How to Start an LLC in Connecticut in 2026: Filing, the $80 Annual Report and First-Year Cost

Connecticut keeps LLC formation simple on paper but asks for more detail than most states. The certificate of organization costs $120, and since January 2025 it must include a valid email address, the company's industry code and the residence address of at least one member or manager. After that, every LLC files an $80 annual report between January 1 and March 31. This guide takes a first-time founder through each step in order: the name, the registered agent, the filing, the paperwork that follows, the annual report, trade names, taxes and a worked first-year budget. Every fee was checked against the Secretary of the State's fee pages and the Connecticut General Statutes in October 2026.

Quick answer

To start an LLC in Connecticut, file a certificate of organization with the Secretary of the State on Business.CT.gov and pay $120. Name a registered agent with a Connecticut place of business, list at least one member or manager, an email address and a NAICS code. From the following year, file the annual report online between January 1 – March 31 for $80.

• The name must include "limited liability company", "L.L.C." or "LLC"

• The registered agent can be you (as a Connecticut resident) or a business registered in the state

• Annual report: $80, filed online January 1 – March 31, same window for every LLC

• More than a year behind on reports and the state can dissolve the LLC by forfeiture; reinstatement costs $120 plus the report

• Trade names are filed with your town clerk, not the state

What a Connecticut LLC is and who should form one

A Connecticut limited liability company is formed under the Connecticut Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, Chapter 613a of the General Statutes, which replaced the older LLC law on July 1, 2017. The company is a legal person separate from its owners, called members. Its debts, leases and lawsuits belong to the company, so a business creditor generally cannot reach your house or personal savings. That shield only holds if you treat the LLC as a separate business: its own bank account, contracts signed in the company's name, and records that show who owns what.

The Business Services division of the Secretary of the State keeps the register. You search names, file the certificate, file annual reports, reinstate and order certificates through Business.CT.gov, where most filings are online and expedited service is only offered online. Tax registration is separate and runs through the Department of Revenue Services.

Connecticut follows the federal tax classification of an LLC by statute. A one-owner LLC is a disregarded entity and a multi-owner LLC is a partnership, unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation. Connecticut no longer charges a separate entity-level fee for being an LLC; the old business entity tax was repealed for years from 2020, as explained below.

An LLC suits most small Connecticut businesses: contractors, consultants, landlords, online sellers, salons, food businesses and professional practices that are allowed to use one. You do not need to live in Connecticut or be a US citizen to own one, and a single person can form it. If the business really operates in New York or Massachusetts, forming in Connecticut does not avoid those states' rules; you would register there as a foreign LLC as well.

Connecticut LLC at a glance (2026)

$120

Certificate of organization

same fee online or on paper

$80

Annual report

filed online January 1 – March 31

$60

Optional name reservation

holds a name for 120 days

Free ($0)

EIN from the IRS

issued online the same day

Step 1: Choose a name that meets the Connecticut rules

Under C.G.S. 34-243k, the name must contain the words "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC". "Limited" may be shortened to "Ltd." and "company" to "Co.", so "Shoreline Tile Ltd. Liability Co." also works. The name must be distinguishable on the Secretary of the State's records from every active business, reserved name and registered name already on file.

Search Business.CT.gov before you pay for a logo, domain or signs, and use our LLC name checker to test variations. If the name you want is close to an existing one, Connecticut allows its use only if the existing business consents in writing and undertakes to change its own name to something distinguishable, which rarely happens in practice. If you need time before filing, you can reserve a name for 120 days for $60; most founders skip this and file the certificate straight away, which secures the name at the same moment.

Step 2: Appoint a registered agent

Every Connecticut LLC must designate and keep a registered agent in the state. For a domestic LLC the agent can be a natural person who lives in Connecticut, or an entity such as a Connecticut corporation, an LLC or a registered foreign company. The agent must have a place of business in Connecticut, and the appointment lists the agent's business and residence addresses if the agent is an individual. Filing the appointment is a statement that the agent has agreed to act, so ask first.

The agent receives lawsuits, subpoenas and state notices for the LLC and forwards them to you. Many owners who live in Connecticut act as their own agent. Owners who live elsewhere, or who want to keep their home address off the public record, usually pay a commercial agent, typically around $50 to $300 a year (an estimate based on published price lists of national agent services, not an official figure). If the LLC later changes its agent or the agent's address, the change costs $50. Losing your agent is serious: a delinquent LLC that fails to keep an agent can also be dissolved by forfeiture.

Step 3: File the certificate of organization

Connecticut's certificate of organization asks for more than many states' forms, and it is worth gathering the information first. Under C.G.S. 34-247, as amended by Public Act 24-111 from January 1, 2025, the certificate must state:

• the LLC's name;
• the street and mailing address of its principal office;
• the registered agent's name and Connecticut street and mailing addresses;
• the name, business address and residence address of at least one member or manager;
• a valid email address for the LLC; and
• the LLC's North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

The residence address requirement surprises many founders because the record is public. The statute lets the Secretary of the State accept a business address instead when there is good cause, and it names a risk to a member's or manager's personal security as one example. If that applies to you, ask for it when filing rather than listing a home address you would rather keep private.

The email address matters more than it looks. Under a 2024 amendment, the Secretary of the State sends forfeiture notices by email to the address on file, not by post. If that inbox is unmonitored, you may miss the warning that your LLC is about to be dissolved.

File online at Business.CT.gov for $120. You need a Business.CT.gov account, which takes a few minutes to set up with an email verification code. Paper forms are available for the same fee, but expedited service is offered only on online filings. The LLC exists from the date and time the Secretary of the State files the certificate.

Filing a Connecticut certificate of organization online

1. 1

   Create a Business.CT.gov account

   Sign up with your name, email and mobile number, then verify the code sent to your email.

2. 2

   Check the name

   Search the business records and add LLC, L.L.C. or "limited liability company".

3. 3

   Collect the details

   Principal office, registered agent, one member or manager with addresses, the LLC's email and its NAICS code.

   Tip: Look up your NAICS code on the US Census Bureau site before you start.

4. 4

   Sign and pay

   Pay $120 and save the filed certificate and the business ID (ALEI).

Why filings get rejected. The usual reasons are a name that is not distinguishable from one on file, a missing word of formation, a registered agent outside Connecticut or without a Connecticut place of business, no member or manager listed, and a missing email address or NAICS code. Fix the problem and resubmit; the LLC does not exist until the certificate is filed.

Step 4: EIN, operating agreement, bank account and tax registration

EIN. Apply for an employer identification number from the IRS once the certificate is filed. It costs Free ($0), and the online application issues the number at the end of the session. Our EIN application guide walks through each screen.

Operating agreement. Connecticut does not ask you to file one, but you should sign one. It sets profit shares, who can sign contracts, how new members join and what happens when someone leaves; without it, the statute's default rules apply. Single-member LLCs need one too, because banks ask for it and courts look at it when deciding whether the company is genuinely separate from you.

Bank account. Open a business account in the LLC's exact legal name using the filed certificate, the EIN letter and the operating agreement. Pay business costs from that account only and pay yourself by transfer; our guide on how to pay yourself from an LLC explains draws and salary.

Department of Revenue Services. If you sell taxable goods or services, register through myconneCT for a sales and use tax permit before your first sale; the permit costs $100. If you hire, register for withholding with DRS and for unemployment insurance with the Department of Labor, and report new hires.

Beneficial ownership reporting. Since FinCEN's March 2025 interim final rule, companies formed in the United States no longer file beneficial ownership information reports, so a new Connecticut LLC has no BOI filing (current position: Not required for US-formed companies).

The annual report: January 1 to March 31 every year

Every Connecticut LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of the State, and it must be filed electronically unless the state grants an exemption. The first report is due in the calendar year after the year you formed, during the window that opens on January 1 and closes on March 31. After that, the report is due in the same window every year. Unlike states that tie the deadline to your formation month, Connecticut uses one window for every LLC, which makes it easy to diarise.

The report confirms the LLC's name, the principal office's street and mailing addresses, at least one member or manager with business and residence addresses, the registered agent, a valid email address and the NAICS code. The information must be current on the date you sign. The fee is $80.

A Connecticut LLC formed in 2026

Day 1

Certificate of organization filed ($120)

Week 1

EIN, bank account, and DRS sales tax permit if needed

January 1 next year

First annual report window opens

March 31 next year

First annual report due ($80)

Every year after

Annual report between January 1 and March 31

Changes between reports. Connecticut has two smaller filings for changes during the year. If the member or manager named in your last report is replaced, file an interim notice of change of manager or member for $20. Since January 1, 2025, if other information in the report changes, such as the principal office or the email, the LLC files an amended annual report for $25. A change of registered agent has its own $50 filing.

Why the fee is $80, and what happened to the $250 tax. Until 2019, Connecticut LLCs paid a $20 annual report fee plus a $250 business entity tax every other year. The 2019 budget repealed the business entity tax for years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and Public Act 19-117 raised the annual report fee to $80 for reports concerning years from July 1, 2020. The yearly state cost is now lower than before, but guides that still list the $250 tax are out of date.

Missing the report: forfeiture and reinstatement

An LLC that misses March 31 is no longer in good standing, which can block a loan, a lease or a government contract that asks for a certificate of legal existence. The bigger risk comes later. Under C.G.S. 34-267g, once an LLC is more than one year in default on its annual report, the Secretary of the State may email it a notice that its rights and powers are prima facie forfeited. The Secretary of the State's guidance says the missing filings must be accepted within 90 days of the date on that notice. If they are not, the Secretary files a certificate of dissolution by forfeiture and posts notice of it on the office's website for 60 days.

From a missed report to dissolution

Step 1

March 31 missed

Step 2

Not in good standing

immediately

Step 3

Email notice

once over a year in default

Step 4

90 days to file

per the Secretary of the State

Step 5

Dissolved by forfeiture

A dissolved LLC still exists, but only to wind up its affairs or apply for reinstatement. Its name can be taken by someone else in the meantime.

Reinstatement. A forfeited LLC can apply to be reinstated at any time unless a court has ordered its dissolution. The members holding a majority in interest must consent in writing. The application is a certificate of reinstatement with a $120 fee, filed together with an annual report for the current year, an appointment of a registered agent and payment of any penalties owed. If someone else has taken the name, you must change the LLC's name as part of the reinstatement. Once reinstated, the LLC carries on as if it had never been dissolved, although third parties who relied on the dissolution keep their rights.

Ignore official-looking mailers. Private companies send letters that look like state notices and offer to file your annual report or a certificate for a much higher fee. The Secretary of the State has warned that these extra fees are not necessary; file directly on Business.CT.gov for $80.

Trade names, licences and local registrations

Filing the certificate creates the LLC. It does not register a trade name, a tax account or a licence.

Trade names. If your LLC trades under a name other than its exact legal name, file a trade name certificate with the town clerk in the town of the business address on file with the Secretary of the State. LLCs that trade only under their legal name do not file one. Each town sets its own fee; Bristol, for example, charges $20. Since January 1, 2025, trade names expire 5 years after filing unless renewed, and names filed before that date expire on December 31, 2029. A trade name gives no liability protection and does not stop others using the name; a trademark is a separate filing.

Sales tax. Connecticut charges 6.35% sales tax with no local add-on, so the rate is the same across the state, with higher rates on meals and some luxury items. Our Connecticut sales tax guide covers rates, the permit, filing frequency and remote seller rules.

Licences. Connecticut has no single statewide business licence. The Department of Consumer Protection licenses many trades and occupations, from home improvement contractors to food manufacturers, and towns handle zoning, health permits and some local licences. Check with your town hall and the relevant state agency before you open.

How Connecticut LLC owners are taxed

A single-member LLC owned by a person is ignored for income tax. The profit goes on the owner's federal Schedule C and on the Connecticut resident or nonresident income tax return, which uses graduated rates. Owners pay self-employment tax on that profit federally.

A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership files a Connecticut composite return, Form CT-1065/CT-1120SI, and gives each member a share of income. Connecticut's pass-through entity tax used to be mandatory for these entities. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, it became optional: a partnership or S corporation can elect it each year by checking the box on a timely filed return, and the election cannot be revoked for that year. Electing can help members who itemise on their federal return, because a tax paid at entity level is not subject to the federal cap on state tax deductions. Ask your accountant to run the numbers before the return is due.

An LLC can also elect S corporation treatment, which lets working owners split income between a reasonable salary and distributions to reduce self-employment tax, at the cost of running payroll. Read LLC vs S corp for the federal side.

What it costs: a worked first-year budget

The table shows three realistic Connecticut LLCs. State fees come from the Secretary of the State's fee page and the statutes. The registered agent line is a market estimate, and the trade name fee is the Bristol example.

What the table leaves out. Insurance, an accountant, licences, permits and the $100 sales tax permit for businesses that sell taxable goods or services sit on top.

Over five years. An LLC formed in 2026 pays $120 to form plus four annual reports by 2030, or $440 in state charges. That is far below Massachusetts, where both the certificate and every annual report cost $500. New York charges $200 to form but adds a newspaper publication requirement that can cost far more in some counties.

Worked examples

A New Haven IT consultant. Priya forms "Elm City Systems LLC" online in May 2026, names herself as registered agent at her apartment, lists her residence address as the sole member, and enters NAICS code 541512. She gets her EIN the same afternoon. Her first annual report is due between January 1 and March 31 next year, and she adds a reminder for the first week of January. Because her clients are businesses buying custom programming, she checks the DRS rules on computer services before deciding whether she needs a sales tax permit.

A Stamford landscaping company run by two brothers. Luis and Mateo form "Mendez Grounds LLC" and trade as "Greenway Landscaping", so they file a trade name certificate with the Stamford town clerk. They sign an operating agreement splitting profit 50/50, register with DRS, and file a CT-1065/CT-1120SI each year. Their accountant compares the result with and without the pass-through entity tax election before the return is due.

A New York owner with Connecticut rentals. Diane lives in Westchester and owns two rental houses in Danbury. She forms a Connecticut LLC to hold them, pays a commercial registered agent because she has no Connecticut address, and files a Connecticut nonresident return for the rental profit. She sets the LLC's email to an address her bookkeeper monitors, so forfeiture notices never go unread.

Connecticut LLC launch checklist

0/9

• Name checked and LLC, L.L.C. or "limited liability company" added
• Registered agent with a Connecticut place of business agreed
• Member or manager details, LLC email address and NAICS code ready
• Certificate of organization filed and business ID (ALEI) saved
• EIN issued and operating agreement signed
• Business bank account opened in the LLC's legal name
• Trade name certificate filed with the town clerk if using another name
• DRS registration if you sell taxable goods or hire
• Annual report reminder set for January each year

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Common mistakes and how to fix them

Budgeting for the old $250 tax, or the old $20 report. Both are history. The yearly state cost is the $80 annual report.

Using an email nobody reads. Forfeiture notices now arrive by email. Keep the LLC's email current with an amended annual report if it changes.

Listing a home address you did not need to. The certificate needs a residence address for a member or manager, but you can ask for a business address instead if publishing your home address would put you at risk.

Filing the trade name with the state. Connecticut trade names go to the town clerk. A name registered with the Secretary of the State as your LLC is not a trade name filing.

Waiting for a paper reminder. The window is the same every year: January 1 to March 31. Put it in your calendar now.

Official links

• Business.CT.gov — LLC forms and fees$120 certificate, $80 annual report
• Business.CT.gov — file an annual reportJanuary 1 – March 31
• Secretary of the State — notice of intent to dissolveWhat to do after a forfeiture notice
• Connecticut Uniform LLC Act (Chapter 613a)Fees, filings, forfeiture
• DRS — pass-through entity taxOptional election from 2024
• IRS — Apply for an EINFree

What to do next

Check your name with our LLC name checker, gather the member, email and NAICS details, file the certificate online and get your EIN the same day. Put the January to March report window in your calendar, then register with DRS if you will sell taxable goods; the Connecticut sales tax guide explains how. If you are still choosing a structure, our LLC registration guide and LLC vs sole proprietorship explainer cover the wider choices.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Connecticut?

The Secretary of the State charges $120 to file a certificate of organization, and the fee is the same online or on paper. After that, the LLC pays $80 for each annual report, starting the year after you form. The EIN from the IRS is Free ($0). A trade name certificate, if you use one, is filed with your town clerk for a small local fee.

When is the Connecticut LLC annual report due?

Every Connecticut LLC files its annual report online during January 1 – March 31 each year, beginning in the calendar year after the one in which it was formed. The window is the same for every LLC, so it does not depend on your formation month. The fee is $80. An LLC formed in October 2026 files its first report between January 1 and March 31 of next year.

What happens if I don't file my Connecticut annual report?

The LLC falls out of good standing straight away. Once it is more than a year behind, the Secretary of the State can email a notice that its powers are forfeited, and if the missing report is not filed within the notice period the LLC is dissolved by forfeiture. Reinstatement costs a $120 fee plus a current annual report, any penalties owed and a registered agent appointment.

Does a Connecticut LLC need a registered agent?

Yes. Every LLC must keep a registered agent in Connecticut. The agent can be a Connecticut resident, including you, or a business entity registered in the state, and it must have a place of business in Connecticut. Changing the agent or its address later costs $50.

Do I need to file a DBA for my Connecticut LLC?

Only if the LLC trades under a name other than its exact legal name. Connecticut trade name certificates are filed with the town clerk in the town of the business address, not with the state. Since January 1, 2025, a trade name certificate lasts 5 years unless renewed, and the fee is set by each town.

Does Connecticut still charge the $250 business entity tax?

No. The biennial business entity tax that LLCs used to pay was repealed for years starting on or after January 1, 2020. At the same time the annual report fee rose from $20 to $80, effective July 1, 2020. Many older guides still list the $250 tax.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 11 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Domestic Limited Liability Companies Forms and Fees — Connecticut Secretary of the State (Business.CT.gov) · accessed 11 October 2026
2. 2.Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 613a — Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (§§ 34-243u, 34-243k, 34-243n, 34-247, 34-247k, 34-267b, 34-267g) — Connecticut General Assembly · accessed 11 October 2026
3. 3.Notice of Intent to Dissolve or Revoke — Connecticut Secretary of the State · accessed 11 October 2026
4. 4.Secretary of the State reminds businesses they can file annual reports directly (2021 press release) — Connecticut Secretary of the State · accessed 11 October 2026
5. 5.Pass-Through Entity Tax Information — Connecticut Department of Revenue Services · accessed 11 October 2026
6. 6.Trade Name Certificate — City of Bristol, Connecticut (Town & City Clerk) · accessed 11 October 2026
7. 7.Business Entity Tax Repeal — Shipman & Goodwin LLP · accessed 11 October 2026
8. 8.Get an employer identification number — IRS · accessed 11 October 2026
9. 9.Beneficial Ownership Information — FinCEN · accessed 11 October 2026