Register your business in Michigan

LLCs, corporations, nonprofits and limited partnerships register with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division. Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not file there. A business that trades under a name other than its legal name needs an assumed name certificate, and where you file it depends on your structure.

What’s different in Michigan

• Annual filings are online only. The MiBusiness Registry Portal went live on June 23, 2025, and annual reports and annual statements must be filed online; paper is no longer accepted.
• An LLC files an annual statement, a corporation an annual report. The LLC’s is due February 15 for $25 through September 30, 2027, then $15 under the statute. The corporation’s is due May 15 for $25 if it is on time. Stay compliant has the dates and the cost of being late.
• Assumed names split three ways. Sole proprietors and partnerships file with the county clerk of the county or counties where the business operates. LLCs and corporations file with LARA, at different fees. A LARA certificate runs 5 years, expiring December 31 of the fifth full calendar year after filing; renewable in 5-year periods.
• An LLC can lose its name without disappearing. The rule: after 2 straight years of missed statements and 60 days past LARA's notice, the LLC is not in good standing and its name becomes available to others, though it still exists.

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. Some professions must form a professional service LLC or corporation: dentists, osteopathic physicians, physicians, surgeons, clergy and attorneys.
2. Check the name on the MiBusiness Registry Portal. An LLC name must be distinguishable in LARA's records from other registered, reserved and assumed names. A corporate name must be distinguishable in LARA's records from other corporate, nonprofit, LP and LLC names, and may not imply a purpose the articles do not allow. LARA suggests you wait until the articles are filed before ordering signs, business cards and stationery. Not ready to file? You can reserve a name until the end of the sixth full calendar month after the month the application is filed: $25 for an LLC name, $10 for a corporate name.
3. Choose a resident agent. For an LLC, that is a Michigan resident individual, or a business entity with a business office at the registered office. For a corporation, it is a Michigan resident whose business office or residence is the registered office, a domestic corporation or LLC, or a foreign corporation or LLC authorized in Michigan with a business office at the registered office. The agent accepts legal process, notices and demands served on the company. LARA’s resident agent page has the details.
4. File on the portal. Start at the Corporations Division page and file the form for your structure (below). The fee is on the fee schedule. LARA posts current review times as a “processed through” date on its Business Entity Search. The wait for a new formation filing is not on a page we could read.* Check the official source for today’s wait. Need it faster? Expedited review is available: $50 for 24 hours, $100 for the same day, $500 for two hours or $1,000 for one hour. These are added to the filing fee, and expedited fees are nonrefundable and go to the department.
5. Order a certificate of good standing if your bank wants one. It costs $10 from LARA.
6. File an assumed name certificate if you use another name. A sole proprietor or partnership files with the county clerk where the business operates. MCL 445.1 sets a $6 filing fee and MCL 445.3 a $10 indexing and filing fee that includes two certified copies. Under MCL 445.1, a charter county with more than 2,000,000 people may set a different filing fee by ordinance, so check the total with the clerk. The law also says the county clerk may refuse a name that misleads the public or is too close to one already filed in the county. An LLC or a corporation files Certificate of Assumed Name, Form CSCL/CD 541 with LARA: $25 for an LLC, $10 for a corporation. A limited partnership also files with LARA ($10). The state law is MCL 445.1 for the county filing, and it sets no expiration for a county certificate.* Ask the county clerk whether yours must be renewed.
7. Calendar the first deadlines. An LLC’s first annual statement is due February 15 of the year after formation, or of the year after that if formed after September 30. A corporation’s first annual report is due May 15 of the year after the corporation is formed. Selling taxable goods means a sales tax license before your first sale: Get your tax IDs.

By structure

LLC

File Articles of Organization, Form CSCL/CD-700 ($50). The articles fee is waived when veterans will hold a majority of the initial membership interests. The name must include “limited liability company”, “L.L.C.” or “L.C.” and may not include “corporation”, “incorporated”, “corp.” or “inc.”. The LLC then files an annual statement every year by February 15, $25 through September 30, 2027, and $15 after that date under the current statute. LARA’s fee schedule still lists the higher figure, so check the total when you file. A professional LLC also files an annual report with a $50 fee; LARA’s fee schedule lists $75 for a professional LLC’s annual filing.

Corporation

File Articles of Incorporation, Form 500. The filing fee is $10, plus an organization fee based on authorized shares that starts at $50 for up to 60,000 authorized shares and rises with more shares. The fee schedule shows the tiers, so check the total when you file. The name must end in "Corporation", "Incorporated", "Company", "Limited" or "Corp.", "Ltd.", "Inc." or "Co.". The corporation files an annual report by May 15 each year, starting the year after it is formed, listing the corporation's resident agent and registered office, and the names and addresses of its president, secretary, treasurer and directors. Under Michigan law, the penalty for neglect is automatic dissolution 60 days after two years of unfiled reports or unpaid fees. S corp and C corp are federal tax choices made with the IRS, not state filings.

Nonprofit

File Articles of Incorporation - Non-Profit (Form 502) ($20). The annual report is $20 and is due October 1. First report: October 1 of the year after formation, if formed between January 1 and September 30. Most charitable nonprofits also register with the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Section. Federal 501(c)(3) status is a separate IRS application.

Partnership

A general partnership files no formation document; partners using a business name file an assumed name with the county clerk. A limited partnership files a Certificate of Limited Partnership (Form 401) ($10), and a registered limited liability partnership files an Application to Register LLP (Form 800) ($100). The county assumed name law excludes corporations and limited partnerships; a limited partnership files its Certificate of Assumed Name with LARA ($10).

Sole proprietorship

No formation filing. If you do not register another entity, you are a sole proprietor automatically. A business name other than your own legal name means an assumed name certificate with the county clerk ($6 filing fee plus the $10 indexing fee, unless your county sets its own). Sales tax registration and any license your work needs still apply.

Formed in another state

An LLC or corporation formed elsewhere applies for authority before doing business in Michigan. A foreign LLC files a Certificate of Authority to Transact Business in Michigan (Form 760) ($50) and then files the same annual statement a Michigan LLC does. A foreign corporation files an Application for Certificate of Authority (Form 560) ($60), with a good standing certificate from the home jurisdiction, dated no more than 30 days before filing. Forming in another state covers the tradeoffs.

What you get back

Your filed articles become part of the public record, searchable on the portal. You will need them for your EIN and your bank account. Be careful with mail about your filing: LARA warns of fraudulent calls, texts, emails and letters that impersonate LARA staff and ask for payment or personal information. A LARA assumed name certificate is recorded for 5 years, expiring December 31 of the fifth full calendar year after filing; renewable in 5-year periods, and it gives no exclusive right to the name.