Every question we get, answered straight

Yes. LLC Law §206 requires every newly formed New York LLC to publish a formation notice once a week for six successive weeks in two newspapers designated by its county clerk, then file a Certificate of Publication with the Department of State. An out-of-state LLC that registered to do business here owes the same six-week run under §802, with a different notice and a different closing form. There is no opt-out either way.

Publication: $300 if your LLC is a New York LLC already designated to Albany County, $375 if it is a New York LLC designated to any other county, $445 for an out-of-state (foreign) LLC designated to Albany, and $545 for a foreign LLC designated elsewhere — the foreign tiers include $50 off until October 31, 2026. Every tier covers both designated Albany County newspapers, the full six-week run, both affidavits, and a ready-to-file Certificate of Publication packet. You pay the state's $50 filing fee directly when you mail the packet. A Biennial Statement is $58 all in and a Certificate of Good Standing is $74. One price each, no upsells, no surprises.

You have 120 days from your Articles of Organization taking effect to complete publication and file the certificate. Missing it suspends the LLC's authority to do business — but the suspension is fully curable by publishing late. Publication itself takes about seven weeks, so don't start with less than ~55 days left.

Your LLC keeps existing and your contracts stay valid, but the state can suspend its authority to carry on business — the practical teeth being that a suspended LLC generally can't maintain a lawsuit in New York courts. Banks, lenders, and buyers also check publication status in diligence.

No. The county clerk designates the two papers — one daily, one weekly — for the county where your LLC's office is located. Publishing in non-designated papers is invalid even if you did everything else right. For Albany County we use the Times Union and The Altamont Enterprise, both clerk-designated.

Newspaper advertising rates set the cost, and Albany's designated papers charge a small fraction of what a Manhattan daily commands ($1,000–$1,700). Since the office county on record with the Department of State decides which papers apply, publishing through Albany is the long-standing affordable route.

Yes. We serve LLCs in every New York county. New York permits an LLC to update the county its office is designated to on file with the Department of State, and §206 keys publication to the county currently on record. We handle that change as part of our $375 flat fee, so your notice publishes at Albany's rates. For a Manhattan or Brooklyn LLC that routinely saves over $1,000.

Yes. Updating the county designated on file is expressly permitted by New York law and the state publishes the form for it — established filing services have used this route for years. Publication is also one-time: once your LLC has published and filed its Certificate of Publication, it never has to publish again. We're not a law firm and don't give legal advice, so if your situation is unusual, talk to an attorney.

No. Publication is an administrative process — no legal advice or court appearance is involved. If your situation has genuine legal questions (weird formation history, litigation), talk to an attorney; we're not a law firm and don't give legal advice.

A notarized sworn statement from each newspaper's publisher confirming your notice ran the required six weeks. You need one from each paper, and both must be attached to your Certificate of Publication. We collect both for you — they arrive weeks apart by mail and are easy to lose track of.

The one-page cover document filed with the NY Department of State, with both affidavits attached and a $50 fee. It states your LLC's name, formation date, county, and the two designated newspapers. We prepare it completed and ready for your signature.

You do, and it's deliberately easy: we email you the assembled packet with the certificate filled out. You sign it, enclose a $50 check to the Department of State, and mail one envelope to the address in our instructions. About ten minutes. Keeping that last step yours is part of why we cost less.

About seven to eight weeks: a day or two to review and place, six weeks of publication, then affidavit collection and packet assembly. Your private status page shows exactly where things stand the whole way.

The published notice must match Department of State records character-for-character — mismatches are the most common reason certificates get rejected. We check your name against the state registry before anything publishes; that check is included.

Everything you paid us. If we fail to deliver your complete ready-to-file packet, or the state rejects your filing because of an error we made, we re-publish at our expense or refund 100% of your payment — not just our service fee. Errors in information you provided aren't covered, though we'll help you fix and republish at cost.

Yes. For publication, a full refund any time before your notices go to the newspapers; after that, everything except newspaper costs actually incurred. For a Biennial Statement, a full refund before we file. For a Certificate of Good Standing, a full refund before we order — and a full refund including the state fee if the state declines to issue it. Full details on the refunds page.

All of them. Albany, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Erie, Monroe — every one of New York's 62 counties. Albany-county LLCs pay $300; every other New York county is $375 flat, with the county change included. Out-of-state LLCs registered into New York pay $445 or $545. We can't help with publication requirements in other states.

Every New York LLC and business corporation files one every two years under LLC Law §301(e), in the calendar month it was originally filed. It confirms the address the Secretary of State uses to forward legal papers. The state fee is $9. It is separate from publication and separate from your taxes, and yes — if you have a New York LLC, you owe them for as long as it exists.

In the calendar month your Articles of Organization were filed, every second year. Formed in March 2026 means March 2028, March 2030, and so on. For a foreign LLC the month comes from the Application for Authority instead. Our calculator gives you the date free, without an email address.

New York charges no late fee. What happens is that the Department of State marks the entity past due, which is public and shows up in bank, lender and landlord checks — and it blocks a Certificate of Good Standing until it is cured. Filing clears it the same day. Anyone quoting you a penalty is selling urgency.

New York calls it a Certificate of Status. It confirms your LLC exists, is active, and has filed what it owes. Banks, lenders, landlords, insurers and other states ask for one before opening accounts, lending, signing leases or registering you to do business. It is not a credit check and says nothing about your finances.

Almost always an overdue Biennial Statement — New York will not issue a Certificate of Status to an entity that is past due. File the biennial first; it costs $9, has no late fee, and clears the block immediately. We check for this before ordering so you do not pay for a refusal.

An LLC formed under the law of another state or country that has registered to do business in New York by filing an Application for Authority. A Delaware or New Jersey LLC operating here is a foreign LLC in New York. It has nothing to do with being from outside the United States, and most people it applies to have never heard the term used about them.

Yes, and this is the expensive mistake. §802 counts 120 days from the date the Application for Authority was filed with New York — not from the date the LLC was originally formed in its home state. Counting from the home-state date can put you months past due before you realise there was a clock.

Yes, and it ends. We're taking $50 off out-of-state (foreign) LLC publication until October 31, 2026. It is a dated introductory offer, not a permanent markdown — after that the price returns to $495 and $595 and this answer changes. We don't run permanent "discounts" against a price nobody pays.

Publication is one-time and permanent — once done, never again, no renewal and nothing to cancel. The Biennial Statement is the one thing that does recur, every two years for as long as the LLC exists, and it is $9 to the state. We do not sell subscriptions for either.