How to start a business in Missouri
Do you feel the inner calling for independence and business adventure? Would you like to become a business owner and a decision-maker?
The steps
Just a few essential steps
Starting a business is like opening a new door. It brings new experiences to light, both good and challenging. It can sound complicated and scary, but in fact - it is only a few steps process.
Below, we list what exactly is needed for starting your own business in Missouri. We will help you to set it all right.
- Register with
- Secretary of State
- LLC filing fee
- $50
Online; $105 on paper
- Registered agent
- Required
A registered office and agent in Missouri
- State tax ID
- Department of Revenue
Register online through MyTax Missouri
- Licenses
- Varies
By industry and by city or county
- Federal tax ID (EIN)
- Free
From the IRS, online
Step 1 of 5
Pick your company name
While thinking about your company name, consider these few crucial elements, as a perfect name:
cannot exist in the business database (cannot be already registered)
should be personal and unique
has a positive association
indicates the type of industry
is related to what you do (if it is very specific) and open for possible business modifications in the future as well (to stay up-to-date even if you, e.g., broaden your field of expertise)
In Missouri state it is required to register the business name as a Fictitious Name Registration (aka "Doing Business As"). To register a name, you have to set up an account in the Business Registration Online Portal.
You may also decide on a trademark for your business, like logo and a slogan.
Note: "A fictitious registration is good for five years and may be renewed at the end of that period. Renewals must be made in the six-month period prior to the date of the registration's expiration. Once expired, the business must file a new fictitious name registration" (source: Missouri SOS).
Step 2 of 5
Choose the entity type
There are a few types of entities that you can form in Missouri state. Requirements, taxes, benefits, and flaws differ from one another.
If you are sure to work alone in your company and want the easiest form of setting up a business and its taxation, you might decide on a Sole Proprietorship
To be able to work in two or more people, while still having the easiest form of setting up a business and its taxation, consider Partnership
For more official and reliable business, together with personal assets protection, choose a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
If your profession needs a license, you need to start a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC)
For a bigger enterprise, with more employees, consider a Corporation
While considering a small service business, we advise you to choose from the first four options.
Note: Converting your Sole Proprietorship to an LLC is a complicated and time-consuming process. It is easier to stay with the entity type you chose primarily.
Answer the questions to see which option fits.
Step 3 of 5
Place application with needed documents
Depending on the entity type, there are various required steps to follow and documents to submit.
Sole proprietorship
Sole proprietorships are formed without the involvement of the Missouri Secretary of State and they are not registered.
However, as written in the 1 Step: Company name, Missouri law requires any person creating a business under a name other than their own "true name" to register that business name with the Secretary of State’s Office as a Fictitious Name Registration.
You can submit this information via an account in the Business Registration Online Portal.
The fee for a Fictitious Name creation, renewal, correction, or amendment is $7.
You can still obtain a trademark, like a logo and slogan, too.
Note: A sole proprietorship entity does not secure your personal assets.
General Partnership
General partnerships are formed without the involvement of the Missouri Secretary of State and they are not registered.
However, a Missouri general partnership may decide to become a Limited Liability Partnership. This affords certain protections against liability for the partnership's partners. Such application must include:
- The name of the partnership
- The number of partners in the partnership at the date of application
- The address of a registered office and the name and address of a registered agent
- A brief statement of the principal business in which the partnership engages
- That the partnership thereby applies for registration as a registered limited liability partnership
- Application fee: $30 for one partner, $55 for two partners, $80 for three partners, $105 for four or more partners
You can submit this information via an account in the Business Registration Online Portal.
Additionally, as written in the 1 Step: Company name, Missouri law requires any person creating a business under a name other than their own "true name" to register that business name with the Secretary of State’s Office as a Fictitious Name Registration.
The fee for a Fictitious Name creation, renewal, correction or amendment is $7.
Note: "An initial application by a partnership to register a limited liability partnership expires one year after the date of registration unless renewed. Thereafter, a renewal is required annually. The basic fee for each subsequent renewal is $105, plus an additional $50 for each new partner added up to a maximum fee of $205."(source: Missouri SOS)
Limited Liability Company
A Limited Liability Company is formed and registered by filling Articles of Organization with the Corporations Division. The information that must be provided is the following:
- The name of the Limited Liability Company
- The purpose for which the LLC is organized
- The address, including street and number, if any, of the registered office and the name of the registered agent at such office
- A statement as to whether management of the limited liability company is vested in managers or in members
- The events by which the limited liability company is to dissolve or the number of years the limited liability company is to exist, which may be any number or perpetual
- The name and physical business or residence address of each organizer
- Application fee: $105 if submitted by paper, $50 if submitted online
You can submit this information via an account in the Business Registration Online Portal.
Additionally, as written in the 1 Step: Company name, Missouri law requires any person creating a business under a name other than their own "true name" to register that business name with the Secretary of State’s Office as a Fictitious Name Registration.
The fee for a Fictitious Name creation, renewal, correction or amendment is $7.
Note: The Limited Liability Company is the safest entity type of these three forms. It protects your personal assets, and sounds more reliable for the customers in the future.
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Step 4 of 5
Obtain EIN & check tax regulations
Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) which is needed also for a one-person business, e.g. to open a business bank account. Apply via the Internal Revenue Service website.
Find all tax forms and instructions on the official Internal Revenue Service website: irs.gov/forms-instructions.
When it comes to sales tax:
A sole proprietorship: it is not taxed separately from its owner or proprietor. The income from the business is taxed at the owner's personal income tax rate. A sole proprietor must file:
- Federal Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business)
- Federal Form 1040
- Missouri Individual Income Tax Form 1040Partnership / Limited Liability Partnership: "income is divided among partners in accordance with investment or partnership agreement and reported on the partners’ individual returns" (source: DOR Missouri)
Limited Liability Company: "taxed as a partnership income is passed directly through to the members according to the amount of stock held. Generally no income tax is paid by the LLC." (source: DOR Missouri)
Note: For an LLC that is taxed as a partnership, each of the members share total responsibility and liability for the debts and obligations of the partnership.
Step 5 of 5
Gather first customers & enjoy your independence
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Are you from another state?
Learn how to set up a business in other states
Check out other guides if you need more detailed information about different states. You can click the state you are interested in on our map or choose it from the list below.
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