Forming a limited liability company in Arizona is straightforward once you know what the Arizona Corporation Commission actually requires. The state filing fee is $50, standard processing runs 5-10 business days, and Arizona is one of the lowest LLC filing fees in the country with no recurring state fee for the LLC itself. This page walks through every step, the real costs involved, and where we fit in.
An LLC — limited liability company — is a business entity registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission that separates your personal assets from your business liabilities. If the business gets sued or runs into debt, your personal bank account, home, and other assets are generally protected, as long as you've kept the LLC and your personal finances properly separated.
In Arizona, LLCs are the most common entity type for small businesses, freelancers, real estate investors, and side-hustle operators. They give you liability protection without the paperwork and governance overhead of a corporation. Taxes pass through to the owners' personal returns by default, which keeps things simple.
Here's the straight money breakdown:
Important Arizona-specific notes: No annual report or franchise tax required. $35 for expedited (non-same-day) processing. Filed with Arizona Corporation Commission, not Secretary of State.
Once you've formed your Arizona LLC, there's no annual state report to file. Arizona doesn't require a recurring filing from standard LLCs — you just keep your agent on file and handle federal and state tax obligations separately.
Your LLC name needs to include "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." somewhere in it. It also has to be distinguishable from every other business name already on file with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Before you get attached to a name, search the state's business entity database to make sure it's available.
Avoid anything that suggests your LLC is a bank, insurance company, or government agency unless you actually are one — Arizona (and every other state) takes that seriously.
Arizona requires every LLC to have a statutory agent with a physical street address in the state. This person or company accepts legal documents, tax notices, and official correspondence on behalf of your LLC. You'll list the statutory agent name and address on your Articles of Organization, and that address goes on the public record.
Arizona does not let you serve as your own statutory agent in the traditional sense — the state sets specific rules about who can act in that role. A professional statutory agent satisfies those requirements while also keeping your address off public records.
This is the actual formation step. You file Articles of Organization — sometimes called a Certificate of Formation — with the Arizona Corporation Commission and pay the $50 filing fee. The document includes your LLC name, principal address, statutory agent name and address, management structure (member-managed or manager-managed), and the names of organizers.
Most states now offer online filing through the Arizona Corporation Commission website (https://azcc.gov/corporations). Online filing is faster and usually a few dollars cheaper than mailing paper.
Standard processing in Arizona takes approximately 5-10 business days. Need it faster? Expedited processing costs $200 and typically drops the turnaround to Same day.
Arizona does not require you to file an operating agreement with the state, but you should absolutely have one. It's the internal rulebook for your LLC: who owns what percentage, how profits are split, how decisions get made, what happens if a member wants out. Banks will often ask for it when you open a business account. Courts look at it if there's ever a dispute. And if you don't have one, Arizona's default rules apply — which may or may not match what you actually want.
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the federal tax ID for your LLC. You need one to open a business bank account, hire employees, and file federal taxes. It's free to get — apply directly at IRS.gov and you'll typically receive your EIN immediately.
Never pay a third-party service to get you an EIN. The IRS application takes about ten minutes.
Forming the LLC is just the start. To keep it in good standing with the Arizona Corporation Commission, you need to:
Miss the statutory agent requirement or fail to handle required state tax filings, and the Arizona Corporation Commission can administratively dissolve the LLC. You lose the liability protection until you bring things current.
Every Arizona LLC needs a statutory agent — there's no way around it. The statutory agent has to:
Most people form an LLC to protect themselves — their home address, their privacy, their weekends. Listing your own address as the statutory agent undoes a lot of that protection. It becomes public record. Anyone can look it up. Process servers show up there. Marketers mail there.
We handle this for $99/year. Our Arizona address goes on your filings instead of yours. When documents arrive, we scan them and forward them to you the same day. You get compliance reminders ahead of state deadlines. And you can keep your actual address off the public record where it belongs.
The state filing fee to form an LLC in Arizona is $50. That's one of the lowest LLC filing fees in the country. There's no recurring annual report fee on top of that.
Standard processing runs 5-10 business days. If you pay $200 for expedited service, you can usually get to Same day.
No. Arizona does not require an annual report for standard LLCs. This is one of a small number of states with this rule.
Yes. Every LLC registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission is required to maintain a statutory agent with a physical Arizona address. This is true from the moment you file your formation documents and remains true for as long as the LLC exists.
Yes. You don't have to be an Arizona resident to form an Arizona LLC. You do, however, need a statutory agent with a physical Arizona address — which is exactly what we provide for $99/year.
You can form your Arizona LLC yourself by filing directly with the Arizona Corporation Commission. The forms are available at https://azcc.gov/corporations, and the state fee is $50. What you can't skip is the statutory agent requirement — every LLC needs one.
We're the statutory agent service you can put on your Arizona LLC formation documents today. Just $99/year, Arizona address on your public filings, same-day document forwarding, and ongoing compliance alerts so you never miss a deadline.
Get Started — $99/year
Questions about forming an LLC in Arizona or how our statutory agent service works? Check our FAQ page or reach out Monday through Friday.