What is the exact late fee for a Montana LLC annual report?

Montana prices the annual report itself rather than adding a separate penalty. The report is free when filed between January 1 and April 15, because the Secretary of State waives the fee inside that window, and it costs $35 when filed after April 15. Your annual report is due by April 15 each year. Late filing costs money and also risks involuntary dissolution: under Montana law the Secretary of State may involuntarily dissolve an LLC that has failed for 140 days to file its annual report. File the annual report through the Secretary of State's online filing system at sos.mt.gov to cure the late status immediately. First-year filers: Montana law puts the first annual report in the January 1 to April 15 window of the year following the calendar year of organization.

Can I reinstate my Montana LLC after administrative dissolution?

Yes, you can reinstate your Montana LLC after involuntary dissolution. Montana lets an LLC apply for reinstatement within 5 years after the effective date of its dissolution, so confirm your entity's status with the Secretary of State before applying. Under Montana law the Secretary of State may involuntarily dissolve an LLC that has failed for 140 days to file its annual report. To reinstate, file the Secretary of State's reinstatement filing. Reinstatement of an involuntarily dissolved LLC costs $35 plus an additional $35 for each year of delinquent annual reports. Until it is reinstated, the LLC is out of good standing with the state, so confirm its status with the filing office before you sign anything new in its name. Your next step: contact the Montana Secretary of State's Business Services Bureau to confirm your dissolution date, calculate total owed fees, and ask for the application for reinstatement.

Does filing my Montana annual report late affect my liability protection?

Not by the lateness itself. What matters is what happens if the report stays unfiled and the LLC loses its standing with the state. Under Montana law, reinstatement relates back to the date the LLC lost its standing, and the LLC carries on as if that had not happened. This page does not have a confirmed Montana rule on whether owners are personally liable for what the business does while it is out of standing, so do not treat the protection as either lost or safe for that period. Contact the Montana Secretary of State Business Services Bureau today to verify your LLC's current standing and file any overdue reports.

How can I check my Montana LLC's current good standing status?

Check your Montana LLC's current good standing status directly through the Montana Secretary of State's Business Services Bureau at sosmt.gov using their free online entity search tool. Simply enter your LLC's name or Entity ID number to instantly view your filing status, annual report compliance, and any outstanding fees. For official verification, such as opening a business bank account or applying for a loan, request a Certificate of Existence from the Secretary of State's office, which costs $5. This document confirms your LLC maintains active status and has met all statutory requirements through the current year. If your search reveals a "not in good standing" designation, you likely have an overdue annual report or unpaid late fees. Montana prices the annual report at $35 once it is filed after the April 15 deadline, and Montana law allows involuntary dissolution after the report has gone unfiled for 140 days. Visit sosmt.gov immediately and use the entity search function to determine your exact compliance status before taking corrective action.

Can I negotiate or waive the Montana LLC annual report late fee?

This page has no record of a waiver for the $35, which is Montana's price for any report filed after April 15: the annual report costs nothing between January 1 and April 15 and $35 after April 15. The price applies uniformly to all late filers. For LLC owners, this creates a straightforward financial reality: filing inside the window is free, so it is always cheaper to file on time. The only free path forward is submitting the annual report by April 15 each year through the Montana Secretary of State's online filing system. If you've already missed the deadline, file immediately and pay the $35 when prompted during submission.

Montana LLC Annual Report Late Fee: Complete Penalty Guide for 2026

Missing Montana's April 15 annual report deadline triggers immediate penalties and can lead to administrative dissolution. Here's how to stay compliant or fix non-compliance issues.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

Montana LLC annual reports are due April 15. Montana's late fee is $35. See details below.

Ready to file?

Go directly to the Montana Secretary of State website.

File with the Montana Secretary of State →

Late Fee Facts at a Glance

Annual report due

April 15

Base fee

$0 on or before April 15; $35 after

Late penalty

$35 (the report's price after April 15; it is free on or before April 15)

Grace period

None. The price changes from $0 to $35 the moment April 15 passes

Dissolution timeline

Montana law allows involuntary dissolution once the annual report is 140 days overdue

Step diagram for fixing a late LLC annual report in Montana, $35 late fee, report due April 15. — How to cure a late Montana annual report, and what the state charges for missing it. Source: Montana Secretary of State.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Stage 1

After the April 15 deadline

The annual report costs $35 rather than $0. Montana sets that price for any report filed after April 15.

Fix:Yes. File the annual report and pay $35.

Stage 2

140 days overdue

Montana law lets the Secretary of State involuntarily dissolve an LLC whose annual report has gone unfiled for 140 days.

Fix:Yes. Reinstatement costs $35 plus an additional $35 for each year of delinquent annual reports.

How to Fix It: Step-by-Step

File the overdue annual report immediately

Submit your Montana LLC annual report online through the Secretary of State website at sosmt.gov or mail the completed form with payment to avoid further penalties.

Pay all accumulated fees and penalties

Pay $35, which is what the annual report costs once it is filed after April 15. Contact Montana SoS for exact amount due.

File for reinstatement if dissolved

If your LLC was administratively dissolved, file an application for reinstatement with the Montana Secretary of State and pay the reinstatement fee in addition to all overdue annual report fees.

Verify good standing status

Request a Certificate of Good Standing from the Montana Secretary of State to confirm your LLC is compliant and in good standing for business purposes.

Reinstatement After Dissolution

Reinstatement Possible?: Yes
How Long Allowed: Within 5 years after the effective date of dissolution.
Reinstatement Fee: $35 plus an additional $35 for each year of delinquent annual reports
What You Lose During Dissolution: Good standing, and with it the certificate of good standing that banks, lenders and licensing bodies ask for. The LLC continues to exist for winding up, so this does not by itself void the liability shield, but the company cannot carry on ordinary business and its name protection is at risk until it is reinstated.

Do You Need a Paid Service to Fix This?

No. You can file the overdue report yourself by following the How to Fix It steps above, and pay only what the state itself charges (the report fee, any late fee, and any reinstatement fee), with no service fee on top.

Hiring a registered agent service is a separate choice, and it is optional too. Every LLC must keep a registered agent, but 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. The Montana registered agent requirements set out what Montana itself asks.

Registered agent services for Montana 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 (some visitors are being shown shorter free periods, so confirm at checkout), 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 $299 formation plan (and, in one version of its plans, the $249 plan) 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 →

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 missing a deadline can cost the company its good standing or, in many states, its existence.

Read this guide for another state:

Frequently Asked Questions

: Montana prices the annual report itself rather than adding a separate penalty. The report is free when filed between January 1 and April 15, because the Secretary of State waives the fee inside that window, and it costs $35 when filed after April 15. Your annual report is due by April 15 each year. Late filing costs money and also risks involuntary dissolution: under Montana law the Secretary of State may involuntarily dissolve an LLC that has failed for 140 days to file its annual report. File the annual report through the Secretary of State's online filing system at sos.mt.gov to cure the late status immediately. First-year filers: Montana law puts the first annual report in the January 1 to April 15 window of the year following the calendar year of organization.
: Yes, you can reinstate your Montana LLC after involuntary dissolution. Montana lets an LLC apply for reinstatement within 5 years after the effective date of its dissolution, so confirm your entity's status with the Secretary of State before applying. Under Montana law the Secretary of State may involuntarily dissolve an LLC that has failed for 140 days to file its annual report. To reinstate, file the Secretary of State's reinstatement filing. Reinstatement of an involuntarily dissolved LLC costs $35 plus an additional $35 for each year of delinquent annual reports. Until it is reinstated, the LLC is out of good standing with the state, so confirm its status with the filing office before you sign anything new in its name. Your next step: contact the Montana Secretary of State's Business Services Bureau to confirm your dissolution date, calculate total owed fees, and ask for the application for reinstatement.
: Not by the lateness itself. What matters is what happens if the report stays unfiled and the LLC loses its standing with the state. Under Montana law, reinstatement relates back to the date the LLC lost its standing, and the LLC carries on as if that had not happened. This page does not have a confirmed Montana rule on whether owners are personally liable for what the business does while it is out of standing, so do not treat the protection as either lost or safe for that period. Contact the Montana Secretary of State Business Services Bureau today to verify your LLC's current standing and file any overdue reports.
: Check your Montana LLC's current good standing status directly through the Montana Secretary of State's Business Services Bureau at sosmt.gov using their free online entity search tool. Simply enter your LLC's name or Entity ID number to instantly view your filing status, annual report compliance, and any outstanding fees. For official verification, such as opening a business bank account or applying for a loan, request a Certificate of Existence from the Secretary of State's office, which costs $5. This document confirms your LLC maintains active status and has met all statutory requirements through the current year. If your search reveals a "not in good standing" designation, you likely have an overdue annual report or unpaid late fees. Montana prices the annual report at $35 once it is filed after the April 15 deadline, and Montana law allows involuntary dissolution after the report has gone unfiled for 140 days. Visit sosmt.gov immediately and use the entity search function to determine your exact compliance status before taking corrective action.
: This page has no record of a waiver for the $35, which is Montana's price for any report filed after April 15: the annual report costs nothing between January 1 and April 15 and $35 after April 15. The price applies uniformly to all late filers. For LLC owners, this creates a straightforward financial reality: filing inside the window is free, so it is always cheaper to file on time. The only free path forward is submitting the annual report by April 15 each year through the Montana Secretary of State's online filing system. If you've already missed the deadline, file immediately and pay the $35 when prompted during submission.

Sources

6 documents

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

Montana statute: MCA 35-8-209 (involuntary dissolution)
Montana statute: MCA 35-8-208 (annual report due date)
mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0350/chapter_0080/part_0090/section_0120/0350-0080-0090-0120.htmlMCA 35-8-912, Reinstatement following administrative dissolution
sosmt.gov/business/Montana Secretary of State: business entity filings
archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0350/chapter_0080/part_0020/section_0080/0350-0080-0020-0080.htmlMontana statute: Annual Report
sos.mt.gov/business/fees/Montana agency guidance: 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.

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