• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Evergreen Small Business

Actionable Insights from Small Business CPAs

  • Home
  • Small Business FAQ
  • Monographs
    • Maximizing PPP Loan Forgiveness
    • Preparing U.S. Tax Returns for International Taxpayers
    • Maximizing Sec. 199A Deductions Monograph
    • Setting Low Salaries for S Corporations
    • Small Business Tax Deduction Secrets
    • Real Estate Tax Loopholes & Secrets
    • Preparing Form 3115 for the Tangible Property Regulations
    • Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
    • Five Minute Payroll Monograph (2019 Edition)
    • Download Your Free Copy of the Thirteen Word Retirement Plan
    • Business Planning Workbook
    • Sample Corporate Bylaws
    • LLC Operating Agreement
    • Joining Our Affiliate Program
  • Our Bloggers
  • Free LLC Formation Kits
    • Alabama LLC
    • Alaska LLC
    • Arizona LLC
    • Arkansas LLC
    • California LLC
    • Colorado LLC
    • Connecticut LLC
    • Delaware LLC
    • Florida LLC
    • Georgia LLC
    • Hawaii LLC
    • Idaho LLC
    • Illinois LLC
    • Indiana LLC
    • Iowa LLC
    • Kansas LLC
    • Kentucky LLC
    • Louisiana LLC
    • Maine LLC
    • Maryland LLC
    • Massachusetts LLC
    • Michigan LLC
    • Minnesota LLC
    • Mississippi LLC
    • Missouri LLC
    • Montana LLC
    • Nebraska LLC
    • Nevada LLC
    • New Hampshire LLC
    • New Jersey LLC
    • New Mexico LLC
    • New York LLC
    • North Carolina LLC
    • North Dakota LLC
    • Ohio LLC
    • Oklahoma LLC
    • Oregon LLC
    • Pennsylvania LLC
    • Rhode Island LLC
    • South Carolina LLC
    • South Dakota LLC
    • Tennessee LLC
    • Texas LLC
    • Utah LLC
    • Vermont LLC
    • Virginia LLC
    • Washington LLC
    • West Virginia LLC
    • Wisconsin LLC
    • Wyoming LLC
  • S Corporation Kits
    • Alabama S Corporation
    • Alaska S Corporation
    • Arizona S Corporation
    • Arkansas S Corporation
    • California S Corporation
    • Colorado S Corporation
    • Connecticut S Corporation
    • Delaware S Corporation
    • Florida S Corporation
    • Georgia S Corporation
    • Hawaii S Corporation
    • Idaho S Corporation
    • Illinois S Corporation
    • Indiana S Corporation
    • Iowa S Corporation
    • Kansas S Corporation
    • Kentucky S Corporation
    • Louisiana S Corporation
    • Maine S Corporation
    • Maryland S Corporation
    • Massachusetts S Corporation
    • Michigan S Corporation
    • Minnesota S Corporation
    • Mississippi S Corporation
    • Missouri S Corporation
    • Montana S Corporation
    • Nebraska S Corporation
    • Nevada S Corporation
    • New Hampshire S Corporation
    • New Jersey S Corporation
    • New Mexico S Corporation
    • New York S Corporation
    • North Carolina S Corporation
    • North Dakota S Corporation
    • Ohio S Corporation
    • Oklahoma S Corporation
    • Oregon S Corporation
    • Pennsylvania S Corporation
    • Rhode Island S Corporation
    • South Carolina S Corporation
    • South Dakota S Corporation
    • Tennessee S Corporation
    • Texas S Corporation
    • Utah S Corporation
    • Vermont S Corporation
    • Virginia S Corporation
    • Washington S Corporation
    • West Virgina S Corporation
    • Wisconsin S Corporation
    • Wyoming S Corporation
  • Contact Nelson CPA
You are here: Home / Free LLC Formation Kits for All Fifty States / Forming a Massachusetts limited liability company

Forming a Massachusetts limited liability company

Picture of Massachusetts S Corporation Kit BundleThe instructions on what documents you need to file to form a Massachusetts LLC are listed below. (These instructions are up-to-date as of July 27, 2020.)

We’ve also got a free, downloadable “do it yourself” kit you can use. In other words, the price you pay to purchase equals “zero.” That kit provides more information about LLCs and includes a couple of free LLC operating agreements. (We used to sell the kit but since the Covid-19 pandemic have simply given the kit away.)

View Cart

1. Check if the LLC name you want is available

Your first step in setting up an LLC is to check if the name you want to use is even available. To do this, you can use the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth corporations search form at:

http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/corpsearch/corpsearchinput.asp

By entering the name you want to use in the search form, you’ll be able to see if there’s another business already using the name that you want. You can’t use a name, by way, that’s the same or deceptively similar to another existing LLC’s name.

You can also reserve a name for $30 by submitting the following form:

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cor/corpdf/c156ds402950c11318.pdf

2. Download the Certificate of Organization form from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth web site, then print this form

You can use a free form supplied by the state to set up your LLC. The free three page form was available at the time of writing at:

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cor/corpdf/c156c512dllccert.pdf

Tip: The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth also offers online LLC formation. The steps you take to walk through the online application process closely resemble those used to use a paper application. If you want to use the online LLC formation approach, therefore, read through the steps for filing a paper application first so you understand the process. Then start the online application using the web page at:

https://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/LoginSystem/login_form.asp?FilingMethod=I

3. Enter your federal employer identification number

If you already have one, enter your federal employer identification number, or EIN, in the space provided at the top of the form. If you do not have an EIN (and actually you should not have an EIN yet since the LLC doesn’t yet exist), you follow the instructions for obtaining one found later in this post.

4. Identify the name you want to use for your new LLC

Enter your business or investment name into box labeled, “Exact Name of the LLC.” The name must include one of the phrases, “Limited Liability Company,” “Limited Company,” or the abbreviation, “LLC,” “L.L.C,” “LC,” or “L.C.”  For example, all of the following names should be acceptable:

  • N.E. Explosives Limited Liability Company
  • N.E. Explosives Limited Company.
  • N.E. Explosives LLC
  • N.E. Explosives L.L.C.

5. Give the address of the LLC’s principal office

In the next line indicate the office where the principal office is located. It is not required that this address be within the state of Massachusetts.

6. State the purpose of your business

State the general services or products your business provides. If you provide a service you must provide the name and address of each manager or member who will provide the service. Each manager or member must also submit a statement that he or she shall abide by all liability insurance requirements and, additionally, applicable licenses and certificates may also be required.

7. State the dissolution date, if any

The dissolution date sets the life span of your LLC. Some LLCs are created for a specific purpose and are intended to exist only for a specific period of time. You can list a specific date (using mm/dd/yyyy formatting), or leave it blank which defaults to “perpetual.”

8. Identify the registered agent

Massachusetts wants to know the name and contact information for a real person within the state whom can act as the contact person should the state has questions or concerns about an LLC’s operation. You can pay someone else to be this registered agent, but it’s really easiest and cheapest to just be your own registered agent.

Accordingly, enter your name and address information into boxes labeled “Name and Street Address of the Resident Agent in Commonwealth.”

9. Identify the name and address of each manager

Your LLC can be organized by either manager(s) or member(s). If it is organized by a manager(s) list all names and contact information in the section labeled, “Name and Business Address of Each Manager” at the bottom of the first page of the form (see Figure 1). If the manager’s address is the same as the office location, you need only enter the manager’s name. If the LLC is managed by members skip this section.

10. Identify the people authorized to execute documents

List the name(s) of any person(s), in addition to the manager(s) listed on page 1 of the form in the areas at the top of page 2 of the form authorized to file documents with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Corporations Division. If you did not list a manager in the previous box, you must list a person in this section.

11. Indicate the rights of specific manager(s) or member(s)

In the middle section of page 2 of the form, you identify the name and address of any and all individuals who have a right within the company to make decisions concerning real property.

12. Provide additional information

Optionally, you can include any other information you deem appropriate for this application.

13. Sign the LLC formation documents

You should sign the LLC formation documents twice at the bottom of page 2: once as the member who’s organizing the LLC and then a second time as the “official” registered agent.

14. Provide contact information

You also need to fill in the contact information on the Limited Liability Company Certificate page that comes as part of the free form (see Figure 3). Just enter your name, address, telephone number and email address in the spaces provided. As the form indicates, the Secretary of the Commonwealth will return this form to you to indicate the state has accepted your filing.

15. Fax or Mail in the LLC application

After you complete the LLC application, mail the completed form and a check for $500 to

William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1717
Boston, MA  02108-1512

You can also fax in your application to (617) 624-3891. You must pay by credit card if using this option. You will need a special bar coded fax cover sheet that can be printed at the following URL:

http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corpweb/faxvouchers/faxentry.aspx

Other Resources You Might Find Useful

Steps to apply for an employer identification number

How to complete a 2553 “S Election” form

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Nelson CPA publishes this blog to help and encourage small business owners. Click here to learn more about our firm.

Need to help clients with their PPP loan forgiveness applications?

Updated for 2019 tax year changes and now available in print from Amazon!!

Maximizing Sec. 199A Deductions

International tax issues?

Preparing US tax returns for international taxpayers

Maximize S corporation tax savings

Setting Low S Corporation Salaries

Free retirement planning help

Picture of Thirteen Word Retirement Plan book

Featured Posts

How IRS audits work

How IRS Audits Work

Audit anxiety is something nearly every taxpayer has in common.  But, have you ever considered how IRS audits actually work? The IRS processes … [Read More...] about How IRS Audits Work

If you got caught in an ERC scam, take these steps to reduce the damage

If You Got Conned in ERC Scam

You wondered at the time whether it was a scam, right? And now you regularly see news reports about ERC scams. Employee retention credit scams, that … [Read More...] about If You Got Conned in ERC Scam

Lottery tax planning can save millions

Lottery Tax Planning for a Billion Dollar Drawing

Okay. This is silly. You’re probably not going to win. But just for fun, let’s talk about lottery tax planning for one of those giant Power Ball or … [Read More...] about Lottery Tax Planning for a Billion Dollar Drawing

Recent Comments

  • Stephen Nelson CPA on Lottery Tax Planning for a Billion Dollar Drawing
  • Morgan on Lottery Tax Planning for a Billion Dollar Drawing
  • Stephen Nelson CPA on Lottery Tax Planning for a Billion Dollar Drawing
  • Stephen Nelson CPA on Lottery Tax Planning for a Billion Dollar Drawing
  • Chanan Goldberg on Lottery Tax Planning for a Billion Dollar Drawing

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Stephen L. Nelson, Inc. · News Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress