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How to start an LLC in Arizona

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The base filing fee for an Arizona LLC is $50. The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) states that online LLC formation costs $85, which is the $50 fee plus its $35 expedited-processing charge. Filing by mail at regular processing is $50. You file Articles of Organization with the ACC's Corporations Division, online through Arizona Business Center, the portal that replaced eCorp on January 12, 2026. Arizona LLCs file no annual report and pay the ACC no yearly fee. Two things catch first-time founders here. First, within 60 days of approval, notice of your LLC must be published. If your statutory agent's street address is in Maricopa or Pima County, the ACC posts it online for free. Anywhere else, you buy three consecutive newspaper notices in that county. Second, if you sell goods or do another taxable activity, you need a transaction privilege tax (TPT) license from the Arizona Department of Revenue. Forming the LLC doesn't get you one.

Best next step

For most founders, start with the Arizona filing itself

If you live and operate in Arizona, the safest move is to file in Arizona directly. Compare LLC services only if you want help with privacy, document handling, or someone to do the filing for you.

Safest default
File directly with Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division if you live and operate in Arizona.
Cheaper viable option
Handle the filing yourself if you're comfortable managing the statutory agent role and the state paperwork.
Avoid overpaying
Don't buy bundled extras until you confirm the filing fee, the annual schedule, and whether a service actually solves a problem for you.
See official filing instructions Compare LLC services
Filing fee
$50 by mail / $85 online (includes expedite)
The ACC's fee schedule lists a $50 base filing fee and a $35 expedite fee. The ACC states that online LLC formation costs $85, the two combined. A paper filing by mail at regular processing costs $50.
Processing time
~14-16 business days; 3-5 expedited
Standard estimate. Expedited available.
Annual report
None. Arizona LLCs do not file an annual report.
The ACC says LLCs are not required to file annual reports; only corporations are. There is no yearly ACC fee. Keep your statutory agent and principal address current: an LLC without either for 60 days can be administratively dissolved. The ACC has also announced a one-question attestation email for LLCs with no filings in the past two years.
Publication
Required
Publication step required

Official Arizona resources

Primary filing source

Start here

Arizona Business Center (ACC online filing)

Open this first. It's the official source for the filing itself.

arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov

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How to form an LLC in Arizona

Forming, registering, filing, or applying for an LLC in Arizona: it's all the same process, and these are the steps in the order you'll do them.

Before you file

What you'll need

To form an Arizona LLC, you will need an available name with an LLC identifier (LLC, L.L.C., LC, L.C., Limited Liability Company, or Limited Company), a statutory agent with an Arizona street address and mailing address plus an email address so they can accept the appointment, a principal address (it can be anywhere), the name and address of each member, or of each manager and every member owning 20% or more, an organizer to sign, an Arizona Business Center account, and $85 to file online ($50 if you file by mail).

  1. Step 1 of 8: Pick an available Arizona LLC name

    The name must include "limited liability company," "limited company," or LLC, L.L.C., LC, or L.C. It can't include association, corporation, or incorporated, and words like bank or trust need prior approval from the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions. Run the Name Availability Search on Arizona Business Center first; the examiner makes the final call. Reserving a name costs $10 and holds it for 120 days. You don't need to reserve. Just file.

  2. Step 2 of 8: Choose a statutory agent, and know that its county decides publication

    Arizona calls this a statutory agent. It must be an Arizona resident, or an Arizona corporation or LLC, or a foreign corporation or LLC authorized in Arizona, with a place of business or residence in the state. The appointment is not effective until the agent accepts it. The county of the agent's street address decides whether you buy newspaper notices later: a county of more than 800,000 people is posted by the ACC, and everywhere else you publish three times.

    Arizona statutory agent rules and costs

  3. Step 3 of 8: Decide member-managed or manager-managed

    The Articles must say which one you are. A member-managed LLC lists every member's name and address. A manager-managed LLC lists every manager plus every member who owns 20% or more. Most single-owner LLCs choose member-managed. On paper, you attach the Member Structure Attachment or the Manager Structure Attachment, and the Articles are rejected without it. These names and addresses go on the public record, so use an address you're comfortable seeing published.

  4. Step 4 of 8: File Articles of Organization on Arizona Business Center

    Create an Arizona Business Center account and file Articles of Organization. Arizona Business Center replaced eCorp on January 12, 2026, so ignore any guide that sends you to eCorp. You enter the name, statutory agent and its email, a principal address (it can be anywhere, including a PO box), the management structure, and members or managers. The ACC states that online formation costs $85: the $50 filing fee plus the $35 expedite charge. By mail, send a cover sheet, the Articles, the structure attachment, a signed Statutory Agent Acceptance (Form M002), and a $50 check or money order to 1300 W. Washington St., Phoenix. You can set an effective date up to 90 days out. Fees aren't refundable.

  5. Step 5 of 8: Wait for approval, or pay to expedite

    The ACC's FAQ estimates 14 to 16 business days for regular processing and 3 to 5 with the $35 expedite. Next-day ($100), same-day ($200), and 2-hour ($400) review are also available, but none of them start until your statutory agent has accepted. If you're filing online anyway, the $35 expedite is the one upgrade worth considering. The faster tiers are for closings and contract deadlines, not a first LLC. Once approved, your LLC counts as formed on the date the ACC received the Articles.

  6. Step 6 of 8: Handle publication within 60 days of approval

    If your statutory agent's street address is in Maricopa or Pima County, do nothing: the ACC posts the notice in its online public notice database. Anywhere else, publish a notice of the Articles in a newspaper of general circulation in the agent's county for three consecutive publications, within 60 days after the ACC approves the filing. Don't publish before approval. The ACC's approval letter tells you whether you must publish, and it keeps a list of newspapers. Filing the newspaper's Affidavit of Publication with the ACC is optional; keep it with your records either way.

  7. Step 7 of 8: Get a free EIN, write an operating agreement, and open a bank account

    Apply for an EIN directly on IRS.gov. It's free and usually issued immediately online, and you need it for the TPT application. Arizona doesn't require an operating agreement by statute, and you don't file one with the ACC. Write one anyway: without it, Arizona's default rules give each member one vote regardless of ownership, so two 50/50 members must agree on everything. Banks often ask for it too. Then open a business bank account so the LLC's money stays separate from yours.

  8. Step 8 of 8: Get a TPT license and any city license before you start selling

    If the LLC will do a TPT-taxable activity, such as retail sales, restaurant sales, commercial leasing, personal property rentals, or contracting, apply for a TPT license through Arizona Business One Stop or AZTaxes.gov before you open. The state license is $12 per location plus a fee for each city you operate in; Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Peoria charge $50. Home-based sellers need one too. If you only sell services that aren't on ADOR's taxable list, such as consulting, you generally don't. Check with your city for any separate business license or home-business zoning rules.

How much a Arizona LLC costs

What you'll pay the state if you file it yourself and serve as your own statutory agent. The cost page has every fee, the optional add-ons, and when each payment is due.

To form
$50
Year one total
$85
Online filing with expedite; $50 by mail at regular processing
Every year after
$0
No annual report or ACC fee; TPT renewal only if licensed
Full Arizona LLC cost breakdown

Arizona LLC publication: who has to publish, and how to avoid paying for it

Arizona is one of the few states that requires public notice of a new LLC. Within 60 days after the ACC approves your Articles, the notice has to appear. Where it appears depends on one thing: the county of your statutory agent's street address. Maricopa and Pima County agents get free online publication from the ACC. Everyone else buys newspaper notices.

The rule
A.R.S. 29-3201 requires notice of the Articles within 60 days after the ACC files them, either in a newspaper or in the ACC's database.
Maricopa or Pima County agent
The ACC automatically posts the notice in its public notice database on Arizona Business Center. You don't file, pay, or publish anything. The statute covers counties with more than 800,000 people, which the ACC identifies as Maricopa and Pima.
Any other county
Publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the agent's street address for three consecutive publications. The notice contains the information from your Articles: name, principal address, statutory agent, and management structure with members or managers.
Timing
Not before approval, and within 60 days after it. The ACC's approval letter tells you whether publication is required and how to do it.
Cost
Newspapers set the price, and the ACC doesn't publish a typical cost. Get a quote from two papers on the ACC's newspaper list before you pick one.
Proof
The newspaper gives you an Affidavit of Publication. Filing it with the ACC is optional. If you don't file it, keep it with your LLC records.
Which county counts
Only the agent's street address matters, not where you live or where you do business. A Flagstaff founder who serves as their own agent publishes in a Coconino County paper. The same founder using an agent with a Phoenix address doesn't publish at all.

If you live outside Maricopa and Pima, compare a year of commercial statutory agent service against the newspaper quotes. A Phoenix or Tucson agent also keeps your home address off the public record, so it can cost you less than the notices alone and solve two problems at once.

Expect mail after your notice runs. The ACC warns that scammers target newly formed and published businesses with official-looking letters, such as offers to get you a certificate of good standing for $77.25. You don't need one to form an LLC, and the ACC charges $10 if a bank asks for it.

Compare LLC services by real year-one cost

Arizona TPT license: the state's sales tax, charged to you as the seller

Arizona doesn't have a sales tax in the usual sense. It has transaction privilege tax, a tax on the seller for the privilege of doing business, collected by ADOR for the state, counties, and cities. If your LLC does a taxable activity, it needs a TPT license before it starts. Forming the LLC with the ACC doesn't register you with ADOR.

Who needs one
Businesses doing a taxable activity, including retail sales, restaurants and bars, hotels and short stays, commercial leases, amusements, personal property rentals, contracting, transporting, job printing, publishing, utilities, and telecommunications.
Who usually doesn't
A business that only sells services that aren't on ADOR's list, such as consulting. Check ADOR's list against what you actually sell.
How to apply
Through Arizona Business One Stop or AZTaxes.gov, using the Arizona Joint Tax Application (JT-1/UC-001). It also registers you for employer withholding and unemployment insurance if you hire. You need your EIN first.
Cost
$12 per location for the state license, plus a city fee for each city where you operate. ADOR lists Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Peoria at $50, Glendale at $35, Mesa, Tucson, and Flagstaff at $20, and many towns at $2.
Special events
Vendors who only sell at fairs, markets, or other events still need a license. The state fee stays $12 no matter how many events, but each city charges its own fee unless you already hold a license there.
Renewal
Every license expires December 31 and renews by January 1, even if it was issued in December. Renewals are delinquent after the last business day of January, and the penalty is 50% of the city renewal fee.
Filing returns
ADOR assigns a filing frequency based on your estimated yearly TPT: annual under $2,000, quarterly from $2,000 to $8,000, and monthly above $8,000. Monthly returns are due the 20th of the following month.
Switching from a sole proprietorship
ADOR says a TPT license is not transferable when ownership changes. If you already hold one as a sole proprietor, plan on a new license under the LLC and its EIN, and cancel the old one so it doesn't keep accruing returns.

If you sell candles at weekend markets in Mesa and Gilbert, you need the $12 state license plus a city license in each. That's a real cost of doing business here, separate from anything the ACC charges. Operating a taxable business without a license is a class 3 misdemeanor.

Estimate your Arizona self-employment tax

Arizona tax and compliance notes

This is where Arizona gets less simple than the filing itself. The state-specific issues that generic LLC guides usually skip.

Arizona's individual income tax is a flat 2.5% for tax year 2023 and later, per the Arizona Department of Revenue. A default single-member or multi-member LLC passes its profit through to your personal Arizona return at that rate.

The ACC charges LLCs no annual report fee and no yearly fee of any kind. Once the LLC is formed and published, the state costs nothing to keep alive unless you hold a TPT license.

Transaction privilege tax (TPT) is Arizona's version of sales tax, charged to the seller for the privilege of doing business. Retail sales, restaurants, commercial leases, personal property rentals, contracting, publishing, and other listed activities need a license from ADOR, plus a city license where you operate. The state license is $12 per location; city fees run from $1 to $50 on ADOR's table.

A TPT license renews every calendar year by January 1, even if you got it in December. Renewals are delinquent after the last business day of January, and the penalty is 50% of the city renewal fee. If your yearly TPT bill is under $2,000, ask ADOR to switch you to annual filing.

Domestic Arizona LLCs don't file FinCEN BOI reports. FinCEN made the exemption for U.S. companies permanent in a final rule effective August 14, 2026. The rule has changed several times, so recheck FinCEN before relying on an older checklist.

Arizona vs other LLC states

The simple comparison most founders actually want. Watch the ongoing state cost column. That's where states with cheap filing fees can still get expensive.

State Annual report Upfront cost Ongoing state cost
Arizona This page
No annual report for LLCs $50 mail / $85 online + publication outside Maricopa/Pima $0 state annual fee
California
$20 Statement of Information every 2 years $70 $800/yr annual tax + $20 every 2 years
Nevada
$150 annual list + $200 state business license ~$425 $350/yr
Utah
$18/yr renewal, due in anniversary month $59 $18/yr + local business license
Wyoming
$60 minimum, due 1st day of anniversary month $100 $60+/yr
Delaware
No annual report; $400 annual LLC tax due June 1 $110 $400/yr

Arizona LLC pros and cons

Quick tradeoffs. Where Arizona helps, where it adds friction, and what to watch before you file.

What works

  • Low cost to start: $85 online (expedited processing included) or $50 by mail.
  • No annual report and no yearly ACC fee, so a formed LLC costs the state nothing to keep.
  • Free publication when your statutory agent is in Maricopa or Pima County, including Phoenix and Tucson.
  • A flat 2.5% individual income tax on pass-through profit.
  • You can be your own statutory agent for free if you live in Arizona.

Watch out for

  • Outside Maricopa and Pima, you pay a newspaper for three notices within 60 days, and the ACC doesn't publish what that costs.
  • Taxable sellers need a TPT license plus city fees, renewed every January 1, and file TPT returns on the schedule ADOR assigns.
  • Member or manager names and addresses go on the public Articles, and the agent address is public too.
  • Your agent must accept the emailed appointment within 72 hours, or the online filing is rejected.
  • Arizona Business Center only launched January 12, 2026, so many guides still describe eCorp.

Other state guides

If Arizona isn't the right fit, these guides cover the other states most first-time founders compare it against.

Growing past a basic LLC?

Check the S-corp math after your Arizona LLC is profitable.

Once net income is consistently around $60K or more, S-corp treatment may reduce self-employment tax. The savings only count after payroll, accounting, and state costs.

Run S-corp calculator

FAQ

The questions people ask right before they decide to file on their own or pay a service.

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

The base filing fee is $50. The ACC states that online LLC formation costs $85, which includes its $35 expedited-processing charge; filing by mail at regular processing is $50. If your statutory agent is outside Maricopa and Pima counties, add the cost of three newspaper notices. After that, the ACC charges nothing yearly: no annual report and no annual fee. A commercial statutory agent typically adds $50 to $150 a year, and a TPT license costs $12 plus city fees if you do a taxable activity.

What is the Arizona LLC filing fee?

The base fee for Articles of Organization is $50. The ACC states that online LLC formation costs $85, which is the $50 fee plus the $35 expedite charge. Filing by mail at regular processing costs $50. Next-day, same-day, and 2-hour review add $100, $200, or $400.

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

The ACC's FAQ estimates 14 to 16 business days at regular processing and 3 to 5 with the $35 expedite. Approval waits on your statutory agent: online, they must accept the emailed appointment within 72 hours or the filing is rejected. The LLC counts as formed on the date the ACC received your Articles.

Where do I file an LLC in Arizona?

With the Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division, not the Secretary of State. File online at Arizona Business Center (arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov), which replaced eCorp on January 12, 2026, or mail paper forms to 1300 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007. You can also file in person in Phoenix or Tucson.

What is the LLC formation document called in Arizona?

Articles of Organization. Paper filers also attach either the Member Structure Attachment or the Manager Structure Attachment, plus a Statutory Agent Acceptance (Form M002) and a cover sheet. Online, the system collects the same information and emails your agent to accept.

Does Arizona require LLCs to publish in a newspaper?

Yes, unless your statutory agent's street address is in Maricopa or Pima County. Then the ACC posts the notice online for free. Otherwise, publish a notice of your Articles in a newspaper of general circulation in the agent's county for three consecutive publications, within 60 days after the ACC approves your filing. Don't publish before approval.

How much does Arizona LLC publication cost?

Nothing if your statutory agent is in Maricopa or Pima County. Elsewhere, the newspaper sets the price, and the ACC doesn't publish a typical cost, so get quotes from papers on the ACC's newspaper list. Using a commercial agent with a Phoenix or Tucson address removes the newspaper requirement entirely.

Does Arizona require an annual report for LLCs?

No. The ACC says only corporations file annual reports. Arizona LLCs pay no yearly fee to the ACC. You still have to keep your statutory agent and principal address current, and the ACC has announced an attestation email for LLCs that haven't filed anything in two years.

What is a statutory agent in Arizona, and can I be my own?

It's Arizona's name for a registered agent: the person or business that accepts lawsuit papers and ACC notices for the LLC. You can be your own if you're an Arizona resident, at least 18, with an Arizona street and mailing address. The LLC itself can't be its agent. The address is public, and its county decides whether you publish in a newspaper.

Does Arizona require an operating agreement?

No. The ACC's filing instructions say an operating agreement isn't required by statute, and you don't file one with the ACC. Write one anyway. Without it, Arizona's default rules give each member one vote regardless of ownership, and banks often ask for it.

Do I need a TPT license for my Arizona LLC?

Only if the LLC does a taxable activity, such as retail sales, restaurant sales, commercial leasing, personal property rentals, or contracting. Then you need a TPT license from ADOR ($12 per location plus city fees) before you start, and you renew it every January 1. A business that only sells services not on ADOR's list, such as consulting, generally doesn't need one.

Do I need a business license for an Arizona LLC?

Arizona has no general state business license. TPT-taxable businesses get a state TPT license and a city license from ADOR together. Some cities also require their own business license or home-business permit, and licensed professions need a license from their state board.

How is an Arizona LLC taxed?

By default, profit passes through to the owners and is taxed on their personal returns. Arizona's individual income tax is a flat 2.5%. The ACC charges no annual LLC fee. If you do a TPT-taxable activity, you also file TPT returns with ADOR on the schedule it assigns.

Can I form an Arizona LLC if I don't live in Arizona?

Yes. Members, managers, and the organizer don't have to live in Arizona, and the principal address can be anywhere. You need a statutory agent in Arizona, so out-of-state owners normally hire a commercial agent. Pick one in Maricopa or Pima County and the ACC handles publication for you.

Do Arizona LLCs need to file a BOI report?

No. FinCEN's final rule, effective August 14, 2026, permanently exempts U.S. companies, including Arizona LLCs, from BOI reporting. The rule has changed several times, so recheck FinCEN before relying on an older checklist.