How to Start an LLC in Mississippi

Mississippi made LLC formation cheap, and it made it digital a long time ago. The document that creates your company is the Certificate of Formation, the state fee is $50, and the filing happens inside the Secretary of State's online portal at corp.sos.ms.gov. That is the entire system. The state retired paper filings around 2013, so there is nothing to download, print, or mail.

Two vocabulary points before the steps, because they trip people up:

• Mississippi says "Certificate of Formation," not "Articles of Organization." Most states use the Articles label. Mississippi's LLC Act does not: under Miss. Code Ann. § 79-29-201, "a certificate of formation must be signed and delivered to the Office of the Secretary of State." A guide telling you to file Mississippi Articles of Organization was written for a different state.
• F0100 is a filing-type code, not a form. The SOS fee schedule lists the Certificate of Formation as filing type F0100 at $50, with the fee set by Miss. Code Ann. § 79-29-1203(1)(d). Codes like this identify filing types inside the portal. They are not paper forms you can request or download.

Why an LLC in Mississippi

A limited liability company puts a legal wall between the business and your personal assets. If the company is sued or takes on debt it cannot pay, your house and personal accounts are generally out of reach, provided you keep company money and personal money separated. Profits pass through to your personal return by default, so there is no corporate-level tax filing unless you elect one. For most Mississippi small businesses, that combination is exactly the right amount of structure.

Steps to Form Your Mississippi LLC

1. Choose a name the state will accept. The name must contain "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." and must be distinguishable from every entity already on record with the Mississippi Secretary of State. Run a search in the state's business database before you commit to logos or domains, and steer clear of words implying you are a bank, insurer, or government body unless you are one.
2. Line up a registered agent. Every Mississippi LLC must continuously maintain a registered agent at a physical street address in the state. Mississippi governs agents through its Registered Agents Act (Miss. Code Ann. § 79-35-1 et seq.) alongside the LLC Act, and the agent's name and address become part of the public record. Our formation service covers this: the $199 fee includes your first year of registered agent service, then $99 a year after that. Full requirements are on our registered agent page.
3. Create an account on the SOS portal. Filing runs through corp.sos.ms.gov, and you need a login before you can submit anything. Keep those credentials somewhere safe. The same account is how the annual report gets filed every year, so this is not a throwaway registration.
4. File the Certificate of Formation and pay the $50 fee. Inside the portal you complete the Certificate of Formation (filing type F0100): company name, registered agent and registered office, NAICS business-activity code, and signature of the person forming the company. Pay the $50 and submit. When the state accepts it, your LLC legally exists.
5. Put an operating agreement in writing. Mississippi does not ask you to file one, but banks ask for it, courts read it in disputes, and without one the default rules of the LLC Act decide questions you would rather decide yourself: ownership splits, voting, what happens when a member leaves.
6. Get an EIN from the IRS. The federal tax ID is free at IRS.gov and usually issued on the spot. You will need it to open a bank account or hire anyone. Never pay a third party for this.
7. Mark April 15 for the annual report. Mississippi's annual report carries no state fee for domestic LLCs, but filing it is mandatory every year through the same portal. Your first one is due the calendar year after you form. Skip it and the state can start administrative dissolution proceedings. Details on our annual requirements page.

After Formation: Keep the LLC Standing

The ongoing obligations are light but unforgiving. Keep a registered agent on file at all times, file the free annual report by April 15 each year, keep business finances in their own account, and stay current on taxes. Let the agent lapse or ignore the report and the Secretary of State can dissolve the company administratively, which strips the liability protection you formed it for.

Start Your Mississippi LLC

You can file the Certificate of Formation yourself through corp.sos.ms.gov and pay the $50 state fee directly. Or hand it to us: we prepare and submit the filing, and formation includes your first year of registered agent service.

Form Your Mississippi LLC