How to start an LLC in New York

In addition to its many other advantages, a limited liability corporation (LLC) provides small enterprises with protection from legal responsibility and favorable tax treatment. Follow the steps listed below to start your New York limited liability company up and going after you’ve decided that an LLC is the most suitable form of business organization for your requirements.

Note that you have the option of forming the limited liability company (LLC) yourself, or you may work with a reputable company formations service to do all of the legwork on your behalf.

1. Give Your New York Company a Name

When choosing a name for a limited liability company (LLC) in the state of New York, there are two primary requirements that should be followed:

• The name of a limited liability company (LLC) has to be unique enough to stand out from other companies’ names that are already registered with the New York Department of State Division of Corporations.
• One of the following terms or abbreviations must be used in the name of a limited liability company (LLC): “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.”

Verify that the name you want to use for your LLC is available

After deciding on a name for your limited liability company (LLC), you should check to see whether it is still available in New York by doing a search in the database maintained by the Department of State’s Corporation and Business Entity Services.

Make a reservation for your LLC with the State Department

It is a good idea to submit a name reservation request to the New York Department of State Division of Corporations in order to prevent another company from utilizing the name of your limited liability company (LLC) before you have formally organized it in the state.

You may reserve the name for up to 60 days by submitting an Application for Reservation of Name via the mail. The first filing price for reserving a name is twenty dollars.

In the event that the time allotted for the first reservation is insufficient, you have the option to extend it for two more periods of sixty days each by submitting a Request for Extension and paying an additional price of twenty dollars for each extension.

2. Choose a registered agent in the state of New York

A registered agent in New York is required of every limited liability company operating in the state. If the limited liability company (LLC) is taken to court, this refers to a person or company that has agreed to accept service of process on its behalf.

The Registered Agent might be either a resident of New York or a business entity that is permitted to conduct operations in the state of New York. It is required that the Registered Agent have a real, physical address in the state of New York.

What exactly is the role of a Registered Agent?

A company’s Registered Agent handles formal government communications, such as tax forms, legal paperwork, notification of litigation, and other legal processes, on the company’s behalf. Consider the role of your registered agent as that of the point of contact for your company with the state.

Who is eligible to serve as a Registered Agent?

A Registered Agent is required to be either an individual who lives in New York on a permanent basis or a company that is permitted to operate in the state of New York and acts in the capacity of a Registered Agent service. You have the option of selecting anybody who works for the organization, including yourself.

3. Publish your company’s articles of incorporation

Your limited liability company (LLC) will be formally recognized after you have a document called the Articles of Organization that lays forth fundamental information about your business. Because this form serves as the legal registration for your company with the state, it is essential that all of the details be accurate.

What should be included in a company’s Articles of Organization?

When completing the Articles of Organization for your New York LLC, you are required to give the following information:

• LLC’s name
• The term of the LLC, whether it be limited or everlasting.
• The location of the main office of the limited liability company.
• The name and location of the registered agent for the limited liability company
• Location where the State Secretary should send notifications to the limited liability company (LLC) through mail.
• How the Limited Liability Company (LLC) will be run: by its members or by its managers
• Whether or whether the limited liability company will offer professional services
• Names and addresses of all of the organizers of the limited liability company, as well as
• Information about at minimum one member or management of the LLC who has personal knowledge of the business activities of the LLC, including their name and address.
• LLCs that are considered to be “foreign,” in the sense that they do business in a state other than the one in which they were first established, are required to pay an additional charge.

Submission of Your Organization’s Articles of Incorporation

Articles of Organization must be submitted to the Corporations Division of the New York Department of State in order to lawfully establish a limited liability company (LLC) in the state of New York.

You have the option of submitting the paperwork either online or in the mail. The filing price is two hundred dollars, and it may be paid for using a money order, credit card, cheque, or cash.

4. Obtain a Certificate From the Government of Your State

After the formation paperwork of the LLC has been submitted and authorized, the state will issue you a certificate that proves the LLC officially exists. If you ask for a copy and pay an appropriate stamp, the state will mail you the certificate.

With this certificate, the limited liability company will be able to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN), as well as business permits and business bank accounts with financial institutions such as Novo bank and Kabbage bank.

5. Make public your organization’s articles of incorporation.

Notice of establishment must be published in two newspapers (one weekly and one daily) for six consecutive weeks in the county of the LLC’s primary office or authorized registered agent’s office within 120 days of creation.

The local county clerk in the county that you choose in your Articles of Organization is the one who has to provide their stamp of approval on the newspapers. After the newspaper has been printed, the publisher or distributor of each paper will give you an affidavit that verifies the publishing of the notice.

Together with your affidavits of publication, you are required to provide your Certificate of Publication to the following:

The New York Department of State, Division of Corporations, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12231

6. Make sure you have an operating agreement in place.

In contrast to the laws of the majority of states, New York’s LLC statute mandates that members of an LLC sign a formal operating agreement. It is possible to engage into the Operating Agreement either before, at the same time as, or during the first ninety days following submitting the Articles of Organization.

The Operating Agreement is the basic agreement that outlines the rights, powers, responsibilities, and interests of the members of the LLC amongst themselves and to the LLC itself. It also establishes the members’ liabilities and obligations.

The agreement is not public record and is only used for internal purposes; it is not submitted to the State Department. The legislation in New York remains quiet about the repercussions of failing to establish an Operating Agreement.

The following items should be included in the operating agreement:

• Describe the business structure of the limited liability company.
• Determine the specific roles and responsibilities that each member of the LLC will have.
• Describe in detail how the limited liability company will be operated.
• Significant legal and logistical challenges might await a limited liability company (LLC) in the absence of an operating agreement that defines the precise responsibilities of its members.

7. Obtain a number that identifies you as the employer (EIN)

A number of limited liability companies (LLCs) will be required to get a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), often known as a tax ID number. 

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a nine-digit number that identifies your company to the Internal Revenue Service. You need an EIN in order to pay off any federal employer taxes, open a bank account, or recruit staff.

On the website of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is accessible without charge, you may check to see whether you need an EIN and submit an application for one online. 

Single-member limited liability companies, which are an exemption to the rule that most firms are required to acquire an EIN, may instead use the owner’s Social Security number.

Business Licenses

Depending on the kind of company they run and where they are located in New York, limited liability companies that are operating in the state may be needed to get one or more business permits or permits from the state or from their respective local governments.

Consult the New York Start a Company Guide, which is made available by the Department of State, for advice on how to satisfy the prerequisites for obtaining a state license to operate a business. The New York Licensing Directory allows for the search and retrieval of specific license information.

Local licensing requirements may be determined by contacting the municipal or county clerk in the jurisdiction where your LLC is situated.

8. Report biennially

New York limited liability companies are required to submit a Biennial Statement to the New York Department of State once every two years.

The state has to be kept up to date on who manages your limited liability company (LLC) and how to get in touch with the firm, and this form will do just that. Both the filing of the Biennial Statement, which costs $9, and the yearly filing fee, which is required of LLCs, cost $9 each.

What are the costs and the next steps?

Costs

When you submit your Articles of Organization with the Corporations Division of the New York Department of State, you will be charged a cost of $200. If you want to reserve the name of your limited liability company (LLC) before you submit the articles of organization, the application to do so will cost you twenty dollars to file.

Consider the following additional fees that may be incurred by an LLC:

• Reserving a Name for an LLC
• DBA name is short for “doing business as.”
• Certified document copies
• Proof of existence (certificate)

What’s Next?

When you register a limited liability company (LLC), you establish a legal basis upon which to operate your firm. Companies should make it a priority to maintain their limited liability company in compliance with state regulations and in an active position on the state’s site.

In addition, having a registered limited liability company enables you to perform the following:

• Register your company with the department of revenue in your state.
• Obtain any permissions or licenses that are required to run your business, such as those issued by the health department, the zoning department, the department of home occupations, the department of professional licensing, and so on. Some states need a seller’s permission to conduct sales
• Create a bank account for your firm.
• Create a credit card account for your company.
• Invest in insurance coverage for your company.
• Create a trademark to protect both your company’s name and its logo.

Incorporation your LLC: DIY or use the professionals?

To establish a limited liability company (LLC), you are not required by law to consult a lawyer. The majority of states enable the establishment of LLCs via the process of registering the business entity on the website of the secretary of state and with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

If you are not acquainted with the process of forming an LLC, your best bet may be to get in touch with a professional LLC services provider so that you can be certain that the creation will go smoothly and quickly.

When entrepreneurs start a new firm, they may save startup costs and save valuable time by using a professional agency that specializes in company forms. They can take care of the things that you might not have time to think about for a price ranging from $50 to over $500, and some examples of such things are as follows:

• Developing an operating agreement for an LLC that details your company’s information and putting it into writing (required in some states).
• Putting together articles of incorporation that identify the management of the LLC, the registration agent, and the date the company was formed.
• Taking up the role of registered agent for your firm.
• Keeping careful records in the event that there are investigations or litigation.
• Payment of filing fees and registration with the appropriate parties.
• Registering the name of your firm and ensuring that the name you choose for your limited liability company is accessible.
• Finishing up and turning in all of the necessary legal and formation documentation.

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