How to Form an LLC in Michigan: LARA Filing Steps and Fees (2026)

Start with the correction most guides need: Michigan has no Secretary of State role in LLC formation. LLC filings belong to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and its Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau. The formation document is the Articles of Organization, Form CSCL/CD-700, and the state charges $50 to file it (MCL 450.4202).

Form CSCL/CD-700: The $50 Filing

Under MCL 450.4202, one or more organizers, who may or may not become members, form the company by filing executed articles of organization. Filing is available online through LARA's Corporations Online Filing System. Forming a professional LLC instead? The PLLC version is Form CSCL/CD-701, also $50.

The Steps, In Order

1. Clear the name with LARA. It must carry an LLC designator and be distinguishable from every entity already in Michigan's records, so search the state business database first.
2. Designate a registered agent. Michigan's statutes use the term resident agent for the same role (MCL 450.4207). The agent can be a Michigan resident individual, or a corporation or LLC authorized in Michigan, with an office identical to your registered office. Full rules on our registered agent page.
3. Prepare Form CSCL/CD-700 and have the organizer execute it.
4. File with LARA and pay the $50 fee, online via the Corporations Online Filing System.
5. Write an operating agreement. LARA does not collect it, but it is the document that governs the company internally.
6. Get a free EIN from the IRS for banking, hiring, and federal returns.
7. Note February 15. Michigan's annual filing is the $25 Annual Statement, Form CSCL/CD-2700. One useful break: an LLC organized after September 30 skips the February 15 that comes immediately after formation. Details on the annual requirements page.

After Approval

Keep the registered agent and registered office current (changes go on Form CSCL/CD-520 for $5), file the Annual Statement each February 15, and keep company finances separate from personal ones. Two consecutive missed statements put the LLC out of good standing and on the path to administrative dissolution.

Our $199 Formation Service

We prepare and file Form CSCL/CD-700, and the price includes your first year of registered agent service. From year two, the agent runs $99 per year. Michigan's $50 fee is added at face value.

Form Your Michigan LLC