Register your business in Connecticut

LLCs and corporations file with the Secretary of the State on Business.CT.gov¹. Limited liability partnerships file there too. A limited partnership files a certificate that is not an online form. A sole proprietorship has no formation filing. A name other than the legal name is a trade name, filed with the town clerk.

What’s different in Connecticut

The LLC report is not an anniversary filing. It is $80¹, filed after January 1 and before April 1 each year, and the first one is the year after the calendar year the LLC was formed or registered¹². A corporation’s report follows the anniversary month and costs $150².
You can be your own registered agent if you live in Connecticut. A company formed in another state may name the Secretary of the State.
A trade name is a town filing for $20¹⁸. The state uses the October 1, 2026 forms¹⁶, including for sole proprietors. It lasts five years from issuance¹⁹ and does not give exclusive rights to the name.
A professional service uses the same certificate, and the name has to say PLLC. Banks, listed utilities, and most insurers cannot form as an LLC.
A foreign stock corporation pays much more than a domestic one. Registration is $385, and the yearly report is $435⁹.

Do this

Pick your structure. LLC, corporation, nonprofit, partnership or sole proprietorship. A sole proprietor has no formation filing and can skip to the trade name if you need one. Pick an entity compares them.
Check the name in the Business Records Search. An LLC name must contain the words limited liability company, or the abbreviation L.L.C. or LLC. Limited may be abbreviated as Ltd., and company as Co. It must be distinguishable on the Secretary's records from names already on file¹². A corporation name must contain the word corporation, incorporated, company or limited, or the abbreviation corp., inc., co. or ltd., or another form the statute lists¹³. Search the web and the federal trademark database too. Not ready to file? A reserved name costs $60¹ and lasts 120¹⁵ days. The reservation form says the filing date is day 1.
Choose an agent. You can serve as your own agent if you are a Connecticut resident. Or appoint any Connecticut resident age 18 or older, or any other business entity registered with the Secretary that has a Connecticut address⁵. Changing the agent later is $50¹ for an LLC. The agent and the business name cannot be changed on the LLC annual report¹⁴.
File on Business.CT.gov. The fee depends on the structure, below. All annual reports must be filed online⁴. Expedited service is online only. It is not available for a paper form sent by mail¹. The fee pages do not print the expedited price.* Check the total before you pay. They also do not state a processing time for an ordinary filing.* Check the status in your account.
File a trade name if you use another name. An individual uses Trade Name Application (Persons)¹⁷; a business registered with the Secretary uses the business-organization application. Both go to a town clerk, not the Secretary. Details are below.
Calendar the first report. An LLC’s first report is the year after the calendar year the LLC was formed or registered¹². A domestic corporation files the organization and first report after the certificate of incorporation. Selling taxable goods means a sales permit before you collect tax: Get your tax IDs.

By structure

LLC

File a Certificate of Organization for $120. The filing includes the agent. The yearly report is $80¹.

The statute sets the window: file the report after January 1 and before April 1 each year. The first report is the year after the calendar year the LLC was formed or registered¹².

The annual report FAQ says there is no additional fee or penalty fee for filing late¹⁴. The current statute’s consequence for a missed LLC report is forfeiture, not a late fee: if the company is more than one year late on the annual report, the Secretary may notify it by email to the address on the Secretary's records. You then have three months from the notice to file the report, or the Secretary files a certificate of dissolution by forfeiture. The statute switched that notice from mail to email on January 1, 2025¹². The Secretary’s dissolution page still says the notice goes by mail to the principal business address on file. Once dissolved, the status is forfeited and the business name becomes available⁶.

Professional service

The fee list has one formation filing, the certificate of organization. It does not list a separate professional form. The statute still has rules. The name of an LLC formed on or after July 1, 2017, to render professional services must contain the words professional limited liability company, or the abbreviation P.L.L.C. or PLLC. The company may be formed to render professional services when each member is licensed to render that service, the company renders only that one type of service and services ancillary to it, and its Connecticut work is done through people licensed to do it. The company may also combine psychology with marital and family therapy, social work, nursing and psychiatry; medicine and surgery with occupational therapy, social work, and alcohol and drug counseling; or medicine and surgery with chiropractic. Licensed or certified alcohol and drug counselors can form only under the medicine-and-counseling combination¹².

An LLC may not be formed for the business of a Connecticut bank. It may not transact the business of a telegraph, gas, electric, electric distribution, or water company, or a cemetery corporation. It may not be formed as an insurance, surety, or indemnity company, unless it is an affiliate of a Connecticut insurer and the Insurance Commissioner authorizes the formation¹². The license for the profession is a separate step. If you are not sure your work is a professional service under that statute, check with a legal professional.

Corporation

File a Certificate of Incorporation for $250. Then file an Organization and First Report for $150. That report is filed after the certificate of incorporation, for a domestic stock or nonstock corporation, and it works as the first annual report. The yearly report is $150², due the last day of the anniversary month, and it can be filed up to one month ahead¹⁴. The FAQ says to look up the due date in the business search. The name must contain the word corporation, incorporated, company or limited, or the abbreviation corp., inc., co. or ltd., or another form the statute lists¹³.

S corporation status is a federal election. It does not change the Secretary of the State filings.

Nonprofit

File a certificate of incorporation for $50, then an organization and first report for $50. The yearly report is $50³. 501(c)(3) status is a separate application to the IRS. Past formation, the rest of this series is written for for-profit businesses.

Partnership

A limited partnership files a Certificate of Limited Partnership for $120. The certificate is not available as an online form¹⁰. The yearly report is $80⁴.

A limited liability partnership files a Certificate of Limited Liability Partnership for $120¹¹. The yearly report is $80⁴.

For both, the report is due the last day of the anniversary month, and it can be filed up to one month ahead¹⁴.

The LLC, corporation, LLP and limited partnership fee lists do not include a formation filing for a general partnership.* If you want a statement of partnership authority, check the fee on the forms page before you file one.

Sole proprietorship

No formation filing. A name other than your own is a trade name. Sales tax registration and any license your work needs still apply.

Trade name

The current state guide lists separate applications effective October 1, 2026. An individual or unregistered group uses Trade Name Application (Persons), for individuals, groups, unregistered associations, and governmental organizations¹⁷, and files in the town of the trade-name address. Pay $20 to the town clerk¹⁸. The application must be hand-signed and notarized by the town clerk or another notary¹⁶. Three or more individuals also use the addendum linked on the state guide.

An existing business on the Secretary’s records uses the 2026 business-organization form. It is for an active business organization on file with the Secretary, current on its annual reports. The state’s October 2026 guide says a Connecticut-formed business may file in either the town of its trade-name address or the town of its principal place of business. The 2026 form still says to file in the town of its business address on file with the Secretary.* For a business formed elsewhere, the state guide says the town of its trade-name address, or any Connecticut town if it has no physical presence in the state¹⁶. The 2026 form asks one with no physical presence in Connecticut to list the address of its principal place of business on the Secretary's record¹⁸; it does not name a filing town. Check the appropriate filing town with that town clerk before submitting. File in only one town.

A trade name lasts five years from issuance and does not give exclusive rights to the name. Under Public Act 26-81, trade names filed on or after October 1, 2026 may not contain LLC, Inc., Corp., PLLC, or other listed entity designators¹⁹. Use the current state form rather than the pre-October 2026 version.

Formed in another state

An LLC formed elsewhere files a Foreign Registration Statement for $120. The yearly report is $80⁸, in the same January-to-March window as a Connecticut LLC. The statute charges an LLC that does business here before it registers $300 for each month or part of a month, unless it registers with the Secretary of the State within 90 days of starting to do business in Connecticut¹². A foreign entity may use the Secretary of the State as its agent⁵. You can also appoint a Connecticut resident or a Connecticut-registered business.

A stock corporation formed elsewhere files an application for a certificate of authority for $385. That amount includes a license fee of $285. The yearly report is $435⁹, not the $150² a domestic stock corporation pays. Forming in another state covers the tradeoffs.

What you get back

An accepted certificate, and an account on Business.CT.gov where the report date is shown. You will need the accepted filing for your EIN and your bank. Any business can reinstate after an administrative dissolution and keeps its original formation date. After a voluntary dissolution, only an LLC or a limited partnership can reinstate⁷. Reinstatement costs 120 dollars, plus penalties and forfeitures, and an annual report for the current year¹². Stay compliant has the dates that come back every year.

Common questions

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Connecticut?

The Secretary of the State charges $120 to file a Certificate of Organization. A name reservation is $60 and lasts 120 days. The annual report is $80, and the first one is due the year after the calendar year the LLC was formed or registered.

How much does it cost to incorporate in Connecticut?

A domestic stock corporation pays $250 for the Certificate of Incorporation, then $150 for the Organization and First Report. The yearly report is $150. A corporation formed in another state pays $385 to register, and that total includes a $285 license fee.

Can I be my own registered agent in Connecticut?

You can serve as your own agent if you are a Connecticut resident. You can also appoint any Connecticut resident age 18 or older, or any other business entity registered with the Secretary that has a Connecticut address. A foreign entity may use the Secretary of the State as its agent.

Do I need a DBA in Connecticut?

A trade name is required if you operate under a name other than your own or your company's legal name. Individuals use Trade Name Application (Persons); active registered companies use the business-organization form. Both pay $20 to the town clerk. The application must be hand-signed and notarized by the town clerk or another notary. It lasts five years from issuance.

What happens if I miss the Connecticut annual report?

The annual report FAQ says there is no additional fee or penalty fee for filing late. If an LLC is more than one year late on the annual report, the Secretary can dissolve it by forfeiture. You have three months from the notice to file the report. Once dissolved, the status is forfeited and the business name becomes available.