How to Start an LLC in Mississippi: A Step-by-Step Guide (2027)

How to Start an LLC in Mississippi (Quick Answer)

To start an LLC in Mississippi, file the Certificate of Formation (Form F0100) with the Mississippi Secretary of State and pay the $50 state filing fee. Once the state approves it, your LLC legally exists, and from then on a domestic LLC files a free Annual Report each year, with the window opening January 1 and closing April 15.

First-year cost: $50 if you file the Certificate of Formation yourself. If you are not based in Mississippi, add a registered-agent service, commonly $35 to $300 a year, plus an optional $25 name reservation.

Mississippi charges $0 for the annual report every domestic LLC owes the state, every year, for as long as the business exists. That is not a typo and it is not the formation fee. Founders who mix the two up end up either overpaying or missing the one filing that actually costs $50.

TL;DR

• Two separate fees, don't confuse them: the one-time Certificate of Formation costs $50, while the recurring domestic Annual Report is free every year.
• Step 1, name: confirm your LLC name is distinguishable and includes "LLC," "L.L.C.," or "Limited Liability Company," and reserve it if you're not ready to file.
• Step 2, registered agent: Mississippi requires a physical in-state street address, no PO boxes, so most founders outside the state use a commercial service.
• Step 3, Certificate of Formation: this $50 filing with the Secretary of State is what legally creates your LLC.
• Step 4, EIN: free from the IRS, online for SSN/ITIN holders, Form SS-4 for founders without one.
• Step 5, Form 5472: a 25%+ foreign-owned single-member LLC must file this every year, even at zero revenue, or risk a $25,000 minimum penalty.
• Step 6, ongoing compliance: the free domestic Annual Report is due April 15 each year, and Mississippi's flat income tax rate is now 4.4%.
• Common mistakes: assuming the whole process is free, and missing the April 15 report deadline, are the two that cause the most damage.

Why Form Your LLC in Mississippi

Mississippi is one of the cheaper states to keep an LLC in good standing long-term, largely because of one detail most state guides don't lead with: the annual report costs nothing for a domestic LLC.

Compare that to states with a recurring franchise or report fee. California charges an $800 minimum annual franchise tax regardless of income. New York adds a publication requirement that can run into the hundreds of dollars. Mississippi charges $50 once, at formation, and nothing every year after for domestic entities.

There's a real asymmetry worth flagging if you're considering Mississippi as a second state rather than your home state. Foreign qualification (registering an out-of-state LLC to do business in Mississippi) costs $250, and the foreign LLC annual report is also $250, not free. The free annual report only applies to LLCs formed in Mississippi itself.

Step 1: Choose and Reserve Your LLC Name

Your name has to be distinguishable from other business names already on file with the Mississippi Secretary of State, and it must contain "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C."

• Search first. The Secretary of State's business search tool lets you check availability before you file anything.
• Reserve it with Form F0110 if you're not ready to file the Certificate of Formation yet. The fee is $25.
• The reservation holds for 180 days and can be renewed once, within 30 days of expiration.

Reserving a name isn't required if you're filing right away, but it protects the name from being taken while you sort out the registered agent and other formation details.

Step 2: Appoint a Registered Agent

Mississippi requires every LLC to name a registered agent with a physical street address in the state. A PO box doesn't satisfy this requirement, whether the agent is an individual or a commercial service.

Who Can Serve as Your Registered Agent

You have two options: an individual Mississippi resident with a real street address, or a commercial registered agent service. If you don't live in Mississippi yourself, a commercial service is typically the only workable option.

• Changing agents later uses Form F0010 and costs $10.
• An agent who wants to resign files Form F0038, which is free.

Skipping a compliant registered agent, or using an address that stops being valid, can put your LLC out of good standing with the state.

Step 3: File Your Certificate of Formation

The Certificate of Formation (Form F0100) is the filing that actually creates your LLC as a legal entity. The fee is $50, confirmed on Mississippi's official fee schedule.

This is worth stating plainly because Mississippi's free annual report sometimes gets mixed up with a free formation fee. They are not the same filing. The Certificate of Formation is a one-time $50 charge; the annual report that follows is free for domestic LLCs.

• Processing time is typically around 1 to 2 business days when filed online, though this isn't fully confirmed by a primary source and can vary.
• An expedited option may exist, but the fee and turnaround aren't consistently confirmed across sources, so don't count on a specific expedited price without checking directly with the Secretary of State.
• No publication requirement. Unlike a few other states, Mississippi doesn't require you to publish notice of formation in a newspaper.

Once this filing is approved, your LLC legally exists, and the tax and federal filing clock in the next two steps starts running.

Step 4: Get an EIN

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is what the IRS uses to identify your LLC for tax purposes, and it's free directly from the IRS regardless of how you apply.

• Founders with an SSN or ITIN can apply online and typically receive the EIN the same day.
• Founders without an SSN or ITIN use Form SS-4, submitted by phone, fax, or mail, since the online tool isn't available to them.

You'll need the EIN to open a US bank account and to file the tax obligations covered in the next step.

Draft an Operating Agreement

Your Certificate of Formation creates the LLC; it does not say how the LLC is run. Nothing in the Mississippi filing steps above asks you to hand an operating agreement to the Secretary of State, which is exactly why it gets skipped.

• Put ownership and profit splits in writing. Record each member's percentage, how profits and losses are allocated, and when distributions are made, before there is money to argue about.
• Name who runs it. Say whether the members manage the LLC or a manager does, which decisions require a vote, and what counts as approval.
• Cover the exit. Spell out what happens when a member leaves, sells a stake, dies, or the LLC winds down, since those are the situations default rules handle least cleanly.

The agreement stays internal, kept with your records rather than filed. Single-member LLCs benefit too, since it reinforces that the business is a separate entity from its owner.

Open a US Business Bank Account

Once your Certificate of Formation is approved and your EIN has arrived, open a dedicated business account before the LLC takes in or spends a dollar.

• Bring the paperwork. Banks typically ask for the approved Certificate of Formation, your EIN confirmation letter, and an operating agreement, even an internal one that was never filed with the state.
• Keep funds separate from day one. Mixing personal and business money, sometimes called commingling, is one of the fastest ways to undermine the liability protection an LLC is supposed to provide.
• Non-US founders should expect extra verification. Some banks require an in-person visit or extra identity documents before opening an account without a US-based owner present, so confirm a bank's requirements before planning a fully remote setup.

This step involves no Mississippi filing at all, but delaying it is one of the more common gaps founders leave in an otherwise complete setup.

Step 5: File Form 5472 if the LLC Is Foreign-Owned

If your single-member LLC is 25% or more foreign-owned, the IRS requires an annual Form 5472 filing, even if the LLC had zero revenue for the year.

• Filed with a pro forma Form 1120, a placeholder corporate return required alongside the 5472.
• Reports transactions between the LLC and its foreign owner, such as capital contributions or payments for services.
• The minimum penalty for a late or missing filing is $25,000, per form, per year, whether or not the LLC made a dollar.

The IRS doesn't waive this for founders who didn't know it applied. Treat it as a required annual filing from the day your LLC exists, not something tied to profitability.

Step 6: Handle Ongoing Compliance

Once your LLC is formed, Mississippi's ongoing requirements are lighter than most states, but they're not zero, and missing the deadline carries real consequences.

The Annual Report

Domestic LLCs file the Annual Report (Form F0108) every year, and the filing fee is $0. The window opens January 1 and the report is due by April 15.

• Foreign LLCs file a different form, Form F0208, which costs $250, unlike the free domestic version.
• Missing the deadline can put your LLC at risk of administrative dissolution if it isn't filed within roughly 60 days of the due date, though this window is standard practice rather than something we've confirmed against a primary source for every case.
• The Mississippi Secretary of State has publicly warned about third-party mailers that imply a fee is owed for the free annual report. This is worth knowing, though it's a secondary-sourced detail rather than something to treat as an official state notice.

State Income Tax

Mississippi uses a flat income tax rate, set at 4.4% as of January 1, 2026, down from 4.7%. The first $10,000 of taxable income is exempt.

The rate sits on a legislated glide path toward 3.5% by 2030, with an eventual full phase-out targeted further out. For a pass-through LLC, this tax applies at the member level on their share of the LLC's income, not as a separate entity-level tax.

Mississippi LLC Costs Breakdown

Mississippi charges one fee at the start and almost nothing after it, as long as the LLC is formed in state. Every figure below comes from the steps above.

An expedited filing option may exist, but its fee and turnaround are not consistently confirmed, so do not budget for a specific expedited price without checking with the Secretary of State first.

How Long Does It Take to Form an LLC in Mississippi?

Online filings of the Certificate of Formation are typically processed in about 1 to 2 business days, though that figure is not fully confirmed by a primary source and can vary. An expedited option may exist, but its fee and turnaround are not consistently confirmed, so plan around the standard timeline.

Reserving the name with Form F0110 adds a step ahead of the filing, though the 180-day hold means it does not have to sit on the critical path. Mississippi has no publication requirement, so nothing stands between approval and operating.

The EIN is next: the same day online for founders with an SSN or ITIN, longer on the Form SS-4 route by phone, fax, or mail. The bank account follows the EIN. Your first Annual Report then falls in the window that opens January 1 and closes April 15.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming the whole process is free: the $0 annual report doesn't mean the $50 formation fee disappears too.
• Missing the April 15 annual report deadline: even a free filing can put your LLC at risk of dissolution if you skip it.
• Using a PO box for the registered agent: Mississippi requires a physical street address, and a PO box will get the filing rejected.
• Treating Mississippi as a free secondary state: foreign qualification costs $250 and the foreign annual report costs $250 too, unlike the free domestic version.
• Ignoring Form 5472 at zero revenue: the filing requirement doesn't care whether the LLC has made money yet.

How FinStackk Helps With Starting Your LLC in Mississippi

We handle the incorporation steps above, including EIN applications and registered agent service, through Fin-Start. It's built to support founders navigating a first US entity setup, including cross-border details for those incorporating from outside the US.

Once your LLC exists, Fin-Tax supports applicable tax filings, including Form 5472, while Complyy identifies and tracks the compliance requirements applicable to the business, including Mississippi’s annual report deadline and other state obligations, on a proactive calendar. The platform combines technology, automation, and expert support, giving founders one place to manage these requirements. Book a free demo to see both in action.

FAQ

Is it really free to keep an LLC active in Mississippi?

The recurring cost is close to zero for a domestic LLC, since the Annual Report fee is $0. The formation itself isn't free, though; the Certificate of Formation carries a one-time $50 fee. If your LLC is foreign-qualified in Mississippi rather than formed there, the annual report costs $250 instead of $0.

How long does it take to form an LLC in Mississippi?

Online filings of the Certificate of Formation are typically processed within about 1 to 2 business days, though this figure isn't fully confirmed by a primary source and processing times can shift. There's no publication requirement in Mississippi, which removes a delay that exists in some other states.

Do I need a registered agent if I live in Mississippi myself?

You can serve as your own registered agent if you're a Mississippi resident with a physical street address in the state, since the requirement is a real in-state address, not a professional service specifically. If you don't have a qualifying address, or you're forming from outside Mississippi, a commercial registered agent service typically fills that role instead.

Can I form a Mississippi LLC if I live outside the US?

Yes, and the formation steps above don't change. What changes is how you satisfy two of them. Your registered agent needs a physical Mississippi street address rather than a PO box, so a commercial registered agent service is typically the only workable option from abroad.

For the EIN, founders without an SSN or ITIN file Form SS-4 by phone, fax, or mail instead of using the online tool. And if the single-member LLC is 25% or more foreign-owned, Form 5472 is due every year after that, even at zero revenue, with a $25,000 minimum penalty for missing it.

Can a non-US resident start an LLC in Mississippi?

Yes, and the formation steps don't change. Your registered agent still needs a physical Mississippi street address rather than a PO box, so a commercial registered agent service is typically the only workable option from abroad. Because you won't have an SSN, you apply for your EIN on Form SS-4 by phone, fax, or mail instead of the online tool. If your LLC is single-member and 25% or more foreign-owned, you also file Form 5472 with the IRS every year, even at zero revenue, or risk a $25,000 minimum penalty.

What are the annual filing requirements for a single-member LLC in Mississippi?

Every domestic Mississippi LLC, including a single-member one, files the Annual Report (Form F0108) each year, and the filing fee is $0. The window opens January 1 and the report is due by April 15, and skipping it can put the LLC at risk of administrative dissolution. A foreign-qualified LLC files a different form, F0208, which costs $250 rather than the free domestic version. A single-member LLC that is 25% or more foreign-owned also has a federal obligation: Form 5472, filed yearly with the IRS.

Does a Mississippi LLC pay income tax?

Yes, but at the member level. Mississippi uses a flat income tax rate, set at 4.4% as of January 1, 2026, down from 4.7%, and the first $10,000 of taxable income is exempt. For a pass-through LLC, this applies to each member's share of income rather than as a separate entity-level tax. The rate sits on a legislated glide path toward 3.5% by 2030.