How to start an LLC in Indiana

The state filing fee is $95 online or $100 by mail. INBiz adds a payment processing fee of at least $1, so the online checkout total starts at $96. If you serve as your own registered agent, that is the true minimum cost to get the LLC formed. Most founders who want privacy should budget more, because a professional registered agent usually adds about $100 to $125 a year. The ongoing state filing is the Business Entity Report at $32 online every two years.

The Secretary of State says INBiz filings are processed in minutes to hours, and paper filings within 1 to 2 business days after they arrive. Mail time in both directions is what makes paper slow. Indiana does not sell an expedited LLC filing tier, so if speed matters, file online instead of mailing the form.

Registering, forming, and filing an Indiana LLC all mean filing Articles of Organization (State Form 49459) with the Secretary of State, almost always through INBiz for $95. That creates the LLC. If you sell taxable goods or services, you then register with the Department of Revenue for sales tax and a $25 Registered Retail Merchant Certificate per location. Indiana has no general state business license. The one ongoing state filing is the $32 Business Entity Report every two years.

A registered agent is the person or company that receives lawsuits, state notices, and other official documents for your LLC. Indiana uses the term registered agent, not statutory agent. The agent must have a physical Indiana street address and be available during business hours.

Yes, if you are an Indiana resident with a physical Indiana street address and you are reliably available during business hours. The tradeoff is privacy and admin risk. Your address becomes part of the public record, and if you move or miss service of process, you create a problem that is easy to avoid with a professional agent.

No. Indiana does not require an annual report for LLCs. The recurring filing is a Business Entity Report every two years, due in your LLC’s anniversary month. For-profit LLCs pay $32 online or $50 by paper.

No. Indiana does not require you to publish a formation notice in a newspaper after filing the LLC. That keeps the setup simpler and cheaper than states like New York that still make founders jump through a publication step.

Indiana does not require you to file an operating agreement with the state, but you should still have one in writing. It helps with ownership proof, banking, internal decision-making, and keeping the LLC separate from you personally. Treat it as standard LLC setup, not optional fluff.

Go to INBiz at inbiz.in.gov, create an account, search your name, and start a new domestic LLC. Enter the principal office, registered agent, organizer, and whether the LLC is manager-managed (it defaults to member-managed). If you run the business from home, check the remote-business box and file State Form 9900382 to keep your home address off the public record. Pay $95 plus the processing fee, so at least $96 total. INBiz filings are usually processed in minutes to hours, while paper costs $100 and is slower, so file online.

By default, an Indiana LLC is a pass-through entity, so the income flows to the owners instead of being taxed at the LLC level. Indiana’s flat individual income tax rate is 2.95% for 2026, and county income tax applies on top of that. Indiana does not charge a franchise tax, gross-receipts tax, or separate annual LLC tax.

No. Indiana does not have a franchise tax, and it does not have a Commercial Activity Tax. If you have seen Indiana CAT mentioned, that is a state-guide mix-up with Ohio. Indiana LLC owners still need to plan for income tax, county income tax, and any sales-tax registrations that apply, but not a separate CAT or annual franchise charge.

Indiana does not have one blanket statewide business license that every LLC has to buy. Licensing is industry-specific and sometimes local. If you sell taxable goods or taxable services, you may need a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate. If you are in a regulated field, check the state board or local rules that apply to that activity.

Yes. Indiana does not require members or organizers to live in the state. The main Indiana-specific requirement is that the LLC must continuously maintain a registered agent with a real Indiana street address, so out-of-state founders usually use a commercial registered agent service.

No. FinCEN’s final rule, effective August 14, 2026, made the March 2025 exemption permanent: companies created in the United States, including Indiana LLCs, do not file BOI reports. Foreign entities registered to do business in the United States are treated differently. BOI rules have changed repeatedly, so recheck FinCEN before filing if you are working from an old checklist.

In a member-managed LLC, the owners run the business directly. In a manager-managed LLC, one or more managers run day-to-day operations. In Indiana, this choice matters at filing time because the Articles of Organization are where you make the manager-managed designation. If you do not say manager-managed in the filing, the default is member-managed.