Can a non-US founder open a Mercury account with a Louisiana LLC?

Yes. Mercury explicitly supports foreign founders with a US LLC. You need the Louisiana formation document (the Articles of Organization), the IRS EIN letter, a non-US passport for identity, and a US business address. No US SSN or residency is required.

Does forming in Louisiana affect Mercury eligibility?

No. Mercury accepts LLCs from all US states and territories. The formation document name varies by state, and Louisiana issues Articles of Organization; Mercury accepts it the same as any other state's.

I do not live in Louisiana. Can I still use a Louisiana LLC on Mercury?

Mercury does not check where you live, only that the Louisiana entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Louisiana's record. The catch is not Mercury, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of Louisiana's $100. Forming in Louisiana while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

Do I need a Louisiana sales-tax permit before my first sale through Mercury?

Probably yes. Louisiana charges a 4.45% state rate, and payments taken through Mercury are not covered by marketplace-facilitator laws, so you collect and remit yourself. Register before your first taxable sale if you have physical presence in Louisiana, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).

Marketplace Verification

How to pass Mercury verification with a Louisiana LLC

What Mercury asks for at signup, and which Louisiana LLC documents satisfy each requirement.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: August 4, 2026

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.

A Louisiana LLC is generally eligible for Mercury verification — you will need to provide your Articles of Organization, EIN, beneficial-owner ID, and a valid US business address. Nothing about forming in Louisiana blocks approval, and nothing about it guarantees approval either: the final call is Mercury's.

Mercury is a fintech banking platform whose deposits are held at FDIC-member partner banks (currently Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC), making it popular with startups and small businesses including those with non-US founders. To open a Mercury account for a Louisiana LLC, you must provide the company's formation document (in Louisiana, the Articles of Organization), an IRS-issued EIN confirmation, a government ID for the beneficial owner(s), and a physical US address. Mercury supports all US-state LLC types and is commonly used by foreign founders who have formed a US LLC, since it does not require founders to be US citizens or residents.

In Louisiana the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing Articles of Organization, which costs $100. Louisiana does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Mercury review. Because Louisiana names a member or manager on a routine public filing, the owner name Mercury asks you to confirm is already a matter of public record.

Not legal advice: Verification requirements change, and so do Louisiana's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Mercury, and current filing rules with the Louisiana filing office, before you file. Mercury's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and Louisiana's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

What Mercury requires, and how a Louisiana LLC meets each

Requirement	How your Louisiana LLC satisfies it
LLC formation documents	Upload the Articles of Organization Louisiana returned to you, stamped and approved.
IRS EIN confirmation letter	Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of Louisiana.
Government-issued ID for owner(s)	Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your Louisiana filings. Louisiana names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
US business address	Use a US street address registered to the LLC in Louisiana (your Louisiana registered-agent or virtual business address), since a PO box is usually rejected.

Louisiana-specific things to watch

Louisiana names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so Mercury's beneficial-owner check will line up with public state records — you still upload a government ID for each owner. (Louisiana's foreign application and annual report list the LLC's members and managers.)

Louisiana sales tax & nexus rules for Mercury sellers

Louisiana charges a 4.45% state sales-tax rate. Payments through Mercury are not covered by marketplace-facilitator laws — you collect and remit yourself. Registration is required before your first taxable sale if you have physical presence in Louisiana (an in-state location, inventory, or employees), or once you cross Louisiana's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).

Louisiana is one of the most complex sales tax states due to its 'home rule' local tax system — local jurisdictions independently administer their own sales taxes. The combined state and local rate can exceed 11% in some parishes. Louisiana has a separate remote seller reporting system (Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers) for out-of-state sellers. Note: Louisiana repealed its 200-transaction economic-nexus trigger (effective 2023); only the $100,000 sales threshold now applies.

How to verify your Louisiana LLC on Mercury

LLC formation documents. Upload the Articles of Organization Louisiana returned to you, stamped and approved.
IRS EIN confirmation letter. Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of Louisiana.
Government-issued ID for owner(s). Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your Louisiana filings. Louisiana names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
US business address. Use a US street address registered to the LLC in Louisiana (your Louisiana registered-agent or virtual business address), since a PO box is usually rejected.

Non-US founders with Louisiana LLCs

Mercury explicitly supports non-US founders who have formed a US LLC, Louisiana included. A non-US passport is accepted for identity verification. The entity must be formed and registered in the United States, and a US business address is required, which a Louisiana registered agent address satisfies. No US Social Security Number is needed from the founder.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Yes. Mercury explicitly supports foreign founders with a US LLC. You need the Louisiana formation document (the Articles of Organization), the IRS EIN letter, a non-US passport for identity, and a US business address. No US SSN or residency is required.
: No. Mercury accepts LLCs from all US states and territories. The formation document name varies by state, and Louisiana issues Articles of Organization; Mercury accepts it the same as any other state's.
: Louisiana charges $100 to file Articles of Organization, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. Louisiana does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Mercury review. Mercury charges nothing for verification itself, so the $100 filing fee and Louisiana's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a Louisiana entity.
: Mercury does not check where you live, only that the Louisiana entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Louisiana's record. The catch is not Mercury, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of Louisiana's $100. Forming in Louisiana while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Probably yes. Louisiana charges a 4.45% state rate, and payments taken through Mercury are not covered by marketplace-facilitator laws, so you collect and remit yourself. Register before your first taxable sale if you have physical presence in Louisiana, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).