Overview
Montana business registration runs through the Secretary of State (SOS), specifically its Business Services Division, which keeps the official record of entities formed or registered to do business in the state. Filings and searches go through the SOS business portal at biz.sosmt.gov.
Montana files everything online. Formation documents and annual reports are submitted through the SOS portal, and paper filings are no longer accepted. The recurring filing is an annual report, due by April 15 for corporations, LLCs, and nonprofits. The standard fee is $20, but the Secretary of State has waived it for on-time filings by LLCs and corporations, both for-profit and nonprofit, each year from 2024 through 2027, so an on-time annual report is free for them in those years. Associations and cooperatives keep the $20 fee. A late filing costs $35.
One point worth clearing up for KYB work: Montana LLCs are sometimes assumed to be anonymous, partly because the state has no sales tax and out-of-state owners use Montana LLCs to hold vehicles and other assets. The register is not anonymous, though. The annual report requires each LLC to verify or update its managers or members, so that management data is on the public record and refreshed every year.
Montana has no state-level beneficial ownership register. At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act (2021) created a BOI registry run by FinCEN, but a March 2025 interim final rule lifted the obligation for all U.S. companies and U.S. persons. Only foreign reporting companies remain subject to it.
For KYB and AML work, the free SOS search returns an entity's status, filing number, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members named in its filings.
Official Registers
Secretary of State (Business Search)
The SOS Business Services Division maintains the official register through its business search on the Montana business portal. It records domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships, along with assumed business names.
Search and access. The business search is free and needs no account. Search by entity name or filing number. Each record shows the entity name, filing number, type, status, registration date, registered agent name and address, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members reported in the entity's filings.
Filing number. Montana assigns each entity a filing number at registration, which is the primary identifier across the register and the key most lookups run on.
Filings. Formation documents are filed online through the SOS portal. Articles of Organization for a domestic LLC cost $35. Articles of Incorporation for a domestic corporation cost $70. Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation cost $20. Montana does not accept paper formation filings.
Certificates. Certificates of Existence and certified copies of filed documents are available from the SOS for a fee.
Registration and Publication Requirements
Corporations
All domestic and foreign for-profit corporations must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent at a Montana address.
Annual report. Corporations file an annual report online, due by April 15. The standard fee is $20, currently waived for on-time filings through 2027, with a $35 charge for late filing. The report carries the principal office, the registered agent, and the names of the officers and directors, all of which become part of the public record.
Failing to file does not trigger dissolution right away. A domestic corporation that has not filed by December 1, or a foreign corporation by November 1, faces dissolution or revocation, a generous window of more than seven months past the April 15 deadline. The same dates apply to LLCs. The entity must then be reinstated to return to good standing.
Financial statements. There is no public financial disclosure requirement.
LLCs
All domestic and foreign LLCs must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent in Montana. Domestic formation costs $35.
Annual report. LLCs file an annual report online, due by April 15, under the same $20 fee and 2024 through 2027 waiver as corporations. The report requires the LLC to verify or update its managers or members along with the registered agent, so LLC management data is part of the public record and refreshed each year.
Nonprofit corporations
Nonprofits file Articles of Incorporation with the SOS at $20 and file an annual report each year, due by April 15. The fee waiver covers nonprofit corporations alongside for-profit corporations and LLCs, so an on-time filing is free through 2027; only associations and cooperatives keep the standard $20 fee. Directors and officers appear on the public record. Federal 501(c) status comes from the IRS; the state filing does not grant it.
Limited partnerships and LLPs
Limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and limited liability limited partnerships register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent in Montana. Unlike corporations and LLCs, they file no annual report. Their registration instead runs on a five-year renewal cycle, with the renewal due in the 90 days before the registration expires. For KYB work, this matters: the public record for a Montana partnership can be up to five years old between renewals, far less current than the annually refreshed corporate and LLC filings.
Sole proprietors and general partnerships
Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not register as entities with the SOS and do not appear as registered entities in the business search. A business operating under a name other than the owner's may register an assumed business name, which is held on file separately.
Summary table
| Entity type | Register with SOS | Annual report | Management data public |
|---|---|---|---|
For-profit corporation | Yes ($70) | Yes ($20, waived on time through 2027, by April 15) | Officers and directors |
LLC | Yes ($35) | Yes ($20, waived on time through 2027, by April 15) | Managers and members |
Nonprofit corporation | Yes ($20) | Yes ($20, by April 15) | Directors and officers |
LP / LLP / LLLP | Yes | No annual report (5-year renewal) | Partners on file |
Sole proprietor / assumed name | No (assumed name on file only) | No | No |
With Topograph
Topograph queries Montana's Secretary of State system to return structured company data for entities registered in the state.
Available Data
Company Profile
- Montana filing number
- Entity name
- Entity type and state of formation
- Current status
- Registration date
- Registered agent name and address
- Principal office address
Officers and Management
- Officers and directors as reported in the corporation's annual report
- Managers and members as reported in the LLC's annual report
Available Documents
| Document type | Comment |
|---|---|
Trade Register Extract | A Topograph-generated extract of the entity's SOS record: filing number, entity name, type, state of formation, status, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members most recently reported. |
Financial statements aren't filed publicly in Montana. Domestic companies are also exempt from federal BOI reporting following the March 2025 FinCEN rule.
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