The Most Private States to Form an LLC (2026)

Source matrix: member-name-visibility-by-state. Every verdict below is cited to primary formation and annual-report sources (base matrix verified 2026-06-14; Kentucky and Massachusetts rechecked 2026-09-14). Not legal advice.

Short answer: Forming an LLC does not, by itself, put your name on the public record. Whether it does comes down to one question — does the state force an owner (a member) onto a public filing you cannot avoid? Across all 51 U.S. jurisdictions:

• 24 states never require a member's name on any public filing — fully private.
• 23 jurisdictions are conditional. A member's name reaches the public record only under a management-structure trigger or when the named manager is also a member.
• 4 states force an owner onto the public record no matter how you structure it — Alaska, Arizona, DC, Kansas.

"Just use Wyoming" is marketing. Wyoming is private — and so are 23 other jurisdictions. The real question is not where; it is what the state's management trigger actually names.

How this is determined

This ranking is a deterministic function of each state's statute — no weighting, no editorial score.

• The test: a state is private if no statute forces a member's name onto a public filing — at formation or on any ongoing filing (annual/biennial report, statement of information, public information report).
• Why "member" only: you are the member. An organizer, manager, registered agent, or "governing person" can be a third party, so a filing that names those roles is a chore, not an exposure.
• "Conditional": a member's name reaches the public record only under a structure trigger, or because the named governing person is also a member.
• "Not private": the statute names owners by an ownership threshold, regardless of management. No structure avoids it.
• As of: 2026-06-14 · method: member-exposure-v1.

Private to form ≠ private to keep

The most common mistake is judging a state by its formation form alone. A state can require no owner when you form, then list owners on the report you file every year or two to keep the LLC alive.

Alaska is the worked example. Its Articles of Organization require no member — so the formation form looks private. But the biennial report (Alaska Stat. §10.50.755(4)) must set out "the name and address of each person owning at least a five percent interest in the company." That clause applies to every 5%+ owner regardless of how the LLC is managed — so even a manager-managed Alaska LLC must list its 5%+ owners. Private to form, not private to keep.

All 51 jurisdictions

Each state is evaluated at both stages; the verdict is the worse of the two.

Tier 1 — Fully private (24)

No member's name is ever required, at formation or annually.

Alabama · Colorado · Delaware · Georgia · Iowa · Maine · Maryland · Michigan · Minnesota · Missouri · Nebraska · New Hampshire · New Mexico · New York · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Vermont · Virginia · Wyoming

Tier 2 — Conditional privacy (23)

A member's name reaches the record only under a structure or role trigger. In most of these states, manager-managed with a non-owner manager avoids member disclosure. Kentucky is narrower: its annual report names managers only, so a member is exposed only if that member is also the named manager.

Arkansas · California · Connecticut · Florida · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Kentucky · Louisiana · Massachusetts · Mississippi · Montana · Nevada · New Jersey · North Carolina · North Dakota · Pennsylvania · Texas · Utah · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin

Tier 3 — Not private (4)

An owner is forced onto the public record regardless of management structure. Arizona exposes 20%+ members on the Articles; Alaska (5%+), DC (>10%), and Kansas (5%+) expose owners on the periodic report. A minority owner below the threshold is not listed.

Alaska · Arizona · District of Columbia · Kansas

The receipts — every non-private verdict, with its statute

No state is labeled here without the mechanism. Each entry names the filing that triggers exposure, the statute, and the exact clause.

Alaska — Not private (biennial report; AS 10.50.755(4))

"the name and address of each person owning at least a five percent interest in the company and the percentage of interest owned by that person in the company"

Arizona — Not private (formation; A.R.S. 29-3201(B)(4)(a))

"the name and address of each manager and the name and address of each member who owns a twenty percent or greater interest in the capital or profits of the company"

Arkansas — Conditionally private (annual report; Ark. Code 4-38-212(a)(4))

"(4) if the company is member managed, the name of at least one member;"

California — Conditionally private (statement of information; Cal. Corp. Code 17702.09(a)(5))

"if no manager has been so elected or appointed, the name and business or residence address of each member."

Connecticut — Conditionally private (annual report; Conn. Gen. Stat. 34-247k(a)(3))

"The name, business address and residence address of at least one member or manager"

District of Columbia — Not private (biennial report; D.C. Code 29-102.11(a)(6))

"each person whose aggregate share of direct or indirect, legal or beneficial ownership of a governance or total distributional interest of the entity exceeds 10%"

Florida — Conditionally private (annual report; Fla. Stat. 605.0212(1)(e))

"(e) The name, title or capacity, and address of at least one person who has the authority to manage the company."

Hawaii — Conditionally private (annual report; Haw. Rev. Stat. 428-210(a)(3)(B))

"(B) If not, the name and address of each member."

Idaho — Conditionally private (annual report; Idaho Code 30-21-213(a)(4))

"(4) The name of at least one (1) governor." Related definition: A member of a member-managed limited liability company.

Illinois — Conditionally private (annual report; 805 ILCS 180/50-1(a)(4))

"(4) The name and business address of all of the managers and any member having the authority of a manager."

Indiana — Conditionally private (business entity report; IC 23-0.5-2-13(a) / State Form 48725 Art. VI (optional for LLCs) & Art. VIII (mandatory signature))

"You must have at least one governing person on the record. Name. Title (i.e. president, secretary, member, manager)." (Trigger appears on the state filing form rather than a self-contained statute subsection.)

Kansas — Not private (biennial report; K.S.A. 17-76,139)

"members owning at least 5% of the capital of the limited liability company"

Kentucky — Conditionally private (annual report; KRS 14A.6-010(1)(d)2)

"Manager-managed limited liability company, whether domestic or foreign, the name and business address of each manager;"

Louisiana — Conditionally private (annual report; La. R.S. 12:1308.1(A)(3))

"The name and municipal address, which shall not be a post office box only, of each manager, if management of the limited liability company is vested in one or more managers, or each member, if management of the limited liability company is reserved to the members."

Massachusetts — Conditionally private (certificate of organization and annual report; M.G.L. c.156C §12(a)(5), (a)(6), (c))

"the name and address of each manager; ... at least one such person shall be named if there are no managers" Related definition: Annual reports must set forth the information required in subsection (a)..

Mississippi — Conditionally private (annual report; Miss. Code 79-29-215(1)(d))

"The names and business addresses of the managers if manager-managed and the name and address of at least one (1) member if member-managed;"

Montana — Conditionally private (formation; Mont. Code 35-8-208(1)(d)(ii))

"if the management of a limited liability company is reserved to the members, a statement to that effect and the names and business mailing addresses of the members;"

Nevada — Conditionally private (annual report; NRS 86.263(1)(c))

"The names and titles of all of its managers or, if there is no manager, all of its managing members;"

New Jersey — Conditionally private (annual report; N.J.S.A. 42:2C-26(a)(3))

"the name and addresses of the managing members or managers, as the case may be."

North Carolina — Conditionally private (annual report; N.C.G.S. 57D-2-24(a)(5) + 57D-1-03(5))

"The names, titles, and business addresses of the limited liability company's principal company officials" Related definition: Any person exercising any management authority over the limited liability company whether the person is a manager or referred to as a manager, director, or officer or given any other title.

North Dakota — Conditionally private (annual report; N.D.C.C. 10-32.1-89(1)(d))

"the name or names and respective address or addresses of the managing member or members of the limited liability company"

Pennsylvania — Conditionally private (annual report; 15 Pa.C.S. 146(a)(3))

"the name of at least one governor;" Related definition: A person by or under whose authority the powers of an association are exercised and under whose direction the activities and affairs of the association are managed.

Texas — Conditionally private (formation; Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code 3.010(3))

"if the limited liability company does not initially have managers, the name and address of each initial member of the limited liability company."

Utah — Conditionally private (annual report; Utah Code 48-3a-212(1)(d))

"the name of at least one governing person; and" Related definition: "Governing person" means a person, alone or in concert with others, by or under whose authority the powers of the limited liability company are exercised.

Washington — Conditionally private (annual report; RCW 23.95.255(2)(e))

"The names of the entity's governors;" Related definition: member of a member-managed limited liability company.

West Virginia — Conditionally private (formation; W. Va. Code 31B-2-203(a)(4))

"The name and address of each organizer and of each member having authority to execute instruments on behalf of the limited liability company;"

Wisconsin — Conditionally private (annual report; Wis. Stat. 183.0212(1)(d))

"If the company is member managed, the name of at least one member."

What this deliberately ignores

• Organizer / registered-agent names — required in most states but proxiable; not owner exposure.
• Cost, speed, and taxes — separate questions.
• Federal BOI reporting — a non-public federal filing; it does not put you on a public state record.

This page answers exactly one question: will the state's public record name you as an owner? For the structured, per-row citations, see member-name-visibility-by-state.