Formation fee
$50
One-time state fee for the formation certificate.
last verified 2026-07-17
record 15 of 51 · /llc/iowa/
Iowa LLC
Iowa's fictitious name is a company resolution
An Iowa LLC answers to the state on an alternating-year rhythm: the report window opens with the new year and closes in early spring, in odd-numbered years only. Nothing else recurs at the state level, since the franchise tax card carries a checked absence. Formation and the report both move through the Secretary of State.
the rest of this note
The fictitious name is adopted before it is filed: the company passes a resolution and submits that certified resolution, not an application form. Both registered agent questions sit unread at this pin, and the section prints that honestly instead of guessing. Expedited review, by contrast, is a priced menu of business-day windows, and sole proprietors take a separate county track.
every claim above is a line below
Annual report
$30
Due Jan 1 - Apr 1 (Biennial, odd years), printed as the state writes it.
last verified 2026-07-17
Franchise tax
none
No recurring state-level tax on an LLC here. The absence is verified against the state, not missing data.
verified absent 2026-08-07
Anonymous LLC
no
Member or organizer names reach the public formation record here.
last verified 2026-08-06
no source in the snapshot
Processing time
none published
This state publishes no standard processing time, which is not the same as filing instantly. Expedited formation starts at $15.
verified absent 2026-08-09
no source in the snapshot
Name designators
Must contain the words "limited liability company" or "limited company," or the abbreviations "L.L.C.," "LLC," "L.C.," or "LC." The word "Limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "Company" may be abbreviated "Co."
Accepted endings for the legal name. Statute: Iowa Code § 489.112(1).
last verified 2026-08-04
Name reservation
$10
Optional filing that holds the name for 120 days before you form.
last verified 2026-08-04
DBA
fictitious name
LLCs file at the state level for $5; other business forms file with the county.
last verified 2026-08-04
An individual as the agent
allowed
Whether a person may hold the seat, so nobody has to be hired. The terms Iowa attaches, and the entity question, sit in the registered agent section.
last verified 2026-08-09
field 05 carries the date it was observed, not a promise: of the two halves beside it, only the expedited tiers are prices the state commits to
What are the Iowa trade name rules?
Iowa calls it the fictitious name, and splits the filing: an LLC registers with the state, while other business forms file locally. The state filing costs $5.
- Where an LLC files
- How long it lasts
-
Perpetual (no expiration)
A Fictitious Name Resolution stays on file until the entity is dissolved or files to change or cancel the name; there is no periodic renewal.
- Newspaper publication
-
not required
- What the filing protects
-
no exclusive right
Filing a fictitious name resolution or a county trade name discloses the name a business uses and grants no exclusive right to it.
- Where to search existing names
-
Fictitious names adopted by LLCs and other entities appear in the Secretary of State business search. County trade names filed by sole proprietors sit only in the county recorder's records, so a full check of individual DBAs means searching the relevant county.
one record, verified 2026-08-04 · Iowa Code § 489.112(8)
What does it take to register an out-of-state LLC in Iowa?
Registering an LLC formed elsewhere is its own filing in Iowa. The registration costs $100. That price belongs to a separate filing event, so it enters no cost total on this site.
- Registration fee
-
$100
Flat $100.00 filing fee for the Foreign Registration Statement, available online through Fast Track Filing or by paper.
- The official form
-
Foreign Registration Statement
- Filed with
-
Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division
- After registration
-
File the biennial report in odd-numbered years, due April 1 ($30.00 online / $45.00 paper), and maintain a registered agent in Iowa.
one record, verified 2026-08-08
The same fee for every other jurisdiction sits on one page: foreign qualification fees for every jurisdiction.
Who may serve as the registered agent in Iowa?
Who may serve as an LLC's registered agent is its own rule in Iowa. Iowa lets a natural person serve, so no commercial agent is required.
- An individual as the agent
-
Allowed
in the state's words An owner or employee of a company may act as the registered agent so long as the individual resides in Iowa, has attained the age of 18 years and has an office within the boundaries of the State of Iowa.
- The LLC as its own agent
-
not read at this pin
- A mailbox service as the address
-
not read at this pin
- Address rule
-
The name and street and mailing addresses in this state of the limited liability company's registered agent.
one record, verified 2026-08-09
The same four answers for every other jurisdiction sit on one page: registered agent rules for every jurisdiction.
Where do these figures come from?
Every figure on this sheet renders from the pinned dataset snapshot, and each card links the page its own figure came from. This list collects those pages in one place, with the duplicates removed and the agency named.
- Formation and annual report figures https://sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees
- Recurring state tax https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/422.pdf
- Naming statute https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/489.112.pdf
- Who may be the registered agent https://help.sos.iowa.gov/what-registered-agent
- Registered agent rules https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/489.115.pdf
- DBA filing https://help.sos.iowa.gov/how-do-i-file-fictitious-name-resolution
- Iowa Secretary of State Business Services https://sos.iowa.gov/business-services
- Business entity search https://sos.iowa.gov/search/business/search.aspx
The rule behind every figure here, and what a card does when one cannot be verified, sits on how a figure gets verified.