Start an LLC in Montana
You can start a Montana LLC by filing Articles of Organization with the Montana Secretary of State for $35.
Use our free tool to do it yourself, or hire us and have your LLC filed with Privacy by Default® for $39. This includes a free domain name, web hosting, email address, phone line, brand protection, and a year of registered agent service.
Montana Articles of Organization
You can use our free tool to complete your Articles of Organization right here. Download, save, or print at any time. You can hire us to submit your Articles or do it yourself.
How To Form An LLC In Montana
A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a permanent public record. Starting one requires sharing personal information with the government, banks, landlords, vendors, and of course, customers. We provide free identity services to anyone who needs them—that’s a domain name, website, phone line, email address, and brand protection on day one. This helps protect your privacy and keep you in control of your intellectual property.
1. Name Your LLC
The name of your Montana LLC will appear on everything your business touches—from contracts and invoices to emails, social media accounts, and websites—so it carries both legal weight and long-term branding value. While it’s essential to comply with state naming regulations—such as including “LLC” and avoiding restricted or duplicate names—the bigger picture matters just as much.
Choose a name that reflects what you offer, feels natural to say, and is easy for customers to remember. From there, you can check if the name is available as a domain and doesn’t conflict with existing trademarks. A thoughtful name now can save you from confusion, rebranding, or missed opportunities later.
Find out whether your name is available by doing a business name search and trademark clearance search.
2. Register your Domain Name
An online presence is a key part of building a strong brand, so once you’ve confirmed your business name is available, it’s smart to check whether a matching—or at least complementary—domain name is also within reach. Even if launching a website isn’t at the top of your to-do list, securing your domain early helps protect your business identity and keeps your options open as your business grows.
If you’re on the fence, here are a few reasons to register your domain name sooner rather than later:
- Lock in a domain that matches your business name for consistent branding.
- Set the stage for a future website without having to rush the process.
- Create a professional, branded email address (like [email protected]).
- Prevent others from claiming a domain name that closely resembles your business name.
The best part? When you form your business with Northwest, you can secure a domain name of your choice right away. If you’re ready to build on that foundation, we also include email, web hosting with SSL security, and local phone service.
3. Appoint a Registered Agent
A registered agent accepts your legal mail, including official state communications and service of process. Appointing a registered agent for your business is required under Montana law.
Your Montana registered agent needs to:
- Maintain a physical address in Montana.
- Be available at that address during regular business hours.
- Accept legal correspondence on your business’s behalf and forward it to you right away.
When you hire Northwest as your registered agent in Montana, you get more than just the bare minimum. You also gain access to a range of business services and products—all built in-house—designed to help you build and maintain your business identity, both online and off.
4. File Articles of Organization
To form a Montana LLC, you must file Articles of Organization with the Montana Secretary of State and pay the $35 filing fee. Below, we list the information required.
Tip: All of the information on this form becomes part of the public record. If you want to keep more of your personal information private, you can hire a professional registered agent to file the forms for you. This allows you to keep information like your personal address off the public record. With over 25 years of experience, Northwest is a trusted partner for entrepreneurs who value stability, privacy, and long-term support.
Company Name
Remember to double check that the name is unique in Montana, or your Articles will be denied.
Duration
You must choose whether your LLC will be “At Will,” meaning there is no planned dissolution date, or “Term,” meaning you have a set date when you will dissolve your LLC. Most LLCs choose “At Will.”
Business Mailing Address
This is the address where you’ll receive Secretary of State notices. Your mailing address can be a P.O. box or street address, and it doesn’t need to be in Montana. When you hire us, we can put our address here.
Registered Agent Information
At minimum, your registered agent must list a physical Montana address on the public record and be available to accept legal mail during regular business hours Monday through Friday.
You can be your own registered agent if you want, but the downside is that you’ll have to use your own name and address on your Articles of Organization, which will be made public. The other option is hiring a registered agent service, like Northwest. This ensures that you can keep your own address private while still getting the protections of an LLC.
Member/Manager Information
Specify whether your LLC will be managed by its members (owners) or by managers. You’ll then need to list the names and addresses of all members (if member-managed) or managers (if manager-managed). Concerned about privacy? When you hire us to form your LLC, you can use our address in all address fields.
Liability Statement (Optional)
If any LLC members will be personally liable for LLC debts, you need to include a statement giving their consent. Most LLCs don’t need to do this.
Services Provided (For PLLCs Only)
If you are forming a PLLC (a type of LLC used by licensed professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants), you’ll need to state the services you plan to provide.
Organizer
Your company organizer is the person who files the Articles of Organization for your business. If you file yourself, you’ll need to include your name and signature here. If you hire us to form your business, we’ll be your organizer.
How do you file Articles of Organization?
Filing your Articles of Organization requires submitting your LLC paperwork to the Montana Secretary of State using the state’s online filing system. Standard processing costs $35, with optional $20 priority processing (24-hour) or $100 expedited service (one-hour).
You’ll first need to create an account to access filing forms and your approved documents. After creating an account, go to the “Forms” section, select “Articles of Organization” under “Limited Liability Companies,” and follow the filing instructions.
Tip: You’ll also use this account to file other Secretary of State forms, including MT articles of amendment and your annual report.
5. Create an Operating Agreement
An operating agreement is an internal document for your LLC that covers how the LLC operates. It explains how the LLC will do things like resolve disputes, allocate profits, and vote.
Since an operating agreement is an internal document, you don’t have to file a copy with the state. Legally speaking, the State of Montana does not require you to create an operating agreement at all. But if you don’t, your LLC will be subject to Montana’s default LLC laws, which give you less control over your company.
Tip: Writing an operating agreement isn’t something you can do in just a few minutes. So we had our attorneys draft an operating agreement for Montana, and you can customize it for free.
6. Get an EIN
Your LLC probably needs an EIN, or Employer Identification Number. An EIN is a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS to your business. An EIN is necessary to pay taxes, as well as to do things like apply for loans and open bank accounts. Listing your EIN on forms is also more secure than listing your personal social security number.
You can apply for an EIN via the IRS website. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of doing that, you can hire us to obtain an EIN for you.
7. File the Annual Report
All LLCs operating in Montana must file the Montana annual report. The report can be filed online—just be sure to log into your Online Business Services account so that you can make any necessary updates to your LLC and retrieve your filed copy.
The state has generously waived annual report filing fees since 2024 and continues to do so. Just be sure to submit your report by the April 15 deadline. If you file late, you’ll have to pay the full $35 filing fee, which includes the $20 standard fee plus a $15 late fee.
If you’re worried about missing the deadline, hire us for annual report filing and never miss a deadline. Registered agent service includes enrollment in our Renewal Filing service. We’ll send reminders before your annual report is due and then file for you for $100 + state fees. If you decide to file on your own, you can cancel with one click in your client portal.
Learn about other Montana LLC costs.
8. Get a Business Bank Account
You’ll want to keep a barrier between your personal finances and business finances. If you fail to do so, a court could find that you aren’t legally separate from your LLC. To avoid such a scenario, you must open a business bank account. When you head to the bank to open your account, you’ll want to bring your operating agreement, EIN, and an LLC Resolution to Start a Bank Account.
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