Frequently Asked Questions About Starting an Arkansas LLC

There are some different options when it comes to forming a business in Arkansas. From a legal perspective, there are three main types of Arkansas for-profit business entities: LLCs, S Corporations or C Corporations. At Bizee we believe an LLC provides the right blend of liability protection and ease of administration for many entrepreneurs.

In order to form an LLC in the state of Arkansas, there are some minimum requirements you must meet. These are a completed Certificate of Organization, a business name and a fee you pay to the Arkansas Secretary of State. We recommend taking some additional steps before formally starting your LLC:

• Research your target market to make sure there’s a demand for the products and services you provide.
• Read industry guides to give you a starting point in your niche.
• Create a comprehensive business plan that defines the most important aspects of your Arkansas business.
• Write an Operating Agreement that covers how you will run your LLC.

After you’ve created your Arkansas LLC, you will also need to review your business license requirements, understand ongoing filing needs, set up a separate business bank account and get an accountant.

In Arkansas, you register a business by completing and filing your Certificate of Organization with the Arkansas Secretary of State. You will need to gather information about your business, fill out the form and send it to the Secretary of State with your filing fee. This will officially form your LLC in Arkansas.

You can file your Certificate of Organization on the Secretary of State website or mail it in. Alternatively, Bizee can guide you through every step of the process by getting details from you and filing the form on your behalf — for free! There’s no additional charge for our basic LLC filing service, so all you need to do is pay the Arkansas state filing fee.

At the time of writing the fee charged by the Arkansas Secretary of State is $50. You can always check the latest Arkansas filing fees here. Many states allow you to pay an additional fee for expedited filing through Bizee, which will create your LLC faster. The amount of the expedited fee is dependent on how quickly you want your filing processed. Some LLC filing services do charge you extra to prepare and submit your filing documents, but at Bizee, we do this for free — so you only pay the state fee

Once you’ve gathered all of your information together and filed your Certificate of Organization (or had Bizee do it for you), it can take up 3-5 business days for the Arkansas Secretary of State to legally create your LLC. Unlike many other states, Arkansas does not have the option of paying an additional expedited fee since your LLC can be formed so quickly as it is.

The name of your Arkansas LLC needs to be unique, so you’ll need to confirm that it isn't already being used by another business. You can do that via the Arkansas Secretary of State website, or by using our fast and simple Business Name Search tool.

There are a few ways to register your Arkansas LLC name.

• If you’re starting a new business and your business name is unique in Arkansas and meets state naming rules, you simply include it in your Certificate of Organization.
• If you want to change the legal name of your business, file a Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of State.
• If you just want to do business under a different name, file an Application for Fictitious Name with the Arkansas Secretary of State, or we can do that on your behalf.

If you want to prevent people from using your business name across the U.S., you can file a trademark for the name. We can help.

In other states, the formal documents that you file to form a corporation or LLC might be known as Articles of Incorporation. In Arkansas, this document is called your Certificate of Organization, and it performs the same functions as the Articles of Incorporation.

Yes, the State of Arkansas allows the formation of Series LLC within the state. A Series LLC is a special type of LLC where you create one “overall” business and then have individual, series LLCs within it, each counted as separate legal entities.

To form a Series LLC, simply fill out the Certificate of Organization for a Series LLC form and file it with the Secretary of State. The fee for a Series LLC formation is $50 just like a typical Domestic LLC formation.

Yes, all legal business entities in Arkansas, including LLCs, must have a Registered Agent at all times. Here at Bizee, we provide a free Arkansas Registered Agent service for the first year if you file through us.

If you want to change your Arkansas Registered Agent you can do so by filing a Notice of Change with the Secretary of State. Here at Bizee, we provide a free Arkansas Registered Agent service for the first year if you file through us. If you’ve been using a different Registered Agent and wish to switch to us, we’ll file the Notice of Change on your behalf.

If you need to know the Registered Agent of a specific Arkansas business, you can perform a Arkansas Registered Agent search within the state's business database.

As an LLC, any business profits you earn will be reported on your personal 1040 filing and reported and taxed as “pass-through” income. You will typically need to pay:

Arkansas charges a 6.5 percent state sales and use tax on all retail sales, leases and rentals of most goods. You will also need to pay sales tax if you provide a taxable service. You can find a full list of taxable services here.

You will need to register as a sales tax vendor with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. You can complete this process online.

The base rate for Arkansas sales tax is 6.5 percent, and there may be additional sales tax depending on your region, county or city. Once you know your overall sales tax amount, calculate the value of all your taxable products and services. Then, multiply that by your sales tax rate to understand how much you will need to pay.

Once your LLC’s sales tax registration is complete, you will receive a packet of information with details of tax rates as well as instructions on how often you must file a sales tax return and pay sales taxes. Returns and payments may be due monthly, quarterly or annually.

Unlike many states, the state of Arkansas requires all businesses to pay a corporate franchise tax in Arkansas — this includes LLCs. The Secretary of State has provided extensive information regarding the franchise tax for all types of businesses.

If you're starting a business in Arkansas, you'll likely need a business license of some type to maintain compliance with the state. The types of business licenses you need will vary depending on your type of business, industry, location and various other factors. We can research the types of business licenses you might need for you.