Decoder

LLC terms, opened up

Open any of fifteen terms to see a one-line meaning and the state differences behind it.

Unpacked by the LLC Unpacked editorial teamUpdated November 13, 2026

All fifteen terms

Annual report: Opened upA scheduled update on address, agent and managers. Skip it for long enough and good standing can lapse.
Articles of organization: Opened upFormation paperwork in a single filing. The state's approval is the birth of the company.
Certificate of good standing: Opened upAn official note from the formation state that the company is active and in order.
EIN: Opened upThe IRS's name for your LLC, in digits. Applying to the IRS directly is free.
Foreign LLC: Opened upThe tag a state gives any LLC organized elsewhere that is now working within its borders.
Foreign registration: Opened upA second state's permission slip for an LLC that already exists, with a fee of its own and a requirement to name a local agent.
Member: Opened upAny owner of the LLC. A company with one owner is a single-member LLC, and with several owners it is multi-member.
Minimum LLC tax: Opened upSome states set a floor on what an LLC owes each year, so even a company with no income pays it.
Operating agreement: Opened upA private document in which the owners set the rules: who owns what, who decides and how profit is shared. Companies keep it in their own records, and states rarely ask to see it.
Organizer: Opened upThe party that signs and submits the formation filing. A filing service often fills this role, and the role ends once the state approves the LLC.
Publication requirement: Opened upThe newspaper-notice rule: advertise the new LLC, then prove you did.
Registered agent: Opened upPicture a mailbox in the state with a person behind it. The registered agent is whoever your LLC names to sign for lawsuits and official state letters at a real street address there.
Registered office: Opened upThe street address of record for the agent, inside the state. Courts and the state send papers there, so it must be real, and a mailbox rental usually will not qualify.
Service of process: Opened upHow a court makes sure a company knows it is being sued: someone delivers a summons or complaint to the person named to receive it.
Statutory agent, resident agent and other names: Opened upA different label for the same role: the in-state recipient of legal documents.