LLC paperwork Arizona includes preparing and filing of formation documents such as the name reservation form, articles of organization, cover letter, registered agent acceptance form, and operating agreement as well as other periodic returns such as tax returns and annual returns.

Why Form an LLC in Arizona

Before you decide to form an Arizona LLC, you should be sure that LLC is a viable structure for your business. An LLC is a flexible organization. It offers the benefits of favorable tax treatment and limited liability protection.

An LLC can have individuals, corporations, and other limited liability companies as its members. It can have any number of members. Arizona does not restrict an LLC on having foreign entities as its members.

Registering an LLC in Arizona

To form an LLC in Arizona, you must file the articles with the Corporate Commission. The articles of organization must be accompanied by the following documents:

  • A cover letter
  • An attachment setting out the member-manager structure
  • Acceptance of the registered agent in Form M002
  • Stipulated filing fee

For preparing articles of organization, Arizona has a preprinted form of two pages. You just need to give information in the blank spaces to complete it.

You must include the following items in the articles of organization:

  • Name of the LLC
  • Name and address of your registered agent
  • Official address of the LLC
  • Whether the LLC would be managed by members or a manager
  • Organizer's name and address as well as his signature

When you file the articles of organization, make sure you retain a copy for your own record. You can keep it in the company file.

Upon approval of your LLC, the Corporate Commission will send a letter to your registered agent instructing to publish a notice of LLC formation. You must publish the notice as per instructions given in the letter.

Your LLC comes into existence from the date of filing of articles of organization. However, the articles can also set forth a later date on which the LLC would come into effect.

Naming Your Arizona LLC

The Arizona Corporation Commission has certain rules and standards for accepting an LLC name. The name of your LLC must be distinguishable from that of other businesses entities and trade names registered in the state of Arizona.

The name of your LLC must end with “Limited Liability Company” or its abbreviation such as L.L.C. or LLC. It must not include prohibited words that would confuse your LLC's name with a government agency such as FBI, Treasury, and Secret Service.

If the name of your LLC contains any restricted words such as bank, attorney, or university, you may need to have a licensed person (doctor, lawyer, etc.) as a member of your LLC.

To ensure your LLC name is unique and distinguishable, you should perform a name availability search before filing your articles of organization.

If the name is available, you can apply to reserve the name for exclusive use by your LLC, using the same form applicable for corporate names. The application must be accompanied with a filing fee of $10. You can reserve a name for 120 days.

If the proposed name of your LLC is similar to an existing trade name in Arizona, you must submit an LLC name reservation transfer notice duly signed by the trade name holder.

The standard processing time for LLC documents in Arizona is six to nine working days. You can opt for expedited services by paying an additional fee, in which case, the processing is done within three to five working days. Note that there is no option for same-day or next-day processing.

LLC Operating Agreement

If your LLC has more than one member, you should execute an operating agreement between the members.

An LLC operating agreement sets out the terms and procedures for governing the LLC and usually includes the following items:

  • Roles and responsibilities of members
  • Voting rights of members
  • Provisions for managing the business
  • Provisions for admission and removal of members
  • Provisions for dissolution of the LLC
  • Provisions for amending the existing operating agreement

Assigning a Registered Agent

You must assign a registered agent for receiving legal notices and communications on behalf of your LLC. The agent must accept the assignment in writing, usually by completing and signing an acceptance form. You can appoint any of the following entities as your statutory agent:

  • A resident individual of Arizona
  • An LLC or a corporation formed or authorized to do business in Arizona

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