- Tennessee LLC filing fees from the Secretary of State's table
- Why member count changes what a Tennessee LLC costs each year
- The registered office rule that gets Tennessee filings rejected
- How to form a Tennessee LLC, step by step
- What happens if a Tennessee LLC misses its annual report
- Tennessee LLC verdict
- Frequently asked questions
To form a Tennessee LLC, you file Articles of Organization (form SS-4270) with the Tennessee Secretary of State, online through TNCaB or on paper. The Secretary's own fee table lists the articles at $300, as of October 2026, with a note that additional fees may apply, and your yearly report is priced by how many members you have.
Tennessee prices its LLC filings in an unusual way, and it isn't obvious until you read the fee table and the FAQ side by side. The state ties LLC fees to member count, so a family business with ten owners pays more than a solo founder. Here's what the Secretary of State's own pages say, and what they mean for you before you file.
Tennessee LLC filing fees from the Secretary of State's table
These are the LLC lines from the Secretary of State's Business Forms and Fees page, as of October 2026:
| Filing | Form | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization, Limited Liability Company | SS-4270 | $300 (additional fees may apply) |
| Application for Name Reservation | SS-9425 | $20 |
| Application for Registration of Assumed Name | SS-4402 | $20 |
| Articles of Amendment to LLC Articles of Organization | SS-4451 | $20 |
| Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Office | SS-4534 | $20 |
| Change of Business Information | SS-4800 | No fee |
| Application for Reinstatement after administrative dissolution | SS-9410 | $70 |
| Articles of Termination following administrative dissolution | SS-4243 | $100 |
The asterisk on the $300 articles fee matters. The same Secretary of State applies a per-member formula to the LLC annual report, and the fee table flags that more can be due. If your LLC will have more than six members, check the figure TNCaB shows before you pay, rather than assuming $300 is the whole bill.
Why member count changes what a Tennessee LLC costs each year
The Secretary of State's FAQ is blunt about it. The annual report fee for an LLC is $300 at the minimum and $3,000 at the maximum, as of October 2026. It goes up by $50 for every member over six, until it hits the $3,000 cap. A corporation's annual report, by contrast, costs $20.
So a single-member LLC and a six-member LLC pay the same $300 each year. The seventh member is where the meter starts. That's a real planning point if you're deciding between an LLC and a corporation for a business with lots of owners, or whether to hold several small investors through one holding member instead of listing each of them. It's worth talking that through with your accountant before the articles go in, because the member list you file is the one the state will price.
The registered office rule that gets Tennessee filings rejected
Tennessee requires every entity except a general partnership to keep a registered agent and registered office in the state at all times. The Secretary of State lists a short set of reasons filings bounce, and one of them catches a lot of first-time founders:
- The registered office must be a physical Tennessee address.
- It can't be a post office box, a route number or a box number on its own.
- The filing fee must be enclosed, or the document comes back unfiled.
If you work from home and don't want your address on the public record, a registered agent service with a Tennessee street address solves both problems. Changing the agent or office later is a $20 filing, as of October 2026, so it's cheap to fix, but it's cheaper still to get right first time.
How to form a Tennessee LLC, step by step
- Search the business name in the Secretary of State's Business Entity Search to check it's free. If you need to hold it while you prepare, file a name reservation.
- Choose your registered agent and a physical Tennessee registered office.
- Decide how many members you'll have, since that number drives the annual report fee.
- File Articles of Organization through TNCaB, or on paper with form SS-4270, and pay the fee shown.
- Write an operating agreement. Tennessee doesn't ask you to file it, but your bank and your co-owners will want it.
- Register for state taxes with the Department of Revenue if your business will sell or employ, then diary your first annual report.
What happens if a Tennessee LLC misses its annual report
The Secretary of State lists four reasons an entity is administratively dissolved: failing to file an annual report, being without a registered agent, a foreign entity losing its assumed name to a name conflict, and a payment returned by a bank. A dissolved LLC shows as inactive in the public search.
Getting back costs more than staying current. Reinstatement is a $70 filing, as of October 2026, and the FAQ says you'll need a certificate of tax clearance from the Department of Revenue to reinstate. That means every state tax return has to be squared away first, which can take longer than the paperwork itself. Our guide to LLC annual reports covers how other states handle the same deadline.
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Tennessee LLC verdict
A Tennessee LLC is simple to file and quick online, but it's priced by member count. Budget $300 as of October 2026 for the articles, expect the annual report to match it unless you have more than six members, and use a physical Tennessee address for the registered office. Get those three right and the state paperwork is the easy part of starting the business.
Many founders compare states, and our Minnesota LLC walkthrough looks at one more.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Tennessee LLC cost to form?
The Secretary of State's fee table lists Articles of Organization (form SS-4270) at $300, as of October 2026, with a note that additional fees may apply. A name reservation, if you want one, is a separate $20 filing.
How much is the Tennessee LLC annual report fee?
It's $300 at the minimum and $3,000 at the maximum, as of October 2026. The fee rises by $50 for each member over six, up to the $3,000 cap.
Can my Tennessee registered office be a PO box?
No. The Secretary of State says the registered office must be a physical Tennessee address, and a post office box, route number or box number alone will get the filing rejected.
What does it cost to reinstate a dissolved Tennessee LLC?
The reinstatement application (form SS-9410) is $70, as of October 2026. You'll also need a certificate of tax clearance from the Tennessee Department of Revenue before the Secretary of State will reinstate you.
Do I file my operating agreement with the state?
No. Tennessee asks for Articles of Organization, not the operating agreement, but you should still write one and keep it with your company records.
