Learn the steps to form an LLC in Utah – from choosing your name to filing your Certificate of Organization. $1 + $59 state fee. Start today.
Start your U.S. business journey today. Form your company with confidence and let Brio handle the paperwork.
Filing fee: $59 (Certificate of Organization) — one of the lowest in the country
Processing time: Usually instant online through the state’s new Business Registration System; 2-3 weeks by mail (a $75 expedite exists but only matters for paper filings)
State agency: Utah Division of Corporations (businessregistration.utah.gov — the old OneStop portal was retired in 2024)
Annual renewal due: Your anniversary month each year — just $18, with a $10 late fee. Keep ignoring it and the LLC expires, with only a 2-year reinstatement window.
State tax rate: Flat 4.45% income tax on pass-through income (2026 — the sixth cut in six years) and 4.85% state sales tax, roughly 7.1-7.5% combined with local rates
Start your U.S. business journey today. Form your company with confidence and let Brio handle the paperwork.
Forming an LLC in Utah takes 5 steps: choose and check your business name, appoint a Registered Agent with a physical Utah address, file a Certificate of Organization through the state’s online Business Registration System, draft an operating agreement, and get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. The state filing fee is just $59.
Utah pairs one of the country’s most dynamic small-business economies with genuinely low costs: $59 to form, an $18-a-year renewal — among the cheapest anywhere — no franchise tax, and a flat income tax that has been cut six years running, sitting at 4.45% for 2026. Online filings through the state’s new registration system are typically approved instantly. An LLC gives you personal liability protection and pass-through taxation without the administrative overhead of a corporation.
One modernization note: Utah replaced its long-running OneStop portal in September 2024 — filings now go through businessregistration.utah.gov with a UtahID account, so ignore older guides pointing elsewhere. And while there’s no general state business license, nearly every Utah city requires a local one (home-based businesses with minimal impact are entitled to a fee-free version by state law), plus a free sales tax license from the Tax Commission if you sell taxable goods.
Unlike some states, Utah doesn’t require you to reserve your name before filing — you simply claim it when you file your Certificate of Organization. If you’re not ready to file yet, you can reserve a name for $22, which holds it for 120 days.
Your LLC name must be distinguishable from all names, reserved names, DBAs, and registered trademarks on the Division’s records, and must include a designator like “Limited Liability Company,” “Limited Company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” “LC,” or “L.C.” Utah is unusually explicit about banned words: an LLC name may not contain “association,” “corporation,” “incorporated,” “limited partnership,” or “L.P.” Check the state’s business search before you file.
Every Utah LLC must have a registered agent — a person or entity designated to receive legal notices and government documents on behalf of the business. The agent must be a Utah resident or an entity authorized to do business in Utah, with a physical street address in the state (a P.O. box doesn’t count), available during regular business hours.
You can serve as your own registered agent if you have a physical Utah address and can be there during business hours. Many business owners use a professional registered agent service instead — it keeps your personal address off public records and ensures someone is always available to receive documents.
The Certificate of Organization is the document that legally creates your Utah LLC — note the name; Utah doesn’t use “Articles of Organization.” You file it through the Business Registration System at businessregistration.utah.gov after creating a UtahID account. The fee is $59, and online filings are typically approved instantly, with a stated outside window of 2-4 business days. Mail filings take two to three weeks; a $75 expedite exists but is only worth paying on paper filings, since online is already immediate.
The Certificate must include your LLC’s name, its principal address, your registered agent’s name and Utah street address, and the organizer’s signature. Nothing exotic — no publication requirement, no notarization, no initial report. The system walks you through it in one sitting.
Utah doesn’t require you to file an operating agreement with the state, but you should have one. It’s the internal document that defines how your LLC is managed — who owns what, how profits are distributed, and how decisions get made. Without one, the default rules of Utah’s Revised Uniform LLC Act fill in the gaps, which may not reflect what you actually want.
Your operating agreement should specify whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed. In a member-managed LLC, all owners share day-to-day authority. In a manager-managed LLC, a designated manager handles operations while other members retain economic rights. A written agreement is the version that holds up when disputes arise.
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a 9-digit federal tax ID issued by the IRS. Your Utah LLC needs one to open a business bank account, hire employees, and file federal taxes. Applying online at irs.gov is free and issues your EIN immediately after you complete the application.
To use the IRS online application, the responsible party must have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), and the business must have its principal place of business in the United States. The IRS does not charge a fee for issuing an EIN.
Utah calls its annual report the Annual Renewal, and it’s about as light as compliance gets: $18, due during your LLC’s anniversary month, with a reminder notice sent ahead of time. Miss it and after a roughly 30-day grace period a $10 late fee applies while the company shows as delinquent; keep ignoring it and the LLC moves to expired status. Reinstatement costs $54 — but only within two years of expiration. After that, the entity and its name history are gone for good, and you’d start over with a new LLC.
Utah has no general state business license, but licensing lives at the city and county level — nearly every municipality requires a local license, though state law entitles low-impact home-based businesses to one without a fee. If you sell taxable goods or services, register free with the Utah State Tax Commission to collect sales tax: 4.85% state, with mandatory local additions bringing typical combined rates to about 7.1-7.5%. Profitable multi-member LLCs can also consider Utah’s optional pass-through entity tax election (4.45%, matching the personal rate) to preserve the federal SALT deduction — it must be elected by year-end.
The required Utah state fee is $59 to file the Certificate of Organization — among the lowest in the country — and the Annual Renewal after it is just $18 a year. Name reservation is optional at $22, and the $75 expedite is only worth considering for paper filings. There’s no additional state fee to get your EIN; the IRS issues EINs for free.
Yes. Utah allows a single person to form and own an LLC – this is called a single-member LLC. You can complete the Certificate of Organization yourself at businessregistration.utah.gov without an attorney — create a UtahID account, follow the domestic formation workflow, and approval is typically instant. You’ll still need a registered agent with a physical Utah address, but that can be yourself if you qualify.
No. Utah charges a $59 Certificate of Organization fee – that’s a required state fee you can’t avoid, though between that and the $18 renewal it’s one of the cheapest states going. What you can avoid is paying extra for formation help. We handle your Utah LLC filing for $1; you only pay the required state fees.
Yes, though Utah calls it the Annual Renewal: $18, due in your LLC’s anniversary month each year, with the state sending a reminder beforehand. The price makes it easy to dismiss — don’t. After the grace period a $10 late fee applies, then the LLC slides from delinquent to expired, and Utah’s reinstatement window is a hard two years at $54. Let it lapse past that and the company, its history, and its name protection are unrecoverable.
Yes, every Utah LLC is required to have a registered agent. A registered agent is a person or entity that receives legal notices and official government documents on behalf of your LLC. The agent must be a Utah resident or an entity authorized to do business in Utah, with a physical street address in the state — not a P.O. box — and be available during regular business hours. You can serve as your own registered agent or use a professional service.
The mistakes that come up most often are following outdated guides to the retired OneStop portal (filings moved to businessregistration.utah.gov in 2024), paying the $75 expedite on an online filing that would have been approved instantly anyway, and blowing past the two-year reinstatement window after letting the $18 renewal lapse — a permanent loss for want of a small fee. Filers also use banned words like “incorporated” or “association” in proposed names, assume no local license is needed because there’s no state one, and quote stale tax rates — Utah’s flat rate has changed every year and sits at 4.45% for 2026.
Usually instantly — online filings through the Business Registration System are typically approved the moment you submit, with a stated outside window of 2-4 business days. Mail filings take two to three weeks including transit, and that’s where the $75 expedited service (next-business-day handling) earns its keep. For online filers, there’s simply nothing to speed up.
Thinking about another state? Compare Wyoming, Delaware, Texas and Florida — or browse all 50 state guides.
From formation to compliance, we handle the details so you can focus on what you do best.
