What are the Arizona LLC requirements?

An LLC is also referred to as a ‘hybrid' business structure. This is due to the fact that it combines elements of limited liability partnerships and a corporation. An LLC business structure with a flexible organization gives its members limited liability and is privy to tax efficiencies. Tax efficiency is the effort made to reduce tax liability, especially when given numerous financial decisions.

For federal income tax purposes, an LLC may be grouped as:

Can an LLC choose a tax group?

The type and number of members determine whether an LLC can choose a federal tax group. Single member LLCs may elect to be grouped as an S corporation, C Corporation, or a sole proprietorship. Multi-member LLCs can elect to be taxed as an S corporation, a partnership, or a C corporation. Unless an LLC meets all the requirements applicable to S corporations, it may not be allowed to elect to be taxed as an S corporation.

An LLC owned by a married couple may be taxed as a partnership or sole proprietorship, despite being owned by two members. Either form of taxation may be selected by the couple. The IRS accepts the husband and wife's decision to be taxed as a partnership or sole proprietorship according to the IRS Revenue Procedure 2002-69.

LLCs are required to file the following:

  • Articles of Organization with a cover sheet to the Arizona Corporate Commission.
  • Manager/member structure attachment.
  • Statutory Agent Acceptance form and filing fee.

What are the costs for filing an LLC?

The necessary filing fee is $50, and all forms must include this fee. An additional $35 is required for expedited review in order for the article to be approved in three to five days by the ACC. The E-file Arizona LLC formation system, operated online by the Arizona Corporate Commission, is the fastest and easiest way to form an Arizona limited liability company.

A letter containing instructions related to the publication of the LLC formation is then sent to the statutory agent upon approval by the Corporate Commission. Arizona LLCs are given 60 days after formation to comply with the publication requirements. Your LLC will be dissolved or revoked upon failure to comply.

You must post a notice in an ACC approved newspaper if your LCC's address isn't in Pima County or Maricopa as indicated in the address details of the Articles of Organization. You are given 20 days to remedy the problem in case your Article of Organization is rejected by the Arizona Corporation Commission. There are no annual or additional Arizona LLC filing fees or taxes once you form your Arizona LLC, which is good news.

A lawyer in Arizona can help you with the process.

What is contained in an Articles of Organization?

The following information must be included in the Articles of Organization:

  • The LLC's name.
  • Business address.
  • Name, address, and signature of the Organizer.
  • Type of management, that is, member-managed or manager-managed.
  • Name of the registered agent or statutory agent, completed acceptance form, and the address.

Articles of Organization are submitted to the Corporate Commission by LLC registrants. When the documents are submitted, a $50 filing fee must be paid.

Same-day or next-day processing is unfortunately not available in Arizona. Documents usually take six to nine working days to be processed. Processing time is minimized to three to five working days if you choose the expedited services, which is an additional fee.

To eliminate the confusion that comes with LLC naming requirements, you need to ensure that your LLC name complies with the rules set up by your state for LLC names. 

Ideal LLC Names

  • A name describing your commodities.
  • A name that allows you to have a .org, .com, .biz, .info, or .net at the end.
  • A name that is easily memorable to your customers.

Any name is acceptable as long as it has a ‘Limited Liability Company' at the end. You can also choose from its variant abbreviations like LLC. or L.L.C. A licensed doctor or a lawyer needs to be part of the LLC in the case of restricted words like University, Bank, or Attorney, which need extra paperwork.

Words that would confuse your LLC name with a state or federal agency like the Secret Service, Treasury, or FBI are prohibited. The name should not infringe on a Federal Trademark. You can check the accessible databases of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to see if your desired LLC name infringes on a Federal Trademark.

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