LLC advertising will drive sales to a business and increase its profit. However, there is a certain process to follow to make the most of the company's advertising. New York also has specific rules to follow when it comes to advertising the LLC, which are important to know.

What Is New York's Publication Requirement?

New York is one of only a few states that require LLCs that were recently formed to publicly announce their formation in two local newspapers once a week for six consecutive weeks. Even though there has been a decline in those who read newspapers and many challenge the requirement, it still stands.

The supposed goal of this requirement is to increase the number of limited liability companies notifying the public of their existence, but the statute isn't achieving its goal. More new companies are using a different business form or are forming their LLC in another state so they don't have to file an Application for Authority in order to do business in the state of New York.

What Is the Process?

There are several steps to follow in order to form a business in the state of New York.

  • Register the LLC with the New York Department of State.
  • Send in the New York Application for Authority or New York Articles of Organization by fax, online, mail, or in person.
  • Pay the fee of $200 (or $250 for foreign LLCs).

It typically takes seven business days to process the form plus the time it's in the mail. An extra fee can be paid for an expedited review when the filing is faxed. New York has rules in place that businesses that already registered or formed their LLC need to change who the registered agent is, or what the address is for service of process.

A publication needs to be made one time a week for six weeks in a row in two different newspapers within 120 days of the LLC being filed. One newspaper should be daily and the other should be weekly, and they need to be in the county where the LLC office is.

Rules for Publishing Notices

If the company doesn't choose which newspapers in which to publish, the County Clerk will designate them instead. The summary of the LLC's foreign qualification or articles of organization must be published. According to Section 206 of the New York LLC Law, the notice must include the following:

  • The date when the LLC was formed and filed
  • The main business location or physical street address
  • A statement saying that the New York Secretary of State is the agent for service of process
  • The name of the LLC
  • Which New York county the LLC office is in
  • The purpose of the business

Once the notice has been published for six weeks, each newspaper will give the company an Affidavit of Publication. This will be filed along with the Certificate of Publication and a $50 filing fee to be sent to the Department of State. The Certificate of Publication is a brief form and will be provided by the Department of State for the limited liability companies to use.

Be careful to check you are using the correct form, as there is a New York Certificate of Publication for both domestic and foreign LLCs. This will take about seven business days to process. While it's unclear what the exact reason is for the publication requirement, it's thought that the newspapers get a financial benefit out of the LLCs that publish their announcements in them. The County Clerk also keeps a list of newspapers that meet the strict requirements for publication and circulation.

The requirement for publishing forces an LLC who wants to do business in New York to pay a formation tax that is state mandated. This goes to a private print publication, who sets the price. For 24 hours, the public has access to the database that has information on every business in New York.

Periodicals are the only beneficiaries that LLCs in New York must pay in order to publish an ad that's fourteen lines. They will get two extra weeks of revenue.

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