How to Start an LLC in Kansas in 2026: The New Lower Fees, the Biennial Report and First-Year Cost

Kansas made forming an LLC much cheaper in 2026. New fee regulations that took effect on February 27, 2026 cut the online filing fee for articles of organization to $85, roughly half what it used to cost, and since 2024 the state's yearly report has become an information report filed only every second year. Many guides have not caught up with either change. This guide walks a first-time founder through each step in order: the name rules, the resident agent, filing the articles, the paperwork that follows, the biennial report, taxes, and a worked first-year budget. Every fee was checked against the Kansas Secretary of State's current forms, the Kansas Register and the Kansas Statutes in October 2026.

Quick answer

To start an LLC in Kansas, file articles of organization with the Kansas Secretary of State and pay $85 online ($90 on paper). Name a resident agent at a Kansas street address. Then file the information report every two years by April 15, in even or odd years to match the year you formed, for $90 online.

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

• The resident agent can be you, another Kansas-registered business, or the LLC itself

• Information report: $90 online every two years, due April 15

• Miss it and the LLC forfeits three months later; reinstatement costs $35 plus an $85 penalty plus each report

• Kansas has no state DBA filing

What a Kansas LLC is and who should form one

A Kansas limited liability company is formed under the Kansas Revised Limited Liability Company Act, in Chapter 17, Article 76 of the Kansas Statutes. As in every state, the company is legally separate from its owners: its debts, contracts and lawsuits belong to the company, so a creditor of the business generally cannot reach your home or personal savings. That protection lasts only if you run the LLC as a genuinely separate business, with its own bank account, contracts signed in its own name and clean records.

The Kansas Secretary of State's Business Services division in Topeka keeps the register. You check names, file articles, file information reports, reinstate and order certificates through its online filing system or by paper. Tax registration is separate and runs through the Kansas Department of Revenue.

For federal tax, a one-owner LLC is a disregarded entity and a multi-owner LLC is a partnership, unless you elect to be taxed as a corporation. Kansas follows the federal classification and does not charge an annual franchise or entity-level tax just for being an LLC, which keeps the yearly cost of a Kansas LLC low.

An LLC suits most small Kansas businesses: contractors, consultants, online sellers, salons, food trucks, landlords, farms and custom harvesters. You do not need to live in Kansas or be a US citizen to own one, and one person can form it alone. Licensed professionals should check with their licensing board before forming, since some professions have their own rules on which entity types they can use. If the business really operates in another state, forming in Kansas does not avoid that state's rules; you would register there as a foreign LLC too.

Kansas LLC at a glance (2026)

$85

Articles of organization online

$90 on paper, from Feb 27, 2026

$90

Information report

every two years, due April 15

3 months

Delinquency window

then the LLC forfeits

Free ($0)

EIN from the IRS

issued online the same day

What changed in 2024 and 2026

Two changes explain why older Kansas LLC guides now show the wrong numbers.

Biennial reports from 2024. From January 1, 2024, Kansas businesses file an information report every two years instead of an annual report every year. The content stayed the same; only the year changed. Under K.S.A. 17-76,139, an LLC that filed its formation documents in an even-numbered year files in each later even year, and one formed in an odd-numbered year files in odd years. The month and day did not change: for-profit businesses still file by April 15.

Lower formation fees from February 27, 2026. The Legislature gave the Secretary of State authority to lower fees that used to be fixed in statute. The new regulation, K.A.R. 7-50-1, sets the application fee for articles of organization at $75, and the general fee regulations add a $10 formation charge, plus a $5 technology fee on paper filings. The result is $85 online or $90 on paper, against $160 online before. In its May 2026 announcement, the Secretary of State described the formation cut as aligning LLC fees with the $90 charge for corporations, and also announced lower fees for biennial reports. The information report form for LLCs still lists $90 online, so check the fee shown at checkout when your report is due.

Kansas LLC fees before and after the changes

Filing	Before	Now
Articles of organization, online	$160	$85 (from Feb 27, 2026)
Articles of organization, paper	Higher than online	$90 (from Feb 27, 2026)
Yearly state report	Annual report every year	Information report every two years, $90 online

Articles of organization, online

Before

$160

Now

$85 (from Feb 27, 2026)

Articles of organization, paper

Before

Higher than online

Now

$90 (from Feb 27, 2026)

Yearly state report

Before

Annual report every year

Now

Information report every two years, $90 online

Step 1: Choose a name that meets the Kansas rules

Under K.S.A. 17-7920, the LLC's name must contain a word of formation: "L.L.C.", "L.C.", "LLC", "LC", "Limited Liability Company" or "Limited Company". These can be in English, or in another language if written in Roman characters. The name must also be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from other businesses already registered.

Check availability with the Secretary of State's online name availability search before you pay for a logo or domain, and use our LLC name checker to test variations. Kansas has a useful escape valve: if your preferred name is close to an existing one, you can still file it with a written consent to use of a similar name signed by the existing business, under K.S.A. 17-7918. If you are not ready to file, you can reserve a name for 120 days; most founders skip this and file the articles directly.

Trading under another name. Kansas does not register DBA, fictitious, assumed or trade names at the state level, and the articles form tells you not to include them in the legal name. You can trade as "Prairie Fix-It" while your LLC is "Prairie Home Repair LLC", with no state filing. Show the legal name on contracts and invoices, and open the bank account in the legal name. If you want legal protection for a brand, a Kansas trademark or service mark registration is a separate filing. Our DBA guide explains how other states handle assumed names.

Step 2: Appoint a resident agent

Kansas calls the registered agent a resident agent. It is the person or business that receives lawsuits, subpoenas and official notices for the LLC. The articles form allows three choices: an individual, a business already registered with the Secretary of State, or the LLC itself. If you name another business, its name must match the Secretary of State's records exactly.

The registered office is the Kansas address where the resident agent is regularly present. It must include a building number, street, city and zip code; post office boxes are not accepted. Most owners who live in Kansas act as their own agent at their home or shop. That works if someone is reliably there, but the address becomes public. Owners who live out of state or want to keep a home address private 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). Changing the agent later is a short online amendment.

Step 3: File the articles of organization

Kansas articles of organization (form DL) are one of the shortest formation documents in the country. They ask for the LLC's name, the resident agent's name, and the registered office street address, and one or more authorised persons sign under penalty of perjury. There is no member list, no management choice and no purpose clause on the form. LLCs that want to create a protected series use a separate version of the form.

You can file online through the Secretary of State's business registration page for $85, or mail the paper form to the Docking State Office Building in Topeka with $90. Checks and credit or debit cards are both accepted on paper filings. Online filing is cheaper and avoids postal time, and a certified copy of paper articles is mailed back once processed.

Filing Kansas articles of organization online

1. 1

   Check the name

   Run the Secretary of State's name availability search and add a word of formation.

2. 2

   Pick the resident agent

   Name yourself, a Kansas-registered business, or the LLC itself, with a Kansas street address.

3. 3

   Get consent if the name is close

   If a similar name is on file, attach a written consent from that business.

4. 4

   Sign and pay

   Pay $85 online and save the filed articles.

   Tip: Note the year you formed: it fixes whether your reports fall in even or odd years.

Why filings get rejected. The usual reasons are a name that is not distinguishable from one on file without a consent, a missing word of formation, a DBA added to the legal name, a P.O. box as the registered office, and a business named as resident agent whose name does not match the records. Fix the issue and resubmit; until the articles are accepted, the LLC does not exist.

Foreign-owned property near military bases. Since July 1, 2025, the articles form carries an Attorney General notice: businesses or people tied to certain foreign governments, including China, Iran and Russia, must register Kansas land they hold within 100 miles of a military installation with the Attorney General within 90 days. Most founders are not affected.

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

EIN. Apply for an employer identification number from the IRS once the articles are 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. Kansas does not ask you to file an operating agreement, but you should have one. It sets profit shares, signing authority, what happens when a member leaves, and whether the LLC is run by its members or by managers; without one, 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 really separate from you.

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

Department of Revenue. If you sell taxable goods or services, register with the Kansas Department of Revenue for sales tax before your first sale. If you hire, register for withholding with the Department of Revenue and for unemployment insurance with the Kansas Department of Labor, and buy workers' compensation insurance.

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 Kansas LLC has no BOI filing (current position: Not required for US-formed companies).

The biennial information report

Every Kansas LLC files a business entity information report with the Secretary of State every two years. The report gives the LLC's name, the principal office address, and the name and postal address of each member who owns at least 5% of the capital. It also states the reporting year, which must be the year the report was due. An authorised person signs it, and signing counts as a statement under penalty of perjury.

A Kansas LLC formed in 2026

Day 1

Articles of organization filed ($85 online)

Week 1

EIN, bank account, and Department of Revenue registration if needed

April 15 next year

No report due: odd year for an even-year LLC

April 15 2028

First information report ($90 online)

July 15, 2028

End of the three-month delinquency window; then forfeiture

The schedule depends on the year you formed. An LLC formed in 2026, an even year, files its first report by April 15 2028 and then every even year. An LLC formed in 2027 files its first report by April 15, 2029 and then every odd year. The report costs $90 online or $110 on paper, so filing online saves $20 every cycle. Over a decade that is five reports, not ten, which roughly halves the state's ongoing charge compared with the old annual system.

Delinquency and forfeiture. If the report is not filed by the due date, the LLC becomes delinquent. The Secretary of State allows a three-month window after the due date during which the report can still be filed, but a delinquent business is limited in what else it can file. Once that window passes, the LLC forfeits. A forfeited LLC cannot file any other document until it files the past-due reports and reinstates, and it shows as forfeited to anyone who searches the register, including banks, landlords and government buyers.

Reinstatement. File a certificate of reinstatement together with every past-due information report and all the fees in one package. The reinstatement form lists a $35 filing fee, an $85 penalty for LLCs that forfeited for a missed report, and $110 for each report, so one missed report costs $230 and two cost $340, up to five reports. If someone else has taken the name in the meantime, you must either get their written consent or change the LLC's name as part of the reinstatement. The form must be signed by an authorised person and paid in full at filing.

When a bank or agency wants proof the LLC is active, order a certificate of good standing online; see our certificate of good standing guide.

Licences and local registrations after you form

Filing with the Secretary of State creates the LLC. It does not register you for taxes or give you permission to trade.

Sales tax. Kansas charges 6.5% state sales tax, and counties, cities and special districts add their own taxes, taking most of Wichita to 7.5%. Groceries have carried a 0% state rate since January 1, 2025, though local taxes still apply. Our Kansas sales tax guide covers rates, registration, filing frequency and the remote seller rules.

Local licences and state boards. Kansas has no general state business licence. Cities and counties license certain activities and set zoning rules, and state boards license professions and trades such as cosmetology, real estate and health care. Check with your city clerk and the relevant board before opening.

Employees. Hiring staff means withholding registration, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. Our guide to hiring your first employee covers the federal steps.

How Kansas 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 Kansas individual return. Kansas has two income tax rates for 2026: 5.2% on taxable income up to $23,000 for single filers, and 5.58% above that. Married couples filing jointly have a threshold twice as high. These rates were set by Senate Bill 1 in 2024. A later law allows automatic cuts when revenue exceeds targets, but the Department of Revenue announced that the test was not met for 2026, so the rates did not fall this year.

A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership files a Kansas partnership return each year and gives each member a share of income to report on their own return. Members who live outside Kansas still owe Kansas tax on their Kansas-source share. An LLC can also elect S corporation treatment, which lets working owners split income between a reasonable salary and distributions to cut 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 Kansas LLCs. State fees come from the Secretary of State's current forms. The registered agent line is a market estimate.

What the table leaves out. Insurance, an accountant, city licences and permits sit on top. A food truck also needs a food establishment licence and the city's mobile vending permit before its first sale.

Over five years. A Kansas LLC formed online in 2026 costs $85 to form plus two information reports by 2030, about $265 in state charges over five years. That puts Kansas between Missouri, which charges $45 online and has no annual report, and Oklahoma, where $100 to form plus a $25 certificate every year comes to about $200. Colorado charges $50 to form and $25 for a yearly report.

Worked examples

An Overland Park IT consultant. Rachel files online for $85 in April 2026, names herself as resident agent at her home office, and gets an EIN the same afternoon. Because 2026 is an even year, her first information report is due by April 15, 2028. She puts reminders in her calendar for March 2028 and March 2030. Her services are not on the list of taxable services she checked with the Department of Revenue, so she does not register for sales tax.

A Wichita food truck run by two cousins. Marco and Luis file online and name the LLC "Air Capital Street Eats LLC". They trade as "Air Capital Tacos" with no state DBA filing, but they put the legal name on their bank account and catering contracts. They register for sales tax with the Department of Revenue, collect the combined rate on every taxable sale, and file a Kansas partnership return each spring with a share of income for each owner.

A Missouri owner working across the state line. Dwayne lives in Kansas City, Missouri and does flooring jobs in Johnson County, Kansas. He forms a separate Kansas LLC on paper for $90 and pays a commercial resident agent in Kansas. He files a Kansas nonresident return for his Kansas profit and checks the local contractor licensing rules in each city where he works.

Kansas LLC launch checklist

0/8

• Name checked and a word of formation added (no DBA in the legal name)
• Resident agent and Kansas street address confirmed
• Articles of organization filed online and saved
• Formation year noted: even or odd report years
• EIN issued and operating agreement signed
• Business bank account opened in the LLC's legal name
• Department of Revenue registration if you sell taxable goods or hire
• April 15 report reminder set for each report year

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Common mistakes and how to fix them

Paying an old fee quote. Formation services and older guides still show $160. Since February 27, 2026, the state fee is $85 online. If a service quotes a higher "state fee", ask for the breakdown.

Filing every year. Kansas reports are biennial. Filing in the wrong year does not satisfy the right one, so check whether your formation year was even or odd.

Missing the three-month window. The LLC forfeits three months after the due date. Reinstating then costs at least $230 on the paper fee schedule, against $90 for an on-time report.

Adding a DBA to the legal name. The articles must show only the legal name. Trade names are not registered by the state.

Paying look-alike mailers. Letters offering to file your "annual report" or sell a certificate for $70 to $200 come from private companies. File directly on the Secretary of State's website.

Official links

• Kansas Secretary of State — articles of organization (Form DL)$85 online, $90 paper
• Kansas Secretary of State — information reportsBiennial, due April 15
• Kansas Secretary of State — LLC information report (Form ILC)$90 online
• Kansas Secretary of State — certificate of reinstatement (Form RL)Fee table for forfeited LLCs
• K.S.A. 17-76,139 — information reportEven and odd year schedule
• IRS — Apply for an EINFree

What to do next

Check your name with our LLC name checker, file the articles online and get your EIN the same day. Write down your formation year and the first April 15 report date, then register with the Department of Revenue if you will sell taxable goods; the Kansas 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 Kansas?

Since February 27, 2026, the Secretary of State charges $85 to file articles of organization online or $90 on paper, down from $160 online before the new fee regulations. After that, the information report costs $90 online every two years. The EIN is Free ($0). Kansas has no state DBA filing, so there is no trade name fee.

Does a Kansas LLC file an annual report?

Not any more. Since January 1, 2024, Kansas businesses file an information report every two years instead of an annual report. An LLC formed in an even year files in each later even year, and one formed in an odd year files in odd years. For-profit reports are due by April 15. The fee is $90 online or $110 on paper.

What happens if my Kansas LLC misses the information report?

The LLC becomes delinquent and has a three-month window after the due date to file. After that it forfeits, and it cannot file anything else until it reinstates. Reinstatement costs a $35 filing fee, an $85 penalty and the fee for every past-due report, sent together on the certificate of reinstatement.

Do I need a registered agent in Kansas?

Yes. Kansas calls it a resident agent. It can be an individual, a business already registered with the Secretary of State, or the LLC itself, and it must have a registered office at a Kansas street address where the agent is regularly present. A post office box is not accepted.

Can I file a DBA for my Kansas LLC?

Kansas does not register DBA, fictitious, assumed or trade names at the state level, and the articles form says not to include them in the LLC's name. You can trade under another name, but there is no state filing to make. If you want to protect a brand, a Kansas trademark or service mark registration with the Secretary of State is a separate filing.

How is a Kansas LLC taxed?

A single-member LLC owned by a person is ignored for income tax; profit goes on the owner's Kansas return, taxed at 5.2% up to $23,000 of taxable income for single filers and 5.58% above that in 2026. A multi-member LLC files a Kansas partnership return. Kansas has no annual entity-level tax just for being an LLC.

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.Articles of Organization — Domestic (Kansas) Limited Liability Company (Form DL, rev. 2/27/26) — Kansas Secretary of State · accessed 11 October 2026
2. 2.Kansas Register, Vol. 45 No. 7 (February 12, 2026) — permanent fee regulations — Kansas Secretary of State · accessed 11 October 2026
3. 3.Secretary of State reduces fees for Kansans (press release, May 26, 2026) — Kansas Secretary of State · accessed 11 October 2026
4. 4.K.S.A. 17-76,139 — Business entity information report — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes · accessed 11 October 2026
5. 5.Information Report — Limited Liability Company (Form ILC, rev. 1/23/26) — Kansas Secretary of State · accessed 11 October 2026
6. 6.Information Reports — Kansas Secretary of State · accessed 11 October 2026
7. 7.Certificate of Reinstatement — LLC, LLP or LP (Form RL, rev. 6/12/26) — Kansas Secretary of State · accessed 11 October 2026
8. 8.Biennial Business Filing — Kansas Secretary of State · accessed 11 October 2026
9. 9.Kansas 2026 Individual Estimated Tax (K-40ES) and Notice 25-06 — Kansas Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
10. 10.Get an employer identification number — IRS · accessed 11 October 2026
11. 11.Beneficial Ownership Information — FinCEN · accessed 11 October 2026