Register your business in Arizona

LLCs, corporations and nonprofit corporations register with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Limited partnerships file with the Secretary of State. Sole proprietors and general partnerships don’t register at all, though a trade name may be worth it.

What’s different in Arizona

• You may have to publish. Depending on your county, a new LLC or corporation publishes notice of its filing in a local newspaper within 60 days. Your approval letter says whether you must.
• A statutory agent is required at all times, and a business that goes without one can be administratively dissolved.
• LLCs file no annual report. Corporations do. Stay compliant has the dates.

Do this

1. Pick your structure. LLC, corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship. A sole proprietor or general partnership can skip to step 6.
2. Check the name on Arizona Business Center, under File, then Name, then Check Name Availability. It checks corporations, LLCs and trade names. Search the web and the federal trademark database too. Not ready to file? Reserve the name for 120 days ($10).
3. Choose a statutory agent, the person or company that accepts legal papers if the business is sued: you or another Arizona resident 18 or older, or a business with an Arizona address that’s authorized to do business here. The agent must accept the appointment; online, they accept from their own Arizona Business Center dashboard.
4. File on Arizona Business Center. The form and fee depend on your structure (below). Regular processing is typically 14 to 16 days. Expediting costs $35 more and takes typically 3 to 5 days. Next-day review is $100 extra and same-day $200; those guarantee a review by then, not an approval.
5. Publish if your approval letter says to, within 60 days. An LLC runs a notice with details from its articles in a newspaper of general circulation in its statutory agent’s county, three times in a row. A corporation publishes a copy of its articles of incorporation; for a corporation, the county that counts is that of its known place of business. Filing the newspaper’s affidavit with the Corporation Commission is optional; keep it with your records either way.
6. Register a trade name if you want one. It’s optional in Arizona. A trade name registered with the Arizona Secretary of State costs $10, lasts 5 years and protects the name against later corporation filings. An LLC or corporation that does business under another name can register one too.
7. Calendar the first deadlines. A corporation files an annual report every year. Anyone selling taxable goods or services needs a TPT license before starting. Stay compliant has the rest.

By structure

LLC

File Articles of Organization: $50 on the Corporation Commission’s fee schedule. Its FAQ lists $85 to file online, so check the total at checkout. Keep your operating agreement with the company’s records; the state doesn’t file it, but Arizona law requires the LLC to keep a copy.

Corporation

File Articles of Incorporation ($60) together with a Certificate of Disclosure, which names the officers, directors and major shareholders. S corp and C corp are federal tax choices you make afterward with the IRS, not separate state filings. Arizona does have special forms with their own rules: a professional corporation for licensed professional services, and a benefit corporation, which files an Annual Benefit Report on top of the annual report. Bylaws aren’t filed with the state.

Nonprofit

File Articles of Incorporation for a nonprofit corporation: $40. As with a corporation, 501(c)(3) status is a separate federal application to the IRS, not a state filing. The Corporation Commission warns that its nonprofit form meets only Arizona’s minimum and may not contain language the IRS requires, so read the IRS requirements before you file. Nonprofit corporations file an annual report too.

Partnership

A general partnership needs no state filing. A limited partnership files a certificate of limited partnership with the Arizona Secretary of State, not the Corporation Commission.

Sole proprietorship

No formation filing. If you don’t register another entity, you’re a sole proprietor automatically. A trade name is optional.

Formed in another state

An LLC or corporation formed elsewhere, such as in Delaware, registers with the Corporation Commission before doing business here and needs an Arizona statutory agent. An out-of-state LLC files a Foreign Registration Statement ($150); a corporation files an Application for Authority. Either way, include a certified copy of your formation documents, with any amendments, from your home state, and a certificate of existence from that state dated within 60 days of your Arizona application.

What you get back

An LLC, corporation or nonprofit gets an approval letter from the Corporation Commission, with instructions, including whether to publish. You’ll need the approved entity for your EIN and bank account. A trade name gets a certificate of registration from the Secretary of State, good for 5 years.