industry. Indiana doesn't require newspaper publication, eliminating a cost that runs $500 to 2,000 in other states. Exception: professional LLCs must obtain separate licensing from the relevant Indiana state board. File online through the INBiz portal at inbiz.in.gov to submit your Articles and pay the $95 fee in one sitting.

How long does it take to form an LLC in Indiana?

Indiana publishes no standard processing time for Articles of Organization, so nobody can honestly quote you one. The Secretary of State doesn't publish a guaranteed turnaround or a paid expedite tier for LLC formation, and the INBiz Fee Calculator offers no expedited option for a Domestic Limited Liability Company Formation filing. Online INBiz filings are processed substantially faster than mailed paper documents, but no specific number of days is published on sos.in.gov or inbiz.in.gov, so no figure is asserted here. The Indiana Secretary of State also publishes no paid expedite option, so there's no way to buy a guaranteed date either. File online where the state offers it. Every state that discusses the difference says online is faster than mail, and treat any specific day count you see quoted for Indiana as unsourced.

Do I need to publish my Indiana LLC formation in a newspaper?

No, Indiana doesn't require LLC formations to be published in a newspaper. Once your Articles of Organization are approved by the Indiana Secretary of State, your LLC is fully formed and ready to conduct business, no publication notice, no newspaper affidavit, and no additional waiting period of any kind. This saves Indiana entrepreneurs the publication costs mandated in other states: New York requires six consecutive weeks of notices in two newspapers, at rates the newspapers set. Arizona requires a newspaper notice of a new LLC's formation, run three consecutive times within 60 days, unless the LLC's statutory agent has a street address in a county of more than 800,000 people (currently Maricopa and Pima Counties), where the Arizona Corporation Commission posts the notice online for free. Indiana's straightforward formation process means there's no publication waiting period standing between approval and legally operating, and zero extra compliance steps or publication costs. Exception: certain regulated industries such as banking, insurance, or securities may have separate federal or Indiana state disclosure requirements beyond standard LLC formation. File online at inbiz.in.gov to complete your formation without any publication burden or added waiting period.

When are Indiana LLC annual reports due?

Indiana LLCs must file a biennial report every two years, in the anniversary month of the LLC's formation, with a $31 filing fee online ($50 by paper) submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State through the INBiz portal. For example, if you form your LLC in 2026, your first biennial report is due in your formation month in 2028, giving you nearly two full years before any compliance filing is required. The report confirms your LLC's registered agent, principal office address, and member or manager details. Indiana charges no late fee, but you pay the report fee for every period you miss, and an unfiled report can lead to administrative dissolution after the state mails a notice with a deadline to cure. Exception: LLCs that change their registered agent or principal address between biennial report years must file an amendment with the Indiana Secretary of State before the next biennial deadline. Submit your biennial report online at inbiz.in.gov to maintain good standing.

Can I be my own registered agent in Indiana?

Yes, you can serve as your own registered agent as long as you've an Indiana street address and are available during regular business hours Monday through Friday to receive legal documents. However, many business owners prefer hiring a professional registered agent service for privacy and reliability reasons. Your registered agent's address is part of the public record filed with the Indiana Secretary of State, which means your home address could appear in state databases if you act as your own agent. Exception: if you travel frequently, work remotely, or don't maintain consistent office hours, serving as your own agent increases the risk of missing a lawsuit or state notice, which can have serious legal consequences. File your Articles of Organization online at inbiz.in.gov and designate your chosen registered agent during the filing process.

Does Indiana charge state income tax on LLCs?

Indiana taxes LLC members on their share of the profit through its personal income tax. Check the current rate with the state tax agency. As a pass-through entity, your Indiana LLC doesn't pay entity-level income tax, profits and losses flow through to each member's personal Indiana state tax return. Multi-member LLCs must also file Indiana Form IT-65 (partnership return) in addition to each member's individual return, detailing each member's share of income, deductions, and credits. Exception: LLCs that elect to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes may be subject to Indiana's corporate adjusted gross income tax instead, which has different rates and rules. Consult an Indiana tax professional to determine the most advantageous tax classification for your LLC situation.

Start Your Indiana LLC for $95 Through INBiz

Form your Indiana Limited Liability Company affordably with our step-by-step guide tailored to Hoosier entrepreneurs.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

Filing an LLC in Indiana costs $95 upfront and has a biennial report due end of anniversary month ($31). Indiana publishes no standard processing time. See breakdown below.

Indiana publishes no LLC processing time, and its biennial report is the only deadline it does fix

The Indiana Secretary of State publishes neither a standard turnaround nor a paid expedite option. Treat any specific day count you see quoted for Indiana with suspicion. It didn't come from the state. With no standard figure and nothing to buy, build slack into any date that depends on the LLC existing.

Source: MyStateLLC 50-state primary-source processing verification, July 2026

Read this guide for another state:

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Form your LLC with Northwest ($39 + state fee)Includes a year of registered agent service. After year one, registered agent service is $125/yr. That enrolls you by default in biennial report filing at $100 plus state fees per report, charged automatically to your saved payment method and cancellable any time.

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Quick Facts

State filing fee	$95 online, $100 by mail
Processing time	Not published by the state
Annual report due	End of anniversary month (biennial)
Annual report fee	$31
State income tax	Yes. Members pay state income tax on pass-through profits. Check the current rate with the state tax agency.

Source: Indiana Secretary of State (verified July 2026)

Step diagram for forming an LLC in Indiana, showing the 7 required steps, $95 state filing fee, $31 annual report. — The 7 steps to form an LLC in Indiana, with the state's own filing fee and annual report cost. Source: Indiana Secretary of State, verified July 2026.

How to Form an LLC: Step-by-Step

1
Choose Your Indiana LLC Name
Select a unique name that includes 'LLC' or 'Limited Liability Company' and isn't already taken by another Indiana business. Search the Indiana Secretary of State's business database to verify availability and ensure your name complies with state naming requirements.
How to search Indiana's business entity records →
Pro tip: Reserve your chosen name for 120 days by filing a Name Reservation form with the Indiana Secretary of State for $20 if you're not ready to file immediately.
2
Appoint a Registered Agent
Designate a registered agent with an Indiana street address who will receive legal documents and state correspondence on behalf of your LLC. You can serve as your own registered agent or hire a professional service to ensure reliable document handling.
Indiana registered agent rules, costs and options →
Pro tip: A professional registered agent service puts its address, not yours, on the registered agent line of the public filing, and accepts legal papers during business hours.
3
File Articles of Organization
Submit your Articles of Organization to the Indiana Secretary of State along with the $95 filing fee. You can file online through the state's INBiz portal, by mail, or in person at the Secretary of State's office in Indianapolis.
What You File in Indiana
In Indiana, the formation document is the Articles of Organization (Form 49459), filed with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division. The state charges $95 to file online and $100 by mail. Indiana lets you fill in and file the Articles of Organization online. The form itself requires the LLC's name, the registered agent's name, the principal office address, the organizer's name, whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed, the LLC's duration and the registered agent's consent. Every line of the Articles of Organization, field by field →
Processing Times
- Online: Not published, Indiana Secretary of State states no standard turnaround for online filings
- Mail: Not published, Indiana Secretary of State states no standard turnaround for mailed filings, and every state that comments says mail is slower than online
- Expedited: No paid expedite option is published for LLC filings
Pro tip: Filing online through INBiz gives you immediate confirmation that your submission was received, worth having in a state that publishes no approval turnaround, since that receipt is the only status signal you get.
4
Create an Operating Agreement
Draft an operating agreement that outlines your LLC's ownership structure, management procedures, and operational guidelines. This page has not confirmed whether Indiana law requires an LLC to have an operating agreement. A written agreement signed by every member is worth having either way: it records who owns what share, who makes decisions and how profits are divided.
Indiana LLC operating agreement: what to include →
5
Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Apply for an EIN from the IRS, which serves as your LLC's tax identification number. You can obtain this free of charge directly from the IRS website, and you'll need it to open business bank accounts and file tax returns.
How to get your LLC's EIN from the IRS, free →
6
Open a Business Bank Account
Establish a dedicated business bank account using your EIN and Articles of Organization. Keeping personal and business finances separate matters for maintaining your LLC's liability protection and simplifying tax preparation.
Business bank accounts for Indiana LLCs →
7
Obtain Required Business Licenses
Research and acquire any business licenses or permits required for your specific industry or location. Requirements vary by business type and may include state licenses, local permits, or professional certifications depending on your activities.
Does your Indiana LLC need a business license? →

Watch: How to Start an LLC in Indiana (2026): Step-by-Step Guide

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each Secretary of State publishes for forming an LLC, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own filing needs: fees and forms change between our reviews, several occupations cannot use an ordinary LLC at all and must use a professional entity, and your city or county may require a registration of its own. Confirm the current fee and form with the filing office named on this page before you send anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

: The Indiana Secretary of State charges $95 to file your Articles of Organization, making Indiana one of the more affordable states for LLC formation nationally. Your total first-year costs will be approximately $95, with the $31 biennial report fee not due until your second year, so your first year of operating an Indiana LLC costs only $95 in state fees. For example, if you form in 2026, your first biennial report and $31 fee are due in your anniversary month in 2028, giving you nearly two full years before any compliance payment is required. Additional costs may include registered agent services, EIN registration (free from the IRS), and any required business licenses for your industry. Indiana doesn't require newspaper publication, eliminating a cost that runs $500 to 2,000 in other states. Exception: professional LLCs must obtain separate licensing from the relevant Indiana state board. File online through the INBiz portal at inbiz.in.gov to submit your Articles and pay the $95 fee in one sitting.
: Indiana publishes no standard processing time for Articles of Organization, so nobody can honestly quote you one. The Secretary of State doesn't publish a guaranteed turnaround or a paid expedite tier for LLC formation, and the INBiz Fee Calculator offers no expedited option for a Domestic Limited Liability Company Formation filing. Online INBiz filings are processed substantially faster than mailed paper documents, but no specific number of days is published on sos.in.gov or inbiz.in.gov, so no figure is asserted here. The Indiana Secretary of State also publishes no paid expedite option, so there's no way to buy a guaranteed date either. File online where the state offers it. Every state that discusses the difference says online is faster than mail, and treat any specific day count you see quoted for Indiana as unsourced.
: No, Indiana doesn't require LLC formations to be published in a newspaper. Once your Articles of Organization are approved by the Indiana Secretary of State, your LLC is fully formed and ready to conduct business, no publication notice, no newspaper affidavit, and no additional waiting period of any kind. This saves Indiana entrepreneurs the publication costs mandated in other states: New York requires six consecutive weeks of notices in two newspapers, at rates the newspapers set. Arizona requires a newspaper notice of a new LLC's formation, run three consecutive times within 60 days, unless the LLC's statutory agent has a street address in a county of more than 800,000 people (currently Maricopa and Pima Counties), where the Arizona Corporation Commission posts the notice online for free. Indiana's straightforward formation process means there's no publication waiting period standing between approval and legally operating, and zero extra compliance steps or publication costs. Exception: certain regulated industries such as banking, insurance, or securities may have separate federal or Indiana state disclosure requirements beyond standard LLC formation. File online at inbiz.in.gov to complete your formation without any publication burden or added waiting period.
: Indiana LLCs must file a biennial report every two years, in the anniversary month of the LLC's formation, with a $31 filing fee online ($50 by paper) submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State through the INBiz portal. For example, if you form your LLC in 2026, your first biennial report is due in your formation month in 2028, giving you nearly two full years before any compliance filing is required. The report confirms your LLC's registered agent, principal office address, and member or manager details. Indiana charges no late fee, but you pay the report fee for every period you miss, and an unfiled report can lead to administrative dissolution after the state mails a notice with a deadline to cure. Exception: LLCs that change their registered agent or principal address between biennial report years must file an amendment with the Indiana Secretary of State before the next biennial deadline. Submit your biennial report online at inbiz.in.gov to maintain good standing.
: Yes, you can serve as your own registered agent as long as you've an Indiana street address and are available during regular business hours Monday through Friday to receive legal documents. However, many business owners prefer hiring a professional registered agent service for privacy and reliability reasons. Your registered agent's address is part of the public record filed with the Indiana Secretary of State, which means your home address could appear in state databases if you act as your own agent. Exception: if you travel frequently, work remotely, or don't maintain consistent office hours, serving as your own agent increases the risk of missing a lawsuit or state notice, which can have serious legal consequences. File your Articles of Organization online at inbiz.in.gov and designate your chosen registered agent during the filing process.
: Indiana taxes LLC members on their share of the profit through its personal income tax. Check the current rate with the state tax agency. As a pass-through entity, your Indiana LLC doesn't pay entity-level income tax, profits and losses flow through to each member's personal Indiana state tax return. Multi-member LLCs must also file Indiana Form IT-65 (partnership return) in addition to each member's individual return, detailing each member's share of income, deductions, and credits. Exception: LLCs that elect to be treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes may be subject to Indiana's corporate adjusted gross income tax instead, which has different rates and rules. Consult an Indiana tax professional to determine the most advantageous tax classification for your LLC situation.

Sources

5 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Indiana 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.

in.gov/sos/business/Indiana Secretary of State: business entity filings
inbiz.in.gov/Inbiz/FeeCalculator/IndexIndiana LLC filing fees
inbiz.in.gov/business-filings/business-entityreportIndiana agency guidance: Business Entity Report
codes.findlaw.com/in/title-23-business-and-other-associations/in-code-sect-23-0-5-2-13/Indiana statutory text, unofficial mirror: Business Entity Report
inbiz.in.gov/BOS/Home/IndexIndiana Secretary of State: file the Business Entity Report

More for Indiana LLCs

Ready to Form Your Indiana LLC?

$39 with Northwest, plus your $95 state fee. Northwest's $39 includes a year of registered agent service.

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Prefer to file directly? File yourself at the Secretary of State → ($95 state fee, no service fee)

Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →

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.

How we check facts

Start Your Indiana LLC for $95 Through INBiz

Quick Facts

How to Form an LLC: Step-by-Step

Choose Your Indiana LLC Name

Appoint a Registered Agent

File Articles of Organization

What You File in Indiana

Processing Times

Create an Operating Agreement

Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Open a Business Bank Account

Obtain Required Business Licenses

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

More for Indiana LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

Ready to Form Your Indiana LLC?

Quick Facts

How to Form an LLC: Step-by-Step

Choose Your Indiana LLC Name

Appoint a Registered Agent

File Articles of Organization

What You File in Indiana

Processing Times

Create an Operating Agreement

Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Open a Business Bank Account

Obtain Required Business Licenses

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

More for Indiana LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

Ready to Form Your Indiana LLC?

More Indiana LLC Guides

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