Iowa LLC Biennial Report
LLC formed in Iowa needs to file a report with the state biennially i.e, once every 2 years. Read about how to file this report.
File report online
Visit the official state government’s website to submit biennial report online.
Visit Iowa official website
What is an LLC?
Limited Liability Company
LLC is a business entity in the U.S that provides limited liability to its members. It has characteristics from both corporation and sole proprietorship. LLCs are permitted under State statutes of each US state.
Limited liability
Personal assets are protected for people with limited liability when they are sued.
Corporation
A business entity that can issue shares and give limited liability to shareholders.
Members
Owners of an LLC are referred to as members. They own membership interest in the LLC.
Sole proprietorship
Where an individual engages in business activity without formal organization.
Why file the report?
Iowa LLC Biennial Report
Biennial report is used to keep an LLC’s contact information up to the date with the State and to keep your LLC in compliance and in good standing with the state. .
Filed once in 2 years
Every registered entity must file this report once every 2 years.
Business activity information
Report is mainly used for providing the details of Nature of business activity.
File online or via mail
Biennial reports can be filed either online or by mail.
Change in address
You can change your Principal business address by updating it on the biennial report when it is due.
Iowa actions
Here are some of the actions business owners can take in Iowa:
How to file Biennial report in Iowa?
Follow these steps:
1. Visit official website
Every LLC has to file a biennial report once every 2 years. The biennial report must be submitted between January 1 and April 1 of the following odd-numbered years after the year your LLC was founded.
Due
biennially by April 1
The Biennial Report must be postmarked, complete and compliant, before April 1 to avoid issues.
LLC Biennial Report
Every LLC has to file this report in Iowa to stay compliant with the state laws.
Filing Biennial Report
Iowa LLC is expected to file this report biennially
File it online on Iowa Secretary of State website
Visit
Online fee
$30
Online processing time
instant
Failure to pay
Iowa does not charge late fees if you miss your filing deadline but may administratively dissolve your LLC after a few months for failure to file a biennial report.
Certificate of Organization
In Iowa, Certificate of Organization is the form you file with the Secretary of State to form an LLC. It contains the articles of formation for the LLC.
Filing Certificate of Organization
There are a couple of ways to file
Address
Lucas State Office Building
321 E 12th St
Des Moines, IA 50319
Online fee
$50
Online processing time
1 hour
Mailing fee
$50
Mail processing time
2 weeks
Note
Since Iowa does not have a standard Certificate of Organization to file by mail, you should draft one based on the guidelines mentioned in the PDF.
Entity name
Every LLC should have a unique name in Iowa. Iowa maintains a list of names of entities in the state. Go through it to check if your chosen name is available.
Search for names
Go to the official website of the Iowa business entities search tool to see if the name you want is available.
Searching fee
Free
Reservation
You can reserve a name for your LLC for a specific duration by paying reservation fees to the Iowa business services. You will have to file your LLC formation documents within this period to keep the name. Alternatively, you can directly go ahead with the LLC formation without any reservation. That's fine too.
Reservation fee
$40
Reservation period
120 days
LLC naming guidelines
The name you choose for your LLC must the official naming guidelines.
Iowa Code §489.108
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Here are some of the guidelines in simple language:
- 1
The name of a limited liability company must contain the words “limited liability company” or “limited company” or the abbreviation “L.L.C.”, “LLC”, “L.C.”, or “LC”. “Limited” may be abbreviated as “Ltd.”, and “company” may be abbreviated as “Co.”
- 2
Don’t include terms that indicate that you are doing an activity that you are not authorised to do.
- 3
Your name should be ‘distinguishable’ in the Secretary of State records. Adding a punctuation or ‘the’ does not make it distinguishable.
- 4
Don’t use words that makes it seems like you are a governmental entity or has an affiliation.
Frequently asked questions
LLC annual report in Iowa
It is very important to maintain full compliance in Iowa. Filing these reports helps you protect your personal assets by maintaining limited liability and also to be in good standing with the state. Read our guides to learn how to start and manage a business in Iowa.
Iowa LLC
Iowa Business search