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.
Montana LLC annual reports are due April 15. Missing the deadline adds a $35 (the report's price after April 15; it is free on or before April 15) late fee with a None. The price changes from $0 to $35 the moment April 15 passes grace period. See details below.
How to cure a late Montana annual report, and what the state charges for missing it. Source: Montana Secretary of State.
Ready to file your annual report?
Go directly to the Montana Secretary of State portal.
$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
MCA 35-8-209 allows involuntary dissolution once the annual report is 140 days overdue
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
Stage 1
After the April 15 deadline
The annual report costs $35 rather than $0. Montana prices the filing rather than adding a penalty, and charges no interest.
✓ Fix:Yes. File the annual report and pay $35.
Stage 2
140 days overdue
MCA 35-8-209 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
1
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.
2
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 at (406) 444-2034 for exact amount due.
3
File for reinstatement if dissolved
If your LLC was administratively dissolved, file Articles of Reinstatement with the Montana Secretary of State and pay the reinstatement fee in addition to all overdue annual report fees.
4
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
The filing office has not published a reinstatement deadline that we have been able to verify; confirm your entity's status with it before applying.
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.
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
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 MCA 35-8-209 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: MCA 35-8-208 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 publishes no fixed reinstatement window, so confirm your entity's status with the Secretary of State before applying. Under MCA 35-8-209 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.
This matters because reinstatement restores your LLC's legal status retroactively, protecting you from personal liability and allowing you to conduct business legitimately again. Without reinstatement, your LLC can't enter contracts, access bank accounts, or maintain legal standing in court.
Your next step: contact the Montana Secretary of State's Business Services Bureau at (406) 444-3665 to confirm your dissolution date, calculate total owed fees, and request the Articles of Reinstatement form for filing.
Yes, filing your Montana annual report late directly threatens your liability protection. Once the Montana Secretary of State involuntarily dissolves your LLC, which MCA 35-8-209 allows after the annual report has gone unfiled for 140 days, you lose all limited liability protection. This means members become personally liable for business debts, contracts, and court judgments. MCA 35-8-209 sets the clock at 140 days overdue, leaving you exposed to personal asset seizure once it runs. For example, if a creditor sues your dissolved LLC, they can pursue your personal bank accounts and property. You've a critical window: file the annual report free of charge between January 1 and April 15 each year, or face dissolution and personal liability. If already dissolved, file the Secretary of State's reinstatement, priced at $35 plus an additional $35 for each year of delinquent reports, to restore your protected status. 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 purposes, such as opening a business bank account or applying for loans. Request a Certificate of Good Standing 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 MCA 35-8-209 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.
There is no discretionary late fee to negotiate, because Montana prices the filing rather than penalising it: the annual report costs nothing between January 1 and April 15 and $35 after April 15. The price applies uniformly to all late filers regardless of circumstances. 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
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.
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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.
