Glossary

Glossary: 15 LLC terms answered

Not sure what a word on an LLC form means? Each of the fifteen terms below has a one-line definition and its own page.

By the LLC Answered editorial team Answers updated November 13, 2026

The list

Annual report: A recurring state report that refreshes the LLC's public record, typically once a year.
Articles of organization: The founding paperwork of an LLC: name, agent, filer and a few basics, submitted with a fee.
Certificate of good standing: An official note that the LLC is current, requested when it expands to another state.
EIN: The nine-digit number the IRS assigns to identify your LLC.
Foreign LLC: An LLC doing business in a state other than the one that formed it. The word means out of state, not out of the country.
Foreign registration: The filing an out-of-state LLC makes to do business in a new state, sometimes called a certificate of authority.
Member: An owner of the LLC. One owner makes a single-member LLC; two or more make a multi-member one.
Minimum LLC tax: A yearly tax some states charge regardless of profit, even to an LLC with no income. New owners are often surprised by it.
Operating agreement: The LLC's internal rulebook, written by the owners.
Organizer: The person or company that signs and files the paperwork that forms the LLC. A filing service can be the organizer.
Publication requirement: A rule in a few states that a new LLC must run a notice in a newspaper and then file proof. It is a legal step on top of formation, and only a few states use it, as listed below.
Registered agent: The party on file with the state for receiving the LLC's legal documents at a physical address.
Registered office: The address of record for the LLC's agent, which becomes public.
Service of process: Delivery of a summons or complaint. For an LLC, it happens at the agent's address.
Statutory agent, resident agent and other names: The other titles states give the registered agent. The job is identical: accept legal papers and notices for the LLC.