Missouri: Domestic LLC Formation Filing Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and filing record

Missouri uses Articles of Organization under Chapter 347 of the Revised
Statutes of Missouri. The organizer or organizers file the articles with the
Secretary of State under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.037.

Organizer and signature

Any person may organize the LLC and need not be a member or manager. Mo. Rev.
Stat. § 347.039 requires every organizer's name and physical business or residence
address in the public articles, and current Form LLC-1 says organizers need not
be owners either.

The organizer or organizers execute the initial articles. Mo. Rev. Stat.
§ 347.047 also allows execution through a duly authorized power of attorney and treats the
signature as an affirmation that the filing is true and authorized. The current
form requires all organizers to sign.

Required entity and purpose terms

The name must use an approved LLC designator, avoid the listed corporate and
partnership terms, and be distinguishable in the Secretary's records under
§ 347.020. The articles also state the company's purpose; a general clause
covering any or all lawful business is permitted.

The filing must state either dissolution events or the number of years the LLC
will exist. The duration may be perpetual.

Addresses and service fields

The articles state the registered office's street address and the registered
agent's name. Each organizer supplies a physical business or residence address;
a P.O. box may appear only in addition to a physical address on current Form
LLC-1.

The form's principal-office address is expressly optional. It is not a required
formation field for an ordinary Missouri LLC.

Management and owner disclosure

The articles choose whether management is vested in managers or members. They do
not ordinarily list those managers or members, and no beneficial-owner list is
part of Form LLC-1. Organizer names are public, but organizer status does not by
itself mean member, manager, or owner status.

Optional and restricted provisions

Section 347.039(3) permits another operating-agreement provision in the articles
if it is consistent with law and Chapter 347. The current form also offers an
optional principal-office field. Its series election and LLC-1A attachment are
outside this survey's ordinary, non-series scope.

Filing method, fee, and attachments

Section 347.179 sets a $45 online base fee and a $100 paper base fee.
Section 347.740 permits the Secretary to collect an additional $5 technology fee,
but that authority expires after December 31, 2026 unless the law changes.
Current paper Form LLC-1 therefore lists a total filing fee of $105.

An ordinary filing has no mandatory attachment on the current form. A series
election requires a separate LLC-1A for each series, but series LLCs are outside
scope. A qualifying Missouri-resident National Guard or active-duty organizer
who is also listed as a member in the operating agreement may receive the narrow
fee waiver in § 347.179(2).

Formation and effective date

The LLC forms when the Secretary files the articles or on a later date stated in
them. The delayed date cannot be more than 90 days after filing. A filed copy
stamped with the filing date is conclusive evidence that the organizers met the
formation conditions stated in § 347.037(3).

Publication and initial follow-up

Chapter 347 and current Form LLC-1 impose no newspaper or database publication,
proof filing, or separate initial report for an ordinary Missouri LLC. The
Secretary of State's Startup Guide also confirms that Missouri LLCs do not file
annual reports.

What trips people up

Organizer disclosure is not owner disclosure. Missouri publishes each
organizer's name and physical address, but an organizer need not be a member,
manager, or owner.

The paper total combines two statutes. The $100 paper amount comes from
§ 347.179, while the current $105 form total reflects the additional technology
fee authorized by § 347.740. That additional-fee authority expires after 2026.

A principal office is optional, but a registered office is not. Current
Form LLC-1 labels the principal-office field optional. The registered agent and
registered-office street address remain required article terms.

Common questions

Must the organizer be a member? No. Section 347.037 expressly permits any
person to organize the LLC whether or not that person is a member or manager.

Must Missouri articles identify the owners or managers? No. They choose
member- or manager-management but do not require an ordinary owner or manager
list. Each organizer is separately named and addressed.

Does the LLC need an annual report right after formation? No. Missouri's
Secretary of State says LLCs do not file annual reports, and there is no
separate initial report on current Form LLC-1.

Statutes and sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 347.020, 347.037, 347.039, and 347.047 — name,
  organizer, required and optional article terms, execution, and effective date.
  https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=347.039 (accessed
  2026-07-29)
• Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 347.179 and 347.740 — online and paper base fees,
  military waiver, optional technology fee, and its December 31, 2026 expiration.
  https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=347.179 (accessed
  2026-07-29)
• Missouri Secretary of State, Form LLC-1 (01/2025) — current required and
  optional fields, paper total, delayed-date instruction, and all-organizer
  signature rule. https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Business/llc1.pdf (accessed
  2026-07-29)
• Missouri Secretary of State, Small Business Startup Guide — formation by
  articles and no LLC annual report.
  https://www.sos.mo.gov/business/outreach/startup_guide (accessed 2026-07-29)