Depending on the specifics of your Illinois business, you’ll be required to pay certain fees and fulfill different filing requirements. Some of these costs are payable to the Illinois Secretary of State, while others are due to the federal or Illinois government. On this page, we’ve summarized the most common requirements and fees.
Note that Illinois business licenses and permits might need to be paid when you first form your business, on an ongoing schedule or on an ad hoc basis. Find more details below.
When you first incorporate your business in Illinois, you’ll need to file an LLC with the IL Secretary of State and pay an Illinois filing fee. Here are the current fees and filing times for Illinois:
State Fee | State Filing Time | Expedited Filing Time |
$154 | 2 Weeks | 1 Business Day |
Some states allow you to form your LLC more quickly by paying a rush fee. You can compare state filing times and fees here, including expedited fees for Illinois.
Incorporate your Illinois LLC through Incfile today
Every Illinois LLC should have a unique employer identification number (EIN). These are provided by the Internal Revenue Service and you use them when filing taxes, opening a business bank account and paying employees. You can get one yourself at no cost from the IRS or have Incfile obtain one on your behalf.
Get an EIN for Your Illinois LLC through Incfile
If you’re expanding your Illinois LLC beyond the borders of the state, you will need a Foreign Qualification or Certificate of Authority to operate in another state. These are typically necessary if you have a physical presence, employees or banking in a different state than Illinois. Fees and requirements for foreign qualifications depend on each state’s rules. Incfile provides a complete Foreign Qualification service for any state.
Get a Foreign Qualification/Certificate of Authority through Incfile
Most states need to file an annual (or other periodic) report with their Secretary of State. When you file your IL LLC annual report, you may need to pay a fee. Here are the annual filing requirements for Illinois:
Frequency: Annually
Due Date: Within 60 days immediately preceding first day of anniversary month.
Filing Fee: $128
Incfile can also complete and file your Illinois annual report on your behalf.
Incfile’s Illinois Annual Report Filing service
Some IL LLCs will need certain business licenses and permits from federal, state and regional organizations. These permits and licenses will have associated fees that you should pay on a one-off or regular basis.
Permits and licenses vary based on:
You can research these permits and licenses yourself or use Incfile’s Business License Research Package, which includes:
Remember that operating your business without the required licenses can expose you to risks and fines from federal, Illinois and local governments.
Incfile’s Illinois Business License Research Package
An Operating Agreement is a business document that covers how the business will be run, how managers and members are chosen, rights and duties of members and several other key areas.
Illinois LLCs aren’t required to have an Operating Agreement, but they are extremely useful for several reasons (learn about them here). If you’re interested in having your Operating Agreement created for you, Incfile can draft a general Operating Agreement template when you choose to form your Illinois business. You can choose to make changes to the template based on your unique requirements.
There are several other fees or requirements that you may need to meet during the life of your Illinois LLC. These ad hoc fees will only be payable in specific circumstances, which we’ve listed below.
If you want your IL business to trade under a different name, you can file a form with the Illinois Secretary of State. You will need to pay an Illinois filing fee. Incfile can file this form on your behalf.
Incfile’s Illinois Fictitious Name service
Your Illinois LLC needs a Registered Agent. You need to appoint one when you first incorporate your LLC. You can also switch to a new IL Registered Agent later. Incfile provides a complete Illinois Registered Agent service.
Incfile’s Illinois Registered Agent service
If you don’t want to form your IL business right away, you can reserve a name with the Illinois Secretary of State. You will need to pay a small fee to do this.
Your business formation documents state certain facts about your Illinois business when it was originally formed. Over time, these facts might change — if they do, you need to file “Articles of Amendment” with the Illinois Secretary of State. You can do this yourself or have Incfile complete the filing on your behalf.
Areas you might want to file Illinois Articles of Amendment for include:
Incfile’s Illinois Articles of Amendment service
Some organizations will request that you prove your Illinois LLC’s compliance with laws and tax requirements. If you need to prove you have met your commitments, you will need a “Certificate of Good Standing” from the Illinois Secretary of State. Incfile can obtain a certificate on your behalf.
Incfile’s Illinois Certificate of Good Standing service
The fees listed above detail all the charges that a standard IL LLC will be required to pay. In some unusual circumstances, there may be other one-off, periodic or ad hoc fees not listed above.
Of course, your Illinois LLC will also probably need to pay self-employment, payroll, federal, state and sales taxes, but we will cover that when we talk about taxes for IL LLCs.
We charge you for this fee at cost and then pay the fee to the Secretary of State on your behalf when forming your Illinois business.
Usually, yes. Most states require you file a report for your LLC every year. Some states require filing biennially (every other year), though a handful don’t require annual reports. You can find out more on the compliance page for your state.
It depends on various factors including:
That’s why our business license research package is so useful. It explores all of these areas for you and provides a comprehensive overview of exactly what your Illinois LLC needs to be compliant.
Clear Pricing. No Contracts. No Surprise.
The state charges this amount to file a new business entity. This fee goes directly to the Secretary of State.
State Fee | State Filing Time | Expedited Filing Time |
$154 | 2 Weeks | 1 Business Day |
This report is mandatory and must be filed within the specified time frame in order for the entity to remain in good standing with the state. Failure to file this report can lead to the company being revoked or administratively dissolved.
Frequency: Annually
Due Date: Within 60 days immediately preceding first day of anniversary month.
Filing Fee: $128
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