The Most Private States to Form an LLC (2026)

Source matrix: member-name-visibility-by-state. Every verdict below is cited to the state's primary formation and annual-report statute (verified 2026-06-14). 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:

• 26 states never require a member's name on any public filing — fully private.
• 21 states require a member only if the LLC is member-managed. Form it manager-managed, with a non-owner manager, and you stay off the record.
• 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 25 other states. The real question is not where; it is member-managed or manager-managed.

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": the state names whoever governs the LLC — a member when member-managed, a manager when manager-managed.
• "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 (26)

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

Alabama · Colorado · Delaware · Georgia · Iowa · Kentucky · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · 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 — Private if you form manager-managed (21)

These states name whoever governs the LLC. Member-managed names a member; manager-managed with a non-owner manager names only the manager. The privacy is yours to keep — it just requires the right management election.

Arkansas · California · Connecticut · Florida · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Louisiana · 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 — Private if manager-managed (annual report; Ark. Code 4-38-212(a)(4))

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

California — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (annual report; Haw. Rev. Stat. 428-210(a)(3)(B))

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

Idaho — Private if manager-managed (annual report; Idaho Code 30-21-213(a)(4))

"(4) The name of at least one (1) governor." The term is defined elsewhere as: A member of a member-managed limited liability company — a member when the LLC is member-managed.

Illinois — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (business entity report; IC 23-18-12-13 / State Form 48725)

"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"

Louisiana — Private if manager-managed (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."

Mississippi — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (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" The term is defined elsewhere as: 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 — a member when the LLC is member-managed.

North Dakota — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (annual report; 15 Pa.C.S. 146(a)(3))

"the name of at least one governor;" The term is defined elsewhere as: 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 — a member when the LLC is member-managed.

Texas — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (annual report; Utah Code 48-3a-212(1)(d))

"the name of at least one governing person; and" The term is defined elsewhere as: "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 — a member when the LLC is member-managed.

Washington — Private if manager-managed (annual report; RCW 23.95.255(2)(e))

"The names of the entity's governors;" The term is defined elsewhere as: member of a member-managed limited liability company — a member when the LLC is member-managed.

West Virginia — Private if manager-managed (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 — Private if manager-managed (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.