How to start an LLC in Oklahoma [2023]: Does it Cost?

If you are looking to form an LLC in Oklahoma, you will first be required to file the Articles of Organization and send it to the Oklahoma Secretary of State. This process will cost $100. You will be able to file your Articles of Organization either online, by mail or in person. The articles of organization will be a legal agreement that you require to officially create your Oklahoma LLC.

You will then need to follow the step-by-step guide to form an Oklahoma LLC and get your business running. The steps that you will need to take to form an LLC in Oklahoma can be summarised as below.

Step 1: Naming your LLC
Step 2: Appoint a Registered Agent
Step 3: Filing the Articles of Organization
Step 4: Creating an Operating Agreement
Step 5: Getting an EIN (Employer Identification Number)

Naming your LLC Oklahoma

Choosing a name when you form your Oklahoma LLC is the first and most important step when forming an LLC. You will need to make sure that the name you will be choosing to start an LLC complies with Oklahoma naming requirements and will also be easily searchable by any potential customers or clients.

Following the Oklahoma naming guidelines

When forming the name of your LLC in Oklahoma, you are required to include the phrase “limited liability company” or any one of its related abbreviations such as (LLC or L.L.C.). Your Oklahoma LLC also can not include any words that might confuse your LLC in Oklahoma with any government agencies such as CIA, FBI, Treasury or the State Department, etc.

Additionally, any restricted words such as “Bank”, “Attorney” and “University” when you start an LLC may require some additional paperwork and a licensed individual such as a lawyer or doctor to be a part of your LLC in Oklahoma. In the state of Oklahoma, your name must also be distinguishable from any other Oklahoma LLC. Corporation, limited liability partnership or limited partnership.

Name availability of your LLC in Oklahoma

You should also make sure the name that you want is available. If you want to make sure the name you want is not already taken, you can do an Oklahoma LLC search using the Secretary of State‘s website.

Another thing you should take note of is will the URL of your website be available. It is recommended that you check online if your business name will be available as a web domain. Even if you do not plan to form your business website today, you may want to do so in the future, so you will be able to prevent others from acquiring it.

Appoint a registered agent In Starting An LLC in Oklahoma

In Oklahoma, you are required to appoint a registered agent to be nominated for your LLC. A registered agent can be either an individual or business entity that is responsible for receiving important documents such as tax forms, legal documents and any notice of lawsuits. Your Oklahoma registered agent will also be the official government correspondence on behalf of your Oklahoma LLC. You should think of your Oklahoma registered agent as a point of contact with the Oklahoma Secretary of State.

There are however certain requirements for an individual or business entity to be an Oklahoma registered agent. An Oklahoma registered agent is required to be a resident of Oklahoma or a corporation such as an Oklahoma agent services that is authorized by the Oklahoma secretary of state to transact business in Oklahoma. Otherwise, you will also be able to elect an individual with your Oklahoma LLC as a registered agent and this includes yourself.

Appoint a registered agent service provides a variety of advantages, including peace of mind, anonymity, and the opportunity to devote more time and energy to increasing your business.

Hiring a skilled agent services provides a variety of advantages, including peace of mind, anonymity, and the opportunity to concentrate more resources on increasing the business.

Agent services provide you with peace of mind, allowing you to devote your time, resources, and attention to running your company. Here’s how a competent service will help you relax:

If you want to be your own registered agent, you must be available to receive official notifications at the address you give during regular business hours. Instead of keeping track of deadlines and being available during business hours, a registered agent service enables you to concentrate on your business.

Filing the Articles of Organization for your Oklahoma LLC

In order to register for your Oklahoma LLC, you will first need to file the Articles of Organization with the Oklahoma Secretary of State. You can file your articles of organization for your limited liability company either online through the Oklahoma Secretary of State website or by mail. You should also take this time to determine whether your Oklahoma LLC will be member-managed or manager-managed.

The Secretary of State charges $100 and is non-refundable. and you should mail it to

Oklahoma Secretary of State
421 N.W. 13th Suite 210
Oklahoma City, OK 73103

Below is attached a sample of the Articles of Organization form.

Creating an Oklahoma LLC operating agreement.

When you are forming an Oklahoma LLC,  the secretary of state does not require an operating agreement to be formed but you should know that it is a good practice to do so. This is because an operating agreement is a legal document that helps to outline the ownership as well as the operating procedures of an Oklahoma LLC.

The Operating Agreement will be important as it ensures that the business owners of your Oklahoma LLC will be on the same page and this reduces the risk of any future conflict.

An operating agreement should include some of the topics as below in order to ensure that future conflicts can be avoided.

Organization

When the LLC is formed, who its members are, how the ownership is divided. A limited liability company with a multi-member structure may utilize an equal ownership structure or even assign various members different “units’ of ownership

Voting and management

It is important to identify whether the Limited Liability Company will be managed by its members or an appointed manager and how many members will be allowed to go on voting for business matters.

As a general rule, every member has one vote but you could give some members more voting power than others.

Capital Contributions

The amount of money that each member of the LLC has invested in the business and you should also take the time to establish an approach to raising any additional funds in the future

Distributions

This part stipulates how the profits and losses of the LLC will be divided among the members. The most common way is to distribute profits evenly. As such, if you want to divide profits a different way, you should input the details in your operating agreement.

Changes on the structure of membership

This part of the operating agreement dictates how roles and ownership will be transferred in the event that a member leaves the LLC. It is important to layout the process whenever a member buys out or replaces another member in the operating agreement.

Dissolution

The final part of the operating agreement is dissolution, At some point, all of the members of your LLC decide that they no longer wish to conduct business, you should officially dissolve it. This part of the operating agreement should essentially outline the hypothetical process of dissolving your business so this is an important part of the operating agreement.

Getting an Oklahoma Employer Identification Number

What is an Employer Identification Number EIN? EIN’s are a nine-digit number that is assigned by the IRS to help identify businesses for tax purposes. As such it can be compared to a Social Security number for businesses.

Sometimes your EIN could be referred to as a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or a Federal Tax Identification Number (FTIN). You will need an EIN to open a business bank account for your Oklahoma LLC, file and manage federal as well as state taxes and also to hire any employees you may need.

If in the occasion that you already have an EIN for a sole proprietorship in Oklahoma, the Inland Revenue Service still requires that sole proprietorships get a new EIN when converting into an Oklahoma LLC.

You are able to get a free EIN from the Inland Revenue Service, and it is easily done through mail or even online.

Separating personal assets from business assets

After you have successfully filed your articles of organization to the Oklahoma secretary of state, nominating your registered agent and successfully forming your Oklahoma LLC, you should aim to separate your personal and business assets.

This is because when your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets such as your home, car and any other valuables you might have will be at risk in the event your Oklahoma LLC is sued. This condition is called piercing the corporate veil in Business law.

You will be able to protect your Oklahoma LLC with the below steps.

Opening a business account

By opening a business checking account, you will be able to separate your personal assets from the assets of your Oklahoma company which is a vital step for personal asset protection. Additionally, since the revenue and expenses related to your business will involve your business checking account, this makes accounting and tax filing much easier.
Getting a credit card for your business.

If you choose to get a credit card for your LLC in Oklahoma, it will help to separate your personal as well as business expenses, while in the meantime building your company’s credit card history. This is extremely useful if you are looking to raise capital such as small business loans later on.

There are also other steps that you can take to protect your corporate veil such as properly signing any legal documents that are required by your registered agent as well as documenting company businesses.

Hiring a business account for your Oklahoma LLC

A business accountant would be extremely beneficial to less experienced business owners in operating their Oklahoma LLC. This is because a company accountant can help the business owner avoid overpaying taxes while also assisting the L.L.C in reducing fees, fines, and other expensive tax mistakes.

Other activities such as bookkeeping and payroll processes can be made simpler by a company accountant, allowing you more flexibility to focus on growing your business. They will also help you to better manage your business funding by helping you to recognise any areas of unexpected loss or extra benefit that you would not have found if you had not hired a business accountant.

Obtaining business insurance for your Oklahoma LLC

If you receive business insurance for your Oklahoma LLC, you will be able to handle risks and concentrate on increasing your business. There are three forms of commercial insurance.

You will control risks and concentrate on increasing your company with the help of business insurance. In Kansas, there are three main forms of business insurance that you can get for your L.L.C.

General Liability Insurance: This is a comprehensive insurance policy that protects the company against claims and is the most common form of insurance purchased by most small businesses.

Professional Liability Insurance: Professional Liability Insurance covers malpractice and other business negligence lawsuits for professional service providers such as consultants and accountants.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance: This form of insurance protects workers from illnesses, disabilities, or deaths that occur on the job. Worker’s compensation insurance is mandated by law in Oklahoma for those companies with one or more workers.

Creating a website To Start LLC in Oklahoma

The establishment of a legal LLC in Oklahoma starts with the launch of a website. Even if you think your business is too small or in an offline industry, having a website should be a priority for any company. This is because if you don’t have a website, you’re losing out on a significant portion of future sales and clients.

Since they do not have any website-building experience, some business owners will believe that designing a business website would be difficult. This may have been a valid concern in 2015, but web technology has advanced significantly in recent years, making the development of a website for small business owners much easier. Here are a few reasons why you should be involved.

The majority of legal companies have their own website. When it comes to having your company online, the size or industry of your business does not matter.

Most social business accounts, such as Facebook pages or a LinkedIn business profile, should not be used to replace a business website that you manage.

You can use tools like GoDaddy Website Builder to create your own website, which makes building a basic website extremely easy. To create the website you want, you don’t need to employ a web developer or designer.

Promotion activities after Filing an LLC in Oklahoma

Following the formation of your LLC, you can engage in certain marketing activities to let others know that you are open for business. A press release is probably one of the simplest and most successful ways to promote your business.

A press release is one of the most cost-effective ways to market your company because it provides visibility, establishes your brand’s online presence, improves your website’s search engine optimization (SEO), drives more consumers to your website, and is a one-time initiative and financial investment with long-term benefits.

Ensuring your Oklahoma LLC Application is in compliance with the Secretary of State

Licenses and permits required in Oklahoma

Permits are required to keep the LLC compliant with federal, state, and local government regulations. For example, restaurants are required to obtain health permits, construction permits, and other permits.

The specifics of the business licences and permits you’ll need for your LLC vary by state, so read the information below carefully. The fees you will be charged will also differ depending on the type of licence you are seeking.

Tax filing requirements for Oklahoma

L.L.C.s are typically expected to report their income to the IRS using one of two forms: a Form 1065 Partnership Return, which is used by most multi-member LLCs, or a Form 1040 Schedule C, which is used by single-member LLCs.

Filing an annual certificate for your Oklahoma LLC

The Secretary of State requires that an annual certificate be filed and a filing fee be charged after LLC formation. In other states, this can be referred to as an annual report

You are able to file your annual certificate online with the Secretary of State or file it by mail. The filing fee for your annual certificate is $25 and is payable to the secretary of state. This $25 filing fee for your Oklahoma LLC formation annual certificate is also non-refundable.

You will be able to mail your annual certificate to

Oklahoma Secretary of State
421 N.W. 13th
Suite 210
Oklahoma City, OK 73103

The due date for filing annual certificates will be each year by the end of the anniversary month that the Oklahoma LLC was formed.

If you miss your filing deadline in Oklahoma, you will not be charged a late fee. Oklahoma will cancel your “good standing” after 60 days. For failing to file an annual certificate, Oklahoma can dissolve or revoke your LLC after three years.

If a (LLC) fails to file one or more state forms, it may be subject to fines and even automatic dissolution. LLC owners risk losing their limited liability rights if this occurs. By notifying you of imminent filing deadlines and sending reports on your behalf, a good registered agent service will help you avoid this result.

Hiring employees for your Oklahoma LLC

If you plan to recruit staff, take the measures listed below to remain compliant.

To begin, verify that the new employees are allowed to work in the United States and inform the Secretary of State of their new hire status. After that, you’ll have to provide workers’ compensation benefits and withhold employee taxes. You are also required to print workplace compliance posters and place them in visible areas of the workspace of your Oklahoma LLC.

Certificate of Good Standing To Apply For LLC Oklahoma

A Certificate of Good Standing ensures that your Oklahoma LLC was created legally and is up to date. The following are some examples of when you may need one:

You may wish to seek funding from banks or any other financial institutions, forming your business as a foreign LLC in another state or obtaining new licenses and permits. This certificate of Good Standing can be obtained online for a $20 filing fee.

It is important to legally dissolve your Oklahoma LLC if you no longer want to do business with it in the future. Failure to do so on time will result in tax liability and fines, as well as legal consequences. There are two simple steps to dissolving your Oklahoma LLC:

The first step will be to close all business tax accounts that are related to your Oklahoma LLC as well as filing the Oklahoma Articles of Dissolution which is an opposite form to the articles of Organization.

Forming a foreign Oklahoma LLC

Your business will act as a single entity in multiple states by creating an international LLC. You must register as an international LLC if you already have an LLC and want to do business in Oklahoma. This can be done over the phone or via the mail.

You have the option to register as a foreign LLC in Oklahoma by filing with the state of Oklahoma either online or by mail and there is a non-refundable filing fee of $300 that is payable to the Secretary of State and this should be mailed to

Oklahoma Secretary of State
421 N.W. 13th
Suite 210
Oklahoma City, OK 73103

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is an LLC?

LLC stands for Limited Liability Company and is a simple business structure that is more flexible compared to a traditionally incorporated entity while still providing many of the benefits.

Am I required to get a DBA or Trade Name for my Business?

If you are forming an LLC, most of the time you do not need to get a DBA, This is because the name of the LLC can be used as your company’s brand name and you will then be able to accept any payments such as checks under your company’s brand name.

You should only consider registering a DBA if you want to perform business under a name that is not your company’s brand name.

Can I be my own registered agent?

Yes, you or anyone else in your company can serve as the registered agent for your Oklahoma LLC

Will using a Registered Agent service over being my own registered agent worth it?

If you opt for a professional Registered Agent service, it can be a more affordable way to manage all government related filings for your LLC in Oklahoma. This is because, for most businesses, the advantages of using a professional service will definitely outweigh all the filing fee and annual costs.

What is the processing time to form my Oklahoma LLC?

Filing the Articles of Organization may take up to 2 business days online or 7-10 business days by mail

What is the difference between a domestic Oklahoma LLC vs a foreign LLC?

An LLC will be referred to as a domestic LLC when it conducts its business in the home state that it was formed. When a person refers to an LLC, it is generally referred to as a domestic LLC. A foreign LLC must be formed when an existing LLC wishes to expand its business into a neighboring or another state.

Do I need to file the operating agreement with the secretary of state?

No, you do not, an operating agreement is an internal document that you should keep for future reference.

How do I get an EIN (Employer Identification Number) if I do not possess a social security number?

A social security number is not required if you want to get an EIN. All you need to do is simply fill out IRS Form SS-4 and leave section 7B blank, you can then contact the IRS at (267) 941-1099 in order to complete your application.

What tax structure should I select for my LLC formation?

When you get your EIN from the IRS, you will be informed of the different types of tax classification options that are available but most LLC’s in Oklahoma would opt for the default tax status. Some LLC’s in Oklahoma however have the option to reduce federal tax obligation by selecting the corporation (S Corp) status.

What is the minimum wage in Oklahoma?

The minimum wage in Oklahoma is $7.25 per hour

How often do I need to pay my employees?

The state of Oklahoma requires that wages are paid regularly at least twice per month.

How to Dissolve an LLC in Oklahoma?

If you’re looking to shut down operation and dissolve your business entity, you must formally dissolve the business structure. The failure to properly dissolve within the time-frame would result in potential legal implications, penalties and tax liabilities. The methods into dissolving your business entity could be carried via closing your business tax accounts or through filling the Articles of Dissolution.