How to start an LLC in Utah

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Utah?

The Division's fee schedule lists $59 for an LLC's Certificate of Organization with no separate online add-on. The Legislature's approved fee list for July 2026 through June 2027 shows the same amounts as the year before, as a $54 filing fee plus a $5 state single sign-on portal fee, so $59 is the current price even though the Division's schedule is still titled for the prior fiscal year. The same law allows Commerce to charge an electronic payment fee of up to $3 on payments under $100; whether one is added at checkout can only be seen after signing in. Expedited processing is a flat $75 per filing, and the Division does not publish how fast it is. A name reservation, if you want one, is a separate $22. All fees are nonrefundable.

Sources: Utah filing fee and Utah filing office, reviewed September 24, 2026.

What are the steps to form an LLC in Utah?

You file online through the Business Registration System, which needs a free account before you can file. Utah has no Secretary of State. LLCs are filed with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, part of the Utah Department of Commerce, and every filing, including name reservations, annual renewals and paper filings, goes through the Business Registration System. You sign in with a UtahID, the state's single sign-on account, and you can create one at the sign-in screen. Most online filings are processed immediately after payment; filings that need manual review, such as paper filings, filings with attachments, name conflicts or filings the State Tax Commission must review, take 5 to 7 business days. The old OneStop address now just forwards to the Division's information website. The Division's office at 160 East 300 South in Salt Lake City is open 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, and closed on state and federal holidays; online services stay available on holidays.

1. Search the name. Free. What you need: The name you want to use, to compare against names already on file with the Division.

   What you get: A list of existing Utah business names. Your name must differ from each of them by at least one word, letter or number; endings such as LLC, differences in capitalization or punctuation, and singular versus plural do not count as differences.

   A name that looks available is not final until the Division approves your filing. The Division charges small fees for searches of the people behind a business, but not for checking a name.

   Where to do this. This step is described from Utah's published instructions, because the screens are only visible after signing in.

2. Create a UtahID account. Free. What you need: An email address, which you confirm with a six digit code, then your first and last name, a username and a password of 8 to 128 characters using at least three of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols. The first time you sign in to the business system it also asks for your personal details.

   What you get: A login for the Business Registration System.

   Each sign-in sends a security code to your email. You need this account for every step that follows, including a name reservation.

   Where to do this. This step is described from Utah's published instructions, because the screens are only visible after signing in.

3. Reserve the name (optional). Costs $22. What you need: Your name and address and the name you want to hold. In the system it sits under Other in the left menu.

   What you get: Exclusive use of the name for 120 days. You can transfer the reservation to someone else.

   A reservation is not a registration and is not required. The Division asks that you not file one if your formation filing is ready; file the Certificate of Organization instead.

   Where to do this. This step is described from Utah's published instructions, because the screens are only visible after signing in.

4. Line up a registered agent. Free. What you need: Either the name of a commercial registered agent listed with the Division, or the name and Utah address of a person who agrees to accept legal papers for the LLC, which can be you, or the title of a position within the LLC and its mailing address.

   What you get: The registered agent details the Certificate of Organization requires.

   Every Utah LLC must have and keep a registered agent in Utah. Naming an agent counts as your statement that the agent agreed to serve. The state charges nothing to name one; a commercial registered agent sets its own price. From October 1, 2026 the law says an address given in a filing must be a Utah street address, plus a Utah mailing address if different. If the LLC goes 60 days in a row without an agent, the Division can start dissolving it.

   Where to do this

5. File the Certificate of Organization. Costs $59. What you need: Choose Formations in the left menu and pick the LLC type. The law requires the LLC's name, the street and mailing address of its principal office, and the registered agent details. The system also asks for the people involved, such as managers, members and organizers, any documents the law requires you to attach, and an electronic signature certifying the filing is accurate. You then pay through the shopping cart.

   What you get: A filed Certificate of Organization. The LLC exists once the filing is effective and it has at least one member. You get a confirmation and an email when the filing is accepted. How long it takes: Most online filings are processed immediately after payment. Filings that need manual review take 5 to 7 business days.

   Utah calls this a Certificate of Organization, not Articles of Organization. For entities created after September 16, 2024, the email used to file becomes the entity's filing administrator, and only that person and the users they approve can file for the LLC later.

   Where to do this. This step is described from Utah's published instructions, because the screens are only visible after signing in.

6. Get an EIN from the IRS. Free. What you need: The LLC's legal name and address and the responsible party's Social Security number or ITIN.

   What you get: A federal Employer Identification Number, issued immediately online if approved. How long it takes: Minutes online

   The IRS issues EINs for free. Utah's corporate tax returns use the EIN as the business's tax identification number.

   Where to do this

What does an LLC name need to include in Utah?

The name must include one of these: limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC. An LLC name may abbreviate limited as Ltd. and company as Co. It cannot contain association, corporation, incorporated, partnership, limited partnership or L.P., or anything of similar meaning, and from October 1, 2026 it also cannot contain decentralized autonomous organization. It cannot use Olympic, Olympiad or Citius Altius Fortius without the United States Olympic Committee's consent, and a name formed or changed on or after May 4, 2022 cannot contain the number sequence 911. Words such as bank, credit union or trust company that suggest a financial institution need authorization from the Utah Department of Financial Institutions. The Division will not accept a name that implies the business is a state or local government agency. Check a name with the Utah name search.

What is due after you form an LLC in Utah?

Federal EIN. Free from the IRS and issued immediately online. Source.

State tax registration. Sales tax and withholding accounts are opened with the Utah State Tax Commission on form TC-69, available through its Taxpayer Access Point. Unemployment insurance is handled by the Department of Workforce Services. Rates and thresholds are covered in this site's state tax registration guide for Utah. Source.

Local business license. Local licenses come from the city, or the county for unincorporated areas, where the business is based. Requirements and fees vary and are not collected here. Source.

Federal beneficial ownership (BOI) reporting. FinCEN made the exemption for U.S. companies permanent in a final rule issued August 11, 2026 and effective August 14, 2026, replacing the interim rule of March 2025. U.S. persons also do not have to provide their information to reporting companies. Check FinCEN's site before relying on this, since the rule has changed several times. Source.

Annual renewal (annual report). The $18 includes a $5 state single sign-on portal fee. You can update addresses, the registered agent and the people listed at no extra charge. A late renewal adds a $10 fee. If the renewal is more than 60 days late, the Division can serve a notice, and if the LLC does not fix it within 60 days after that, the Division dissolves it administratively. Reinstating an LLC costs $54, and the fee schedule adds $18 for each missed year plus a $10 delinquency fee. The Division's help page says the renewal is due one year from the date of registration; the law sets the whole anniversary month. Source.

Corporate franchise tax. Utah follows the federal classification: an LLC taxed as a corporation is a corporation for Utah tax. A C corporation files form TC-20 and owes 4.45% of Utah taxable income for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, with a $100 minimum even if it earns nothing. An LLC that elects S corporation status files form TC-20S instead, and the $100 minimum does not apply. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership files form TC-65 and may have to withhold Utah tax for some of its members. Source.

Where is the official Utah guidance wrong or incomplete?

Official help pages are often the last thing an agency updates. Where one disagrees with the statute or the current form, the statute or form is what applies.

• Utah's LLC law was renumbered, effective October 1, 2026, by Senate Bill 40 of the 2026 General Session (Laws of Utah 2026, Chapter 93, signed March 17, 2026). The LLC Act moves from Title 48, Chapter 3a to Title 16, Chapter 20, and the rules shared by all business entities move into a new Title 16, Chapter 1a. Successor sections: permitted names 48-3a-108 becomes 16-1a-302 and 16-1a-303(5); name reservation 48-3a-109 becomes 16-1a-304; registered agent 48-3a-111 and 16-17-203 become 16-1a-402 and 16-1a-404; annual report 48-3a-212 becomes 16-1a-212; administrative dissolution 48-3a-708 becomes 16-1a-602 and 16-1a-603; the Certificate of Organization 48-3a-201 becomes 16-20-201. The designators, the 120-day reservation, the registered agent duty, the certificate contents and the fees do not change. Small substantive changes: the annual report is due by the last day of the anniversary month and may be filed up to 60 days early; addresses in filings must be Utah street addresses; decentralized autonomous organization is added to the words an LLC name cannot use; and the Division can start dissolving an entity over an unpaid fee after six months instead of 60 days. The new sections were re-read on le.utah.gov on 2026-10-01 and are published as in force (current version C16-1a_2026050620261001 and C16-20 equivalents, each marked Effective 10/1/2026). The old Title 48, Chapter 3a numbers are kept here only as the map from old to new. Source.
• The Division links its fee schedule as current but the document is still titled Fiscal Year 2026, effective July 1, 2025. The Legislature's approved fees for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 (House Bill 8, 2026) are unchanged from the prior year: LLC filing $54, single sign-on portal fee $5, LLC annual report $13, late renewal $10, name reservation $22, LLC reinstatement $54, priority processing $75. The Division's $59 formation and $18 renewal figures therefore remain current. The Division's schedule says only renewals carry the $5 portal fee, yet its $59 formation figure equals the $54 approved fee plus $5, so the breakdown the Division publishes does not match the approved list; the amount a founder pays is $59 either way. Source.
• The same approved fee list lets the Department of Commerce charge an electronic payment fee of up to $3 on payments under $100. The Division's schedule does not mention one and the checkout is behind a login, so whether the $59 filing actually carries a card fee could not be confirmed. Source.
• The Division's renewal help page says the renewal is due one year from the date of registration, while the statute (16-1a-212, in force since October 1, 2026, formerly 48-3a-212) makes it due during, or by the end of, the anniversary month. The statute governs; this page follows the statute. Source.
• The Division's home page says filings needing manual review take 5 to 7 business days, while its renewal guide says processing is currently 7 to 10 business days. Source.
• The reinstatement line in the Division's fee schedule says reinstatement costs $54 and that reinstatements also incur $18 for each missed year plus a $10 delinquency fee. It does not say whether the $54 already includes one missed year, so no total reinstatement cost is published here. Source.

What else trips people up when forming an LLC in Utah?

Since October 1, 2026, Utah's LLC law is found in Title 16, Chapters 1a and 20 of the Utah Code instead of Title 48, Chapter 3a. The move kept the same fees, name endings, 120-day name reservation, registered agent duty and yearly renewal; the only changes a new LLC notices are that the renewal is due by the last day of the anniversary month and may be filed up to 60 days early, and that addresses in filings must be Utah street addresses. Utah has no Secretary of State; everything here runs through the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code in the Department of Commerce. The Business Registration System is the only online route for forming, reserving a name and renewing.

Does Utah have a franchise tax on an LLC?

No. Utah does not impose a franchise tax on LLCs (default pass-through entities). Only corporations pay Utah's corporate franchise/income tax, cut to 4.45% by S.B. 60 (2026), effective for tax years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2026.

How is an LLC taxed in Utah?

By default, an LLC is a pass-through entity: it pays no income tax itself, and the profits flow to the owners' personal returns. Utah has a state individual income tax with a top rate of 4.45% (flat brackets), so those profits are taxed on your Utah return on top of federal tax. Single flat rate of 4.45% applied to all Utah taxable income of a resident individual (UCA 59-10-104). No graduated brackets. Rate was cut from 4.5% to 4.45% by S.B. 60 (2026 General Session), signed by Gov. Cox, retrospective to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026 (this is Utah's sixth consecutive annual rate cut). A floor substitute of S.B. 60 briefly proposed a second bracket (5.15% on individual/estate/trust income over $1,000,000) but that provision was dropped before passage; the enrolled law keeps Utah fully flat.

An LLC can also elect to be taxed as an S-corp, which changes how owners pay self-employment tax. See LLC vs S-corp vs sole proprietorship and how self-employment tax works.