Member Name Visibility by State — Explainer

Matrix explainer. Exposure verbs mapped: visible on formation filing + visible on annual report. Source matrix: member-name-visibility-by-state. 50 states. Not legal advice.

Short answer

Whether an LLC member's name appears in public state filings depends on the state and, in many states, whether the LLC elected member-managed or manager-managed governance. The 50-state matrix maps three data points per jurisdiction: (1) is a member name required on the formation document, (2) is a member name publicly visible on any state record, and (3) does a member name appear on the periodic report (annual or biennial statement)?

Summary as of the matrix verification date: 4 states always expose members (AK, AZ, DC, KS — regardless of management structure), 21 states expose members conditionally (member-managed = public, manager-managed = private in most of these states), and 26 states keep members fully private on public filings (member names do not appear on any formation document or periodic report).

When member names appear on public state filings

Member-name exposure on public records happens through two routes: the formation document filed at inception, and periodic reports (annual or biennial statements) filed on an ongoing basis.

Route 1 — Formation filing

Most states do NOT require member names on the articles of organization. Exceptions include AZ (A.R.S. §29-3201 requires member names on Form L010 regardless of structure) and CT (CGS §34-247 requires at least one member named on the Certificate of Organization). Several states require names only if the LLC is member-managed at formation — including ID, IL, MT, NV, TX, and WV — so a manager-managed election avoids formation-filing exposure in those states.

Route 2 — Periodic reports

Some states capture member information on annual or biennial statements that become part of the public record. AK requires all members owning 5%+ on its biennial report regardless of structure. KS and DC require members on periodic reports regardless of structure. CA's Statement of Information (SI-200) lists members only if the LLC is member-managed; manager-managed structures list only managers. The same conditional pattern applies in CT, ID, IL, NV, WA, WI, and about 15 other states.

States with the strongest member-name non-disclosure

Wyoming and New Mexico represent the ceiling for member-name privacy on public filings. WY Articles of Organization require only the LLC name and registered agent (W.S. 17-29-201); WY annual reports require only a treasurer name plus agent — no member or member list. NM Articles of Organization require only the LLC name, RA, and a manager statement under NMSA §53-19-8; NM has no annual report that lists members. In both states, the answer to "can a stranger find my members via the SoS portal?" is no — not at formation, not on any periodic report.

Other fully-private states (26 total) include NY, CO, DE, GA, IA, KY, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NE, NH, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, and WV. In these states, member names do not appear on any formation document or periodic report accessible via the public SoS portal.

NM is the one state in this group where the matrix cell carries a typed_unknown snapshot status — the NM SoS portal is a JavaScript SPA that the matrix toolchain could not snapshot at verification time. The statute-level data for NM is based on NMSA §53-19-8 and is recorded as verified from the statute text; the portal observation is the unverified component.

What "manager-managed" changes about disclosure

In 22 conditional states, the practical privacy outcome depends on the management election made at formation. A manager-managed LLC names managers on public filings; members who are not also named managers do not appear. A member-managed LLC names members on public filings in the same states.

States where manager-managed structure avoids member-name disclosure on public filings include CA, CT, ID, IL, IN, LA, MT, NC, NJ, NV, PA, TX, UT, WA, WI, and several others in the conditional group. In these states, choosing manager-managed and naming a manager (which can be a separate entity or a professional manager) prevents member names from appearing on either the formation filing or the periodic report.

This mitigation does not apply in the three states where members are always on the public record (AK, DC, KS) — those states require member-level disclosure on periodic reports regardless of management structure. (Arizona sits in the conditional group: its manager-managed filings list managers plus only 20%-or-greater members under A.R.S. §29-3201.)

Manager-managed structure also does not protect against federal BOI obligations under the Corporate Transparency Act — that is a separate, non-public reporting requirement outside the scope of this matrix.

What the matrix does not prove

• Does not cover beneficial ownership reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA/BOI) — a federal non-public obligation separate from state public filings.
• Does not cover what data brokers may have aggregated from public filings, court records, or other sources — a state's "no" answer here does not mean a member name cannot be found through aggregators.
• Does not track online searchability (whether a portal allows name-based reverse search) — see the member-name-visibility matrix and business-registry searchability matrix for that layer.
• Does not address whether a professional registered agent service substitutes for member address suppression — RA address and member name are independent exposure surfaces.
• Does not assert whether NM's portal observation is verified — NM portal cell is typed_unknown; statute-level data is from NMSA §53-19-8.

See also: Member Name Visibility by State (matrix) · Organizer Name Visibility by State · Address Confidentiality Programs by State