Start an LLC in Oklahoma
Use our free business tools below to complete your Oklahoma LLC Articles of Organization. This is the document you file directly with the Oklahoma Secretary of State to form your LLC.
If you want more, hire us to form your LLC in Oklahoma for just $39 + state fees. We’ll get your business stood up in minutes with a free domain, website, email, business phone, and more.
How to Create an LLC in Oklahoma
To start an LLC in Oklahoma, you’ll need to follow these three steps: name your business, appoint a Oklahoma registered agent, and file Oklahoma Articles of Organization, along with a $100 filing fee. In order to keep your LLC legal and running smooth you’ll need to get an EIN, open business bank account, and draw up an LLC operating agreement, among other things.
Our guide offers easy-to-follow instructions on how to start, run, and maintain your Oklahoma LLC.
1. Name Your LLC
For your first order of business, you need a business name. You can name your LLC pretty much anything you want, as long as it follows Oklahoma’s naming rules. Basically, your LLC name must:
- Contain an indicator like “limited liability company” or “LLC.”
- Be unique among approved business names in Oklahoma.
- Not include words or abbreviations that make it sound like the LLC is another kind of entity, like “corp” or “limited partnership.”
Check Oklahoma’s Business Entity Search page to make sure no other business is already using your preferred name. If you’re not ready to form your LLC, Oklahoma allows you to put a hold on the name by filing an Application for Reservation of a Name. It costs $10 and you can file online or by mail. Your name reservation will be good for 60 days.
Any name you operate your LLC under that isn’t its legal name is a DBA (doing business as). Oklahoma refers to DBAs “trade names,” and it costs $25 to get one. To register your Oklahoma DBA you’ll need to file a Trade Name Report with Oklahoma’s SOS.
We show you how to get a Oklahoma DBA for your business.
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2. Designate a Registered Agent
Oklahoma state law (18 OK Stat § 18-1022) requires every LLC to have an Oklahoma registered agent. This can be you, someone you know, or you can hire a professional registered agent service. The important part is that your registered agent needs to have a local street address and agree to accept legal mail on behalf of your business. Note: You need a registered agent before you start filling out your Oklahoma Articles of Organization.
- Keep regular business hours (9am to 5pm) at a physical address (no PO boxes) in Oklahoma.
- Accept legal mail and correspondence from Oklahoma’s Secretary of State.
Learn about the benefits of hiring a registered agent service.
You sure can, but think twice before you do. Acting as your own registered agent means that your name and address will become part of Oklahoma’s public record. When you hire Northwest, we’ll list our business address on all allowed public filings, helping to keep your personal info away from scammers, spammers, and disgruntled people with a bone to pick.
Yes. To change your Oklahoma registered agent you’ll need to file a Notice of Change of Registered Agent form with the Oklahoma Secretary of State. The form costs $35 to file, and you can submit it by mail, in person, or online.
3. Submit LLC Articles of Organization
Your Oklahoma Articles of Organization are what legally creates your Oklahoma LLC. When the form is completed, you’ll submit it to the Oklahoma Secretary of State online, by mail, or in person.
Note: All of the information on this form will become part of the public record.
Provide the following information about your LLC in order to successfully fill out the articles:
- Company name. Include “Limited Liability Company” or an abbreviation like “LLC.”
- Principal office. List your street address in Oklahoma (no PO Boxes).
- Business email. This is where the Secretary of State will send notifications.
- Registered agent and office. List the name and street address of your Oklahoma registered agent.
- Term of existence. List your term of existence as “perpetual,” unless you want the LLC to expire on a certain date.
- Executor. The person you authorize to form and file your Oklahoma LLC Articles of Organization. This doesn’t need to be someone within your LLC.
$100. If you file online or in person and pay with a credit card, you’ll be on the hook for an added 4% service charge.
Online filings take up to two days after the state receives them, while mailed filings take about seven business days (add time for mailing). In a hurry? Hand deliver your paperwork to the Secretary of State’s office, pay an extra $25, and get your LLC approved in one hour.
Oklahoma allows you to file your Articles of Organization online, by mail, or in person.
Mail and in person filings:
Secretary of State
421 NW 13th Street
Suite 210
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
Online filings:
Oklahoma Business Services
Simple, hire us and we’ll list our business address any place we can on your formation documents. This will help to keep your address private, and is the most effective way to guard your privacy when forming an LLC.
Your Oklahoma LLC Is Formed. What's Next?
4. Write an LLC Operating Agreement
Your LLC’s operating agreement is the backbone of your business. Your operating agreement spells out financial contributions, management roles, voting rights, and other responsibilities expected of LLC members. Without an operating agreement, a court may view your LLC as a sole proprietorship or partnership, which could jeopardize the LLC’s liability protection.
Use our free Oklahoma LLC Operating Agreement template or hire a lawyer to draw one up for you.
No. Oklahoma does not require an operating agreement. You won’t have to file it with the state, but you will want to get it in writing and keep an official copy with all of your other important LLC documents. Your operating agreement will help you resolve any internal disputes that may arise. Plus, you’ll likely need an operating agreement in order to open a bank account for the LLC.
You can find a general list of what operating agreements usually cover in 18 OK Stat § 18-2012.2, but at its most basic, your agreement should address:
- initial funding of the LLCs
- distribution of profits and losses
- voting rights, decision-making powers, and management
- transfer of membership interest
- dissolving the business
Yes. You might not need an operating agreement to navigate a disagreement with yourself, but you’ll need an operating agreement to open a bank account and to help maintain your LLC’s limited liability.
5. Get an EIN, Bank Account & Funding
Now that your LLC is operational, you’ll want to get an EIN (unless you’re a single-member LLC and don’t mind using your social security number to do business), open a business bank account, and fund your LLC.
Opening a business bank account is important for a few reasons. For starters, using a personal bank account to make and accept payments from customers or vendors just doesn’t look professional. More importantly, keeping your personal finances separate from your business finances bolsters your liability protection, and protects your personal assets from being used to satisfy any business debts in the event a lawsuit or bankruptcy.
Banks have different requirements for opening business accounts, but here’s what you’ll most likely need in order to open a business bank account:
- a copy of your Oklahoma Articles of Organization
- your LLC’s EIN
- LLC operating agreement
- if your LLC has multiple members, an LLC Resolution to Open a Bank Account
The easiest way to fund the LLC is for each member to make an initial financial contribution to the LLC’s bank account. The percentage of the business that each member of the LLC owns can be reflected on the LLC’s capital contribution agreement and recorded on a membership certificate. For example, if a four member LLC has each member contribute $10,000, they’d each have a 25% membership interest in the LLC.
6. File Taxes & Reports
Here’s a few more things you’ll need to be aware of in order to successfully run and maintain your Oklahoma LLC.
- Taxes: LLCs in Oklahoma with default tax classification are taxed as pass-through entities. This means that profits “pass through” the LLC itself and are distributed to the owners (members), who then report the profits as earnings on their personal tax filings. Profits are subject to the federal self-employment tax rate (15.3%).
- Annual Reports: Oklahoma calls its annual report an “annual certificate.” Oklahoma’s Annual Certificate keeps the state updated on important information like the LLC’s contact information and if the names of the LLC members. The report costs $25 to file, and is due every year on the date your LLC was officially formed. If remembering due dates and extra paperwork doesn’t sound like your jam, we’ll gladly file your annual report for you.
- BOI Report: Most Oklahoma LLCs need to complete an additional filing at the federal level. This is a new requirement as of 2024 called the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report. The BOI Report requires you to disclose identifying information about your company applicant and all beneficial owners to FinCEN. You can hire us to file the BOI report for you.
Yes. Your reports is due every year. If you forget to file, your LLC may lose its good standing with the state and might even be dissolved.
Oklahoma LLCs are taxed as pass-through entities by default. This means that profits and losses “pass through” the business and are distributed to the members as income. LLCs can also elect to be taxed as S-Corps or C-Corps if they choose.
Learn more about S-Corp vs LLC tax designation.
You can file the BOI report online for free using the BOI E-Filing System, or hire us to file your BOI report.
If any information on your company’s BOI Report changes, such as the name of the LLC, its members or address, you must file an updated report within 30 days. Updating reports can be done through the BOI E-Filing System for no charge.
Yes, there are 23 classes of exemption from the BOI Report, including (but not limited to):
- Large operating companies
- Most financial companies, such as banks and credit unions
- Investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Insurance companies registered with a state or federal agency
- Public utilities companies registered with a state or federal agency
- Tax-exempt entities
*This is informational commentary, not advice. This information is intended strictly for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. This information is not intended to create, nor does your receipt, viewing, or use of it constitute, an attorney-client relationship. More information is available in our Terms of Service.
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