Domestic LLC Formation Filing Requirements in Missouri

At a glance

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)