LLC public records: certificate, organizer, agent, reports, and BOI

Does forming an LLC put my name on the public record?

It can, but a name on the formation filing does not necessarily identify an owner.

Start with the formation document. Under the uniform model act, the certificate must state these company, principal-office, and registered-agent fields: (b) A certificate of organization must state: (1) the name of the limited liability company, which must comply with Section 112; (2) the street and mailing addresses of the company’s principal office; and (3) the name and street and mailing addresses in this state of the company’s registered agent. (source). This is model text, not proof that every state uses the same form or fields. For the state-level answer, check public filing fields by state.

The organizer is the formation filer and need not be a member or manager. Two separate model-act provisions supply the organizer rule and the initial-certificate signing rule: (a) One or more persons may act as organizers to form a limited liability company by delivering to the [Secretary of State] for filing a certificate of organization. (a) A record delivered to the [Secretary of State] for filing pursuant to this [act] must be signed as follows: (2) A company’s initial certificate of organization must be signed by at least one person acting as an organizer. (source). A name shown in the organizer role therefore does not, by itself, establish ownership or management authority.

The registered agent is another named role. The model act requires each LLC and registered foreign LLC to designate and maintain an in-state registered agent: (a) Each limited liability company and each registered foreign limited liability company shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state. The designation of a registered agent is an affirmation of fact by the limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company that the agent has consented to serve. (b) A registered agent for a limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company must have a place of business in this state. (c) The only duties under this [act] of a registered agent that has complied with this [act] are: (1) to forward to the limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company at the address most recently supplied to the agent by the company or foreign company any process, notice, or demand pertaining to the company or foreign company which is served on or received by the agent; (2) if the registered agent resigns, to provide the notice required by Section 117(c) to the company or foreign company at the address most recently supplied to the agent by the company or foreign company; and (3) to keep current the information with respect to the agent in the certificate of organization or foreign registration statement. (source). The certificate rule above calls for the agent's name and in-state street and mailing addresses. That does not establish that every other filing layer keeps an owner's address off the record. See registered-agent visibility by state for the state-specific distinctions.

Do not treat federal BOI confidentiality as making the state filing private. The federal access rule is a separate layer: BOI reported to FinCEN is confidential except for authorized disclosures in 31 CFR 1010.955. (source). To check whether a state asks for a member's name at formation or later, use member-name visibility by state.

The uniform act's provisions that make the record, one by one

Read these uniform-model provisions separately because each governs a different filing or role.

Enacted state law can use different numbering, wording, forms, and filing fields. Use the public filing fields by state and member-name visibility by state matrices for a state-specific answer.

1. Certificate contents: ULLCA § 201(b) (source) — FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION (source). (b) A certificate of organization must state: (1) the name of the limited liability company, which must comply with Section 112; (2) the street and mailing addresses of the company’s principal office; and (3) the name and street and mailing addresses in this state of the company’s registered agent. (source)
2. Organizer and signing rules: ULLCA § 201(a); § 203(a)(2) (source) — FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION / SIGNING OF RECORDS TO BE DELIVERED FOR FILING TO [SECRETARY OF STATE] (source). (a) One or more persons may act as organizers to form a limited liability company by delivering to the [Secretary of State] for filing a certificate of organization. (a) A record delivered to the [Secretary of State] for filing pursuant to this [act] must be signed as follows: (2) A company’s initial certificate of organization must be signed by at least one person acting as an organizer. (source)
3. Later report contents: ULLCA § 212(a) (source) — [ANNUAL] [BIENNIAL] REPORT FOR [SECRETARY OF STATE] (source). (a) A limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company shall deliver to the [Secretary of State] for filing [an annual] [a biennial] report that states: (1) the name of the company or foreign company; (2) the name and street and mailing addresses of its registered agent in this state; (3) the street and mailing addresses of its principal office; (4) if the company is member managed, the name of at least one member; (5) if the company is manager managed, the name of at least one manager; and (6) in the case of a foreign company, its jurisdiction of formation and any alternate name adopted under Section 906(a). (source)
4. Statement of authority: ULLCA § 302(a) (source) — STATEMENT OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY AUTHORITY (source). (a) A limited liability company may deliver to the [Secretary of State] for filing a statement of authority. The statement: (1) must include the name of the company and the name and street and mailing addresses of its registered agent; (2) with respect to any position that exists in or with respect to the company, may state the authority, or limitations on the authority, of all persons holding the position to: (A) sign an instrument transferring real property held in the name of the company; or (B) enter into other transactions on behalf of, or otherwise act for or bind, the company; and (3) may state the authority, or limitations on the authority, of a specific person to: (A) sign an instrument transferring real property held in the name of the company; or (B) enter into other transactions on behalf of, or otherwise act for or bind, the company. (source)
5. Foreign registration: ULLCA § 903 (source) — FOREIGN REGISTRATION STATEMENT (source). To register to do business in this state, a foreign limited liability company must deliver a foreign registration statement to the [Secretary of State] for filing. The statement must state: (1) the name of the company and, if the name does not comply with Section 112, an alternate name adopted pursuant to Section 906(a); (2) that the company is a foreign limited liability company; (3) the company’s jurisdiction of formation; (4) the street and mailing addresses of the company’s principal office and, if the law of the company’s jurisdiction of formation requires the company to maintain an office in that jurisdiction, the street and mailing addresses of the required office; and (5) the name and street and mailing addresses of the company’s registered agent in this state. (source)
6. Registered agent: ULLCA § 115 (source) — REGISTERED AGENT (source). (a) Each limited liability company and each registered foreign limited liability company shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state. The designation of a registered agent is an affirmation of fact by the limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company that the agent has consented to serve. (b) A registered agent for a limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company must have a place of business in this state. (c) The only duties under this [act] of a registered agent that has complied with this [act] are: (1) to forward to the limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company at the address most recently supplied to the agent by the company or foreign company any process, notice, or demand pertaining to the company or foreign company which is served on or received by the agent; (2) if the registered agent resigns, to provide the notice required by Section 117(c) to the company or foreign company at the address most recently supplied to the agent by the company or foreign company; and (3) to keep current the information with respect to the agent in the certificate of organization or foreign registration statement. (source)

Are LLC owners a matter of public record?

Sometimes. An owner's name can appear when a filing asks for a member or manager, but no single formation-stage rule answers the question for every state or every later filing.

Start by separating the role named in a filing from ownership. Under the uniform model text, at least one organizer signs the initial certificate. But organizer status alone does not establish ownership or management authority.

1. Initial filing: the uniform model text requires at least one organizer to sign the initial certificate. Check the organizer-name matrix for the state-specific filing line.
2. Later report: the model annual-or-biennial report calls for at least one member's name if the company is member managed, or at least one manager's name if it is manager managed. The member-name matrix separates formation from later disclosure.
3. Statement of authority: a filed statement may describe the authority or authority limits of a position or a specific person. That is a separate naming point from the formation document.

The cited ULLCA provisions are uniform model text, not proof that every state enacted the same wording or asks for the same fields. Use the public-filing-fields matrix for formation fields, then check the member-name and organizer-name matrices for the filing stage and state.

The practical rule is simple: read each filed instrument by role and filing stage. Do not treat an organizer's name as proof that the organizer owns or manages the LLC; the organizer explainer keeps those roles separate.

The federal beneficial-ownership report: what it collects and who can see it

The federal beneficial-ownership report is separate from state public filings, and access to its reported information is limited: BOI reported to FinCEN is confidential except for authorized disclosures in 31 CFR 1010.955. (source)

Start with who the federal rule covers: Federal BOI rule effective for foreign reporting companies; U.S. companies and U.S. persons exempt under the 2026 final rule. (source)

The reporting-company class is defined this way: Reporting company is limited to a foreign-formed entity registered to do business in a U.S. State or tribal jurisdiction by secretary-of-state/similar filing. (source)

An initial report asks for both company and person-level identifying information: Initial reports collect reporting-company name, trade name, address, jurisdiction, TIN, and beneficial-owner/company-applicant identifying information. (source)

That federal confidentiality does not change what a separate state filing makes public. For the source-bound chronology and authorized-access detail, read the BOI reporting timeline.

What stays off the public record, and what does not

Privacy depends on the record. State filings expose the fields they require; for the federal layer, BOI reported to FinCEN is confidential except for authorized disclosures in 31 CFR 1010.955. (source)

The uniform model text for a certificate of organization states: (b) A certificate of organization must state: (1) the name of the limited liability company, which must comply with Section 112; (2) the street and mailing addresses of the company’s principal office; and (3) the name and street and mailing addresses in this state of the company’s registered agent. (source)

A separate uniform provision describes the registered agent and the agent's in-state place of business: (a) Each limited liability company and each registered foreign limited liability company shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state. The designation of a registered agent is an affirmation of fact by the limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company that the agent has consented to serve. (b) A registered agent for a limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company must have a place of business in this state. (c) The only duties under this [act] of a registered agent that has complied with this [act] are: (1) to forward to the limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company at the address most recently supplied to the agent by the company or foreign company any process, notice, or demand pertaining to the company or foreign company which is served on or received by the agent; (2) if the registered agent resigns, to provide the notice required by Section 117(c) to the company or foreign company at the address most recently supplied to the agent by the company or foreign company; and (3) to keep current the information with respect to the agent in the certificate of organization or foreign registration statement. (source) Using an agent address for one filing does not establish that every other filing layer keeps an owner's address off the record.

Member or manager names can appear in a later report when the filing requires them: (a) A limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company shall deliver to the [Secretary of State] for filing [an annual] [a biennial] report that states: (1) the name of the company or foreign company; (2) the name and street and mailing addresses of its registered agent in this state; (3) the street and mailing addresses of its principal office; (4) if the company is member managed, the name of at least one member; (5) if the company is manager managed, the name of at least one manager; and (6) in the case of a foreign company, its jurisdiction of formation and any alternate name adopted under Section 906(a). (source) Use the member-name visibility matrix and public filing fields matrix for the fields a particular state asks for.

The registered-agent visibility matrix separates snapshot visibility, live-portal visibility, and reverse lookup. One agent field does not settle what another record reveals.

Federal beneficial-ownership reporting is a separate record layer. An initial report collects: Initial reports collect reporting-company name, trade name, address, jurisdiction, TIN, and beneficial-owner/company-applicant identifying information. (source)

A choice about one filing field does not settle what appears in another record. Check formation documents, later state filings, registered-agent records, and federal BOI as separate layers.

If you are worried about your safety or about who can find your address, confidential help is available. National Domestic Violence Hotline: call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 (thehotline.org). Safety Net Project, National Network to End Domestic Violence: techsafety.org, including its page on state address confidentiality programs (techsafety.org/address-confidentiality-programs). U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, resources for victims and survivors: justice.gov/ovw/resources-victims-and-survivors. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

How this page stays current

Each source-bound cell carries its own source, snapshot, and last-checked metadata; this page does not claim a fixed refresh cadence.

The uniform-act cells come from official ULC material, and the federal BOI cells were rechecked without a changed value. No typed unknown is presented as a known answer.

To report a source or transcription issue, use corrections.

Frequently asked questions

Related research

• Member-name visibility by stateCompare formation and later member-name disclosure.
• Organizer-name visibility by stateCheck where a formation filing names its organizer.
• Public filing fields by stateSee which fields a state's formation filing asks for.
• Registered-agent visibility by stateSeparate agent records, portal visibility, and reverse lookup.
• What is an LLC organizer?Distinguish the formation filer from an owner or manager.