Arizona LLC Fees: How Much Do They Cost?

Arizona is home to more than 550,000 small businesses, so you’ll want to make sure your desired business name is still available. Go to the State of Arizona’s government website and conduct a business entity name search. If it’s available, you can reserve your business name for $45 ($10 filing fee plus $35 expediting fee), and it’s effective for 120 days. 

You don’t have to reserve your business name, but you probably should. If another company reserves a name comparable enough without your knowledge, it can cause a real headache. Most business owners find that spending $45 to reserve their name is great for peace of mind. 

According to AZCC.gov, the expedited fee gets charged automatically because you’ll obtain your name reservation immediately. However, if you don’t want to pay the $35 fee, you can “submit a paper Application to Reserve Corporation Name or an Application to Reserve Limited Liability Company Name.” 

As an LLC, your organization must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” “LC,” or “L.C.” as part of its name. In Arizona, you cannot include the words “corporation,” “incorporated,” “association,” or an abbreviation of any of these words. 

You should also use the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) database to make sure your business name is available here as well. If another company uses that name, you risk infringing its existing trademark. 

Business owners commonly use their LLC’s name to establish name recognition. However, if you prefer to use a different name during everyday conversation, you can also get a “Doing Business As” (DBA) name. The filing fee for an Arizona DBA name is $10.

Also, look up your business name’s URL availability. If another business uses that domain name, it may be harder for customers to find you online.

The term “articles of organization” may sound intimidating, but they aren’t. These are the legal documents that detail basic information about your LLC. To complete your articles of organization, you will need to provide the following information:

You probably know most of this information already, but double-check just to make sure. If you fill your articles of organization out incorrectly, you may run into legal trouble down the road. 

The filing fee for your articles of organization is $50, or $85 for expedited service.

Your operating agreement is a document that outlines the rules and regulations of your organization. Even though Arizona doesn’t require LLCs to have one, all businesses should—regardless of their size or structure. Even if you’re a single-member LLC and have no employees, an operating agreement is a good business practice. 

If you end up in a legal or financial dispute and you don’t have an operating agreement that defines how things should be run, it may be decided by the courts. That may not be beneficial for anyone involved or for the LLC itself. 

Your operating agreement should include:

Operating agreements cost $0 to draft. However, some websites will offer to help you draft one for $50 - $200. You can also ask for an attorney’s help, but they’ll likely charge more.

Your statutory agent (sometimes called a registered agent) is a person or commercial entity responsible for receiving and handling legal, government, and other correspondence on behalf of your LLC. They need to have a physical address in Arizona, not just a P.O. Box. 

When you become an official LLC, this physical address gets made public knowledge. For that reason, many businesses choose to use a commercial entity as their statutory agent for additional privacy. If you choose someone in your organization to be your statutory agent, it’s free. However, if you decide to work with a statutory agent service, you can expect to pay about $125 per year.

Good news! You don’t need an official business license in the state of Arizona. However, some cities and towns in Arizona may require you to obtain one of their business licenses in order to operate in their municipality. Check with the city or town you’re conducting business in to determine their requirements. This cost will vary.

In Arizona, you must register for a sales tax permit in every location you’re conducting business in. The state charges $12 for each permit, and then counties charge between $2 and $50 for local sales tax permits. These licenses are valid for one calendar year and must be renewed annually by January 1st. 

You need to include:

Depending on the situation, you may also need to provide employee information, unemployment tax information, and bonding requirements.  

Arizona is one of the three states that requires you to announce your LLC formation in a local newspaper. Nebraska and New York are the only other two states that require this. Typically, this announcement should cost you between $60 and $300. 

Good news! While Arizona requires you to publish your LLC formation in a local paper, you don’t have to pay annual fees in the Grand Canyon state. This is a huge cost savings, especially compared to some states. For instance, Massachusetts LLC fees are $500 every year, while Tennessee LLC fees are $300 plus an additional $50 for each partner or owner up to $3,000!

Here’s the full breakdown of Arizona’s LLC fees and how often you should expect to pay them: