Connecticut LLC Fees: What And How Much Are They?

Connecticut is home to over 200,000 unique businesses. With so many organizations out there, the business name you want may already be taken. Since you’re forming an LLC, you need to ensure that your organization includes “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” “LC,” or “L.C.” in its name. 

Also, your LLC can’t contain words like “trust,” “bank,” “insurer,” or “insurance company” (if you are any of these things, contact the Secretary of State’s office for more guidance), or any other title that’s misleading. You can’t use anything that implies that you’re a government entity, such as “FBI” or “FDA.”

Before you begin the filing procedure, check Connecticut’s business records search to see if your name is available. If it is, you can reserve it for 120 days while getting everything else for $60. Reserving your business name means you have exclusive rights to it, so no one else can use it and beat you to the punch. 

If your desired name is taken, don’t be disheartened. Sure, you’ll have to use a different business name on all of your legal paperwork (e.g., your articles of organization and operating agreement), but you don’t have to use it in everyday conversation. You can use a “Doing Business As” name instead and build brand recognition with an identity your friends, followers, and prospects will remember you by. The average cost of a DBA name in Connecticut varies from city to city but is usually around $10.

You’ll also want to make sure you’re not violating anyone’s trademark. While you may be able to register your LLC name with the Secretary of State, that doesn’t give you carte blanche to use it beyond signing legal and financial documents. For example, while “Fresh Crisp Apple LLC” may be available, you risk trademark infringement if you’re marketing your services using just “Apple.” 

Your statutory agent (also known as a registered agent) is a person or commercial entity responsible for receiving any legal documents and state notices on behalf of your LLC. Your statutory agent can be any person or entity with a physical address in Connecticut. However, they cannot just have a P.O. Box.

When your LLC is officially formed, its physical address becomes publicly available. For privacy reasons, many business owners use a commercial registered agent service instead. It won't cost you anything if you decide to keep your statutory agent in-house. If you want to work with a commercial registered agent service, their fees are typically around $125/yr.

Once you’ve selected your business name and statutory agent, you’re ready to file your certificate of organization (sometimes known as the articles of organization). You need to file these legal documents with the Secretary of State to form your LLC. While they sound official, they mostly just require you to fill out your organization’s basic information, including:

Double-check this document before you submit it. If you make any errors, you may be required to refile later. The filing fee for your certificate of organization is $120.

Connecticut’s main state-level license is its sales and use tax permit. If you’re operating a lodging house, hotel, or motel, are renting, selling, or leasing goods, or sell any kind of taxable service, you need a sales and use tax permit to do so. Even if you’re only making sales for one day, like at a trade show or flea market, you need to obtain a sales and use tax permit.

To get a permit, you’ll need to provide the following:

The filing fee for a sales and use tax permit is $100. If you have multiple locations, you’ll need a permit for each of them.

The state of Connecticut doesn’t require a general business license. However, some cities or counties may have business license requirements of their own, so check your local government website for more information. Also, certain occupations require specific licenses, permits, and registration forms. You can find a complete list on the Connecticut State’s Department of Consumer Protection page.

An operating agreement is a formal document that outlines your LLC's rules and regulations. In a way, it’s like your organization’s constitution. 

Organizations in Connecticut aren’t required to submit an operating agreement. However, we strongly recommend all businesses have one, even if you’re a single-member LLC with no intention of ever hiring an employee. 

Your operating agreement can make you think of your business in a whole new light and may require you to answer questions you weren’t already asking yourself—but should be!

You can refer to your operating agreement if you ever need to resolve a legal or financial dispute. Without one, these decisions may be left up to the courts, and their rulings might be in your or your organization’s best interest. 

Here are a few questions your operating agreement should answer:

Just in case, you should also create a plan outlining how to dissolve an LLC. No one wants to think that their business may fail, but it never hurts to have a plan if it does. 

Getting your LLC up and running requires some work on your end, but once it is, you don’t have too much to worry about besides remaining in good standing. To do this, you must comply with the local, state, and federal requirements. 

One of these requirements is to file your annual report. The information you need to include in this report is very similar to that of your certificate of organization. Your annual report costs $80 to file, and you file it online every year between January 1 and March 31.

Here’s the complete list of Colorado’s LLC fees and how often they’re due: