The Massachusetts Certificate of Organization asks for the company’s records address, resident agent and authorized representatives. Confirm or update those details in the annual report.
This guide covers forming a new Massachusetts LLC. If your LLC already exists in another state or country, use the foreign-registration process instead.
Massachusetts LLC at a glance
- Official filing website
- Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division
- Business name check
- Search business namesA name search does not reserve or approve the name.
- Formation document
- Certificate of Organization
- State filing fee
- $500Formation filing only; other required costs and optional services are separate.
- Processing time
- Online1-2 business daysPaper1-2 business days; add mail transitPublished guide estimate. Published guide estimate for a complete filing; not a state guarantee. Check the filing office before setting a deadline.
- Ongoing report or tax
- Annual Report
- Report / renewal charge
- $500Fee for this filing only.
- Frequency / due date
- Annually; confirm the anniversary filing deadline
- Sales tax base rate
- 6.25%July 1, 2026 snapshot; not an address-specific rate. General rate for ordinary taxable sales; exemptions, special products and local rules can change the result.Official tax agency ↗
- Names in formation records
- Conditional or optional listingManagers, if any, are named. The certificate also identifies people authorized to execute filings or certain property instruments; those roles are not a full ownership roster. Other filings and private bank/tax records may identify owners.
Before you file in Massachusetts
Prepare the name, business description, Massachusetts records address, agent, managers and authorized signers.
File the Certificate of Organization
Massachusetts LLC filing instructions ↗
- Start the domestic LLC Certificate of Organization with the Corporations Division.
- Complete the address and authority sections. Add managers if the LLC has them, and answer the filing-signature and real-estate-authority questions separately.
- Sign, pay and save the accepted certificate and account details for later reports.
What to enter in the form
- Records address
- Enter the address in Massachusetts where the required company records will be kept.
- Managers
- List the managers if the company is manager-managed.
- Filing authority
- Identify the people authorized to sign state filings. This does not automatically give them authority to sign real-estate documents.
- Real-estate authority
- List a person here if the LLC has authorized that person to sign or record real-estate documents on its behalf. This authority is separate from signing state business filings.
After approval in Massachusetts
- Set the annual-report reminder for the company’s anniversary deadline.
Annual Report
Official report and fee instructions ↗
- Open the LLC annual-report filing and select the report year.
- Update the records address, business description, agent, managers and authorized signers. Remove people who no longer have the listed authority.
- Sign, pay the report fee and save the accepted filing.
Compare the filing cycles in our annual report and recurring-fee table.
Next steps: operating agreement · get an EIN · starting checklist.
Sources and filing links
Sources checked . Confirm the state’s current fees and instructions before filing.
- Massachusetts: 950 CMR 112, Limited Liability Companies
- Massachusetts Corporations Division: Filing Fees
Research and walkthrough references
These references provide background and filing walkthroughs. Follow current state instructions if an older walkthrough differs.
See our editorial policy for the research process and contact page for correction information.