Mississippi LLC Certificate of Formation

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Articles of OrganizationIn this lesson, we will walk you through filing your Certificate of Formation with the state. This is the document that officially forms your LLC in Mississippi.

After filling out your Certificate of Formation, you can send it to the Mississippi Secretary of State online. The filing fee is $50.

How much is an LLC in Mississippi explains all the fees you’ll pay, including the Certificate of Formation filing fee.

Note: The “LLC filing fee” (the fee to create a Mississippi LLC) is the same thing as the “Certificate of Formation fee”. The Certificate of Formation is the document, that once approved by the Secretary of State’s office, creates your Mississippi LLC.

Mississippi LLC Secretary of State Business Services
(Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Building)

When you file online, your LLC will be approved in 1-2 business days.

Note: Filing times may take longer due to government delays. For the most up-to-date LLC processing times, check how long does it take to get an LLC in Mississippi.

If you want to hire a company to form your LLC, check out Best LLC Services in Mississippi.

If you’re ready to file your LLC yourself, you need to create an online account with the Mississippi Secretary of State in order to fill out and submit your Certificate of Formation.

Before proceeding with this lesson, make sure you have searched your LLC name and selected your LLC’s Mississippi Registered Agent.

Need to save time? Hire a company to form your LLC:
Northwest ($39 + state fee) or LegalZoom ($149 + state fee)

(Learn why Northwest is #1 in Northwest vs LegalZoom)

Create an Online Account

1. Go to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website.

2. Click the “Register” button. Then select “I am not a robot” and click “Next“.

3. Enter your name, physical and mailing address, and your business email address (which can just be your regular email), then click the “Next” button.

4. A page will then appear confirming the creation of your online account. Click the “Exit” button, which will close the browser tab/window.

5. Wait about 30-60 seconds and then check your email. You should have a message from the Mississippi Secretary of State with your username and password. Make sure to print out or write down your username and password for future reference.

6. Then visit the Login Page and enter your username (which will be your email address) and your password, then click “Login”.

7. A popup message will appear forcing you to change your password. Enter your old password (the one the state emailed you), then create/think of a new password and enter it twice. Click the “Update” button to proceed.

Complete your Mississippi Certificate of Formation

Get Started
In your Dashboard, under the “Name Reservation and Formation Filings” section, click “Form a Mississippi Corporation, Non-Profit, LLC or Partnership” button.

Business Type, LLC Name and Business Email
In the “Business Type” drop down menu, select “Limited Liability Company“. A number of fields will now appear below.

LLC Name and Business Email
In the “Business Name” box, enter your LLC name exactly as you would like it, including your preferred capitalization as well as the designator “LLC” or “L.L.C.”.

Note: You can use a comma in your Mississippi LLC name or you can leave it out. Ex: “ABC Widgets, LLC” and “ABC Widgets LLC” are both acceptable.

In the “Business Email” box, enter your email address. It doesn’t actually have to be a business email. You can just use your personal email address. The state will use this email to send you notifications as well as your LLC approval.

Business Details: Future Effective Date
Leave the “Future Date Effective” box blank if you want your LLC to be effective upon filing. This means your LLC will go into existence on the date it is filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State.

If you need your LLC to go into existence at a later date, select that date from the calendar (it can’t be more than 90 days out).

Matt Horwitz, founder of LLC University®Pro tip: If you’re forming your LLC in October, November, or December, and you don’t need your business open during those months, forward date your filing to January 1st. This will save you the hassle of filing any taxes for those 1-3 months. For more information, please see LLC effective date.

Business Details: NAICS Code
In the “Nature of Business” section, enter the NAICS Code which corresponds to your business’s primary industry.

An NAICS Code (North American Industry Classification System) is used by government agencies to identify your LLC’s line of business and activities. It’s mostly used for statistical purposes.

At the time this course was written, the “Search for NAICS Codes” button in the Mississippi online filing takes you to the wrong search page. Here is the correct search page: NAICS & SIC Identification Tools

You can either search by keyword or browse by industry. To search by keyword, in the “NAICS Keyword Search” box, enter the first word of your business industry (ex: “restaurant”, “landscape”, “retail”, “real estate”, etc.) and then click “Submit”. Scroll through the list until you find your industry and its NAICS Code.

To browse by industry, just scroll underneath the search box and you’ll see a list of industries which you can click on.

If you can’t find your exact industry, just use the closest thing to it.

If you need help determining your NAICS Code, you can contact the US Census Bureau at 1-888-756-2427 for assistance. This page also has answers to frequently asked questions.

Registered Agent

If your Registered Agent is an individual, select “Individual” from the drop down menu (this is already the default option), enter their name, address, and email address.

If you hired a Commercial Registered Agent, select “Organization” from the drop down menu, enter their name, address, email address. You’ll need to call your Commercial Registered Agent to get the email address that they have on file with the Mississippi Secretary of State.

You can also select from the list of Commercial Registered Agents by clicking the “Find Commercial Registered Agents” button. Unfortunately, there is no search functionality here and you have to browse through the list until you find the Commercial Registered Agent that you hired.

Remember: The address of your Registered Agent must be a street address located in Mississippi and PO Boxes are not allowed.

Signature
Click the “Click to Sign” button and a popup message will appear. In the “Title” drop down menu, select your title. You will most likely be a Member, Manager, or Organizer.

Tip: If you are unsure which to select, these articles should help:

In the 2nd drop down menu, select “Individual“, then enter your name and address. Click the “Update” button to save.

Once finished, click the “Next” button at the bottom of the page to proceed.

Note: If you click “Next” and get the following error message at the top: “Registered Agent entered is a Commercial Registered Agent and does not contain the correct information on file for this agent. Please consider using the ‘Find Commercial Registered Agents’ button to select and retrieve the Commercial Registered Agent’s information”, it means you’re using a Commercial Registered Agent and their address (or email) was not entered correctly. You’ll need to click the ‘‘Find Commercial Registered Agents” button, browse through the list, and then select the Commercial Registered Agent that you hired.

“Submit Formation” Page
This page will tell you that your Certificate of Formation contains no errors. Click the “Next” button to proceed. If you made any mistakes, please go back and correct them.

Department of Revenue Acknowledgement
You may see a message regarding registering for taxes with the Mississippi Department of Revenue. All you need to do is click the “Acknowledge” button. We discuss taxes here: Mississippi LLC Taxes.

Add an Attachment (optional)
This is where you can upload any additional rules or regulations for your LLC (if applicable). You will most likely leave this section blank and just click the “Next” button to proceed.

Payment Required
Click the “Submit Document Electronically and Pay Online” button.

Note: There is still an option on this page to download your Certificate of Formation and mail it with a check. However, the Secretary of State no longer accepts mail filings.

A page will appear telling you that you will be redirected to the State of Mississippi Payment Gateway. Click the “Next” button to proceed.

Payment Method
In the “Payment Type” drop down, select either “Credit Card” or “Electronic Check“, then click the “Next” button.

Enter your contact information and click “Next”. Then enter your billing information and click “Next” to submit your payment.

Congratulations, your Mississippi LLC has been filed for processing! Now you just need to wait for approval.

Mississippi LLC Approval (filing online):
After you submit your payment online, your Mississippi LLC will be approved in 1-2 business days. The state will email you a stamped and approved copy of your Certificate of Formation, an official Certificate, and a receipt.

Your stamped and approved copy will contain your LLC’s Business ID Number. Keep this number in a safe place as you will use this when you file your Annual Report each year.

Note: You’ll use your Certificate of Formation and Federal Tax ID Number to open a business bank account for your LLC.

Mississippi Secretary of State Contact Info

If you have any questions, you can contact the Mississippi Secretary of State at 601-359-1633 or send a message through their Contact Form.

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Matt Horwitz
Matt Horwitz
Matt Horwitz has been the leading expert on LLC education for the past decade. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to start an LLC that other companies weren't offering. He's cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.
 
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.

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