State forms · Louisiana · Form 365 (Rev. 10/26)
Louisiana Articles of Organization (Form 365) and Initial Report
Form 365 is the Louisiana Secretary of State's Articles of Organization for a domestic limited liability company, filed with the Commercial Division in Baton Rouge under section 12:1301 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. The current version is the October 2026 revision, issued with the new fee schedule that took effect on October 1, 2026. The articles never travel alone: the Secretary of State cannot accept them unless the LLC Initial Report, Form 973, is filed with them, and that report carries the registered agent's sworn acceptance of the appointment.
Most Louisiana LLCs are formed online through geauxBIZ, the Secretary of State's business portal, and for owners in fourteen parishes, including Orleans, Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, Caddo and Lafayette, online filing is required. Online, the registered agent signs the acceptance electronically, and has seven days from submission to do it; if the agent does not, the filing has to be started again. On paper, the articles and the agent's affidavit are each signed before a notary. Either way, the Initial Report puts the first managers or the members on the public record with a street address for each.
Updated November 1, 2026. Facts checked October 2026.
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Form Your Louisiana LLCForm 365 at a Glance
- Form
- Form 365 (Rev. 10/26)
- Filing portal
- geauxBIZ
- Filed with
- Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division
- State fee
- $125 (+$5)
- Facts checked
- October 2026
The state fee is Louisiana's own charge and is the same whether you file the Form 365 yourself or we file it for you. Processing figures are what the Louisiana Secretary of State publishes and are not a promise of when a filing is approved; the state's expedite tiers are listed by name, with their amounts in the facts box on the Louisiana LLC page.
Below: every field in the order the form asks it, who the filing puts on the public record, whether the registered agent signs, the reasons Louisiana returns it, and what the state expects after it is filed.
What Form 365 Asks For
- 1.State and parish of execution (paper)The paper articles open with the state and the parish or county where they are signed, for the notary's acknowledgment. Online filings skip this.
- 2.NameMust contain the words limited liability company or an accepted abbreviation such as L.L.C. or L.C., and be distinguishable from the names on the Secretary of State's records.
- 3.PurposeCheck the standard purpose, engaging in any lawful activity for which limited liability companies may be formed, or write a limited purpose to restrict what the company may do.
- 4.DurationMay be perpetual, which is what most companies choose.
- 5.ManagementMember-managed or manager-managed. The answer decides whether the Initial Report lists the first managers or the members.
- 6.Other provisionsOptional. The form carries only the minimum the law requires, and the Secretary of State's instructions suggest legal and tax advice before adding provisions.
- 7.Signatures and notary acknowledgmentEach person forming the company signs. On paper the signatures are acknowledged before a notary, who must type or print a name and notary or bar roll number; online, geauxBIZ's electronic signature takes the notary's place.
- 8.Initial Report (Form 973): registered office and agentsThe location and municipal address of the registered office, not a post office box only, and the full name and municipal address of each registered agent.
- 9.Initial Report: first managers or membersThe names and municipal addresses of the first managers or, for a member-managed company, the members, with at least one listed. If none has been selected yet, a supplemental report naming them is filed later. The report is signed by each person who signed the articles.
- 10.Agent's Affidavit and Acknowledgement of AcceptanceEach registered agent accepts the appointment: online by e-signing in geauxBIZ within seven days of submission, or on paper by signing before a notary.
- 11.Transmittal informationThe name, address, phone and email of the person filing, where evidence of filing is sent, and the level of service requested, routine or one of the two expedite tiers.
Who Is on the Louisiana Record
Who appears on the form
Initial Report lists names and municipal (non-PO-box) addresses of the first managers or the members; registered agent; signers.
Does the registered agent sign the Form 365?
Yes. Agent's Affidavit and Acknowledgement of Acceptance: e-signed by each agent online within 7 days, or signed before a notary on paper.
From our audit of Louisiana's official form and statutes, checked October 2026. Everything entered on a filing becomes public record once the state files it.
Why Louisiana Rejects It
- Articles submitted without the Initial Report, which the Secretary of State cannot accept them without.
- A registered agent who does not e-sign the acceptance within seven days of an online submission, after which the filing has to be redone.
- A registered office, agent, manager or member address that is a post office box only, rather than a municipal street address.
- Paper articles or an agent's affidavit that are not notarized, or a notary who did not print a name and notary or bar roll number.
- An Initial Report not signed by every person who signed the articles.
- A paper filing from a business owner in one of the fourteen parishes where Louisiana requires online filing through geauxBIZ.
- A name without limited liability company or an accepted abbreviation, or one not distinguishable from a name on record.
A rejection costs days, sometimes a second fee, and in a few states the name you wanted. Our name check and field review happen before the form goes to geauxBIZ, which is most of what you pay us for.
After the State Files It
- Once the agent has accepted and the Commercial Division has reviewed the filing, the Secretary of State issues a certificate of organization. The Secretary of State does not publish a standard processing time for online filings, and the filing is not final until the agent's acceptance is in. Two faster tiers are sold, a 24-hour expedite and a priority expedite processed while you wait, with the amounts in the facts box on the Louisiana LLC page.
- If no first managers or members were named on the Initial Report, a supplemental report naming them is filed when they are selected.
- Every year, by the anniversary of formation, the LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State on geauxBIZ. A company formed on March 15, 2026 files its first by March 15, 2027. Louisiana adds no late fee as a state fact, but a company that falls three reports behind is administratively dissolved and has to be reinstated.
- Louisiana has no newspaper publication requirement for a new LLC. Companies that will collect sales tax or have employees register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue and the Louisiana Workforce Commission before that activity starts.
More on filing in Louisiana: Louisiana LLC filing through geauxBIZ.
Once the company is approved, the Annual Report is Louisiana's recurring filing: file the Louisiana Annual Report online, or have it filed for you.
Form 365 Questions
What is the Louisiana Initial Report (Form 973)?+
The second document every new Louisiana LLC files with its articles. It gives the registered office and each registered agent with municipal addresses, lists the first managers or the members with their addresses, and carries the Agent's Affidavit and Acknowledgement of Acceptance. The Secretary of State's instructions say the articles cannot be accepted for filing unless the Initial Report is filed too.
How does the registered agent accept the appointment on geauxBIZ?+
By signing the acknowledgment and acceptance electronically in geauxBIZ, within seven days of the filing's submission. If any agent does not sign in that time, the filing has to be submitted again from the start. That makes the agent's email and availability part of the filing timeline, which is why we confirm the agent before we submit. On paper, the agent signs the affidavit before a notary instead.
Do I need a notary to form a Louisiana LLC?+
Only on paper. A paper filing needs the articles acknowledged before a notary and the agent's affidavit sworn before a notary, and every Louisiana notary must print a name and notary or bar roll number on the document. Online through geauxBIZ, electronic signatures replace both notarizations.
Who has to file online in Louisiana?+
Business owners in fourteen parishes: Ascension, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Lafayette, Livingston, Orleans, Ouachita, Rapides, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Terrebonne. The Secretary of State requires them to file all available business documents online through geauxBIZ. Owners elsewhere can still file on paper. The state's fee is the same whether you file yourself or we file for you.
Who appears on the Louisiana public record?+
More people than the articles alone suggest. The Initial Report lists the first managers or the members, each with a municipal address, along with the registered office, each registered agent and the people who signed. Members of a manager-managed company are not listed. An owner who does not want a home address published can give a business street address, as long as it is not a post office box only.
When is the Louisiana annual report due?+
On the anniversary of the company's formation, every year, starting the year after it is formed, and it is filed online on geauxBIZ. Louisiana charges no late fee for it, but a company three reports behind is administratively dissolved. We file Louisiana annual reports as well; the Louisiana annual report page has the details.
What if the members or managers have not been chosen yet?+
The Initial Report can be filed without them, and a supplemental report naming the first managers or members is filed once they are selected. Most single-owner and small companies simply list their members or managers at formation, which avoids the second filing.
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