Staying compliant in Indiana

When is Indiana's biennial report due, and what does it ask?

The Business Entity Report (State Form 48725) is due every other year, in the month your LLC was formed. The form's own wording is that reports are due every other year in the anniversary month of the business forming.^{1, 2}

Indiana's statute frames it as a biennial report and requires it every two calendar years on a schedule set by the Secretary of State, so the Secretary of State, not the LLC, sets the exact cycle. If you formed in March, your report falls in March, in alternate years. If your own cycle isn't clear, ask the Secretary of State.²

What it costs

Indiana sets the fee by filing method, at $20 online, $50 by paper filing. Paper costs more than twice as much for the same report, so INBiz is the cheaper route unless you can't file online.³

What the report asks for

The statute requires three items (Entity name, registered agent information, and principal office street address). That is short, but each item is worth a check before you submit.⁵

1. The LLC's exact name as the state has it.
2. Your registered agent's name and Indiana street address. If the agent changed, the statement of change is the dedicated filing for it; this guide's sources don't say whether the report itself can update the agent.
3. The principal office street address. Use the address where the business is actually run, and update it if you have moved.

Filing methods are the same as at formation (Online through INBiz, or by mailing a paper state form). The state's business forms page lists the paper version. For how these reports work across states, see annual reports explained, and if you run LLCs elsewhere, compare staying compliant in Ohio and staying compliant in Illinois.⁶

Does Indiana charge LLCs a franchise tax?

The Secretary of State sources behind this guide don't publish a franchise or privilege tax for LLCs, so this page can't say whether one applies.

The recurring Secretary of State charge those sources show is the Business Entity Report fee ($20 online, $50 by paper filing).³

Taxes sit with other agencies, and this page does not cover them. Ask the Indiana Department of Revenue which state registrations and returns apply to your LLC, based on what you sell, whether you have employees, and where you operate. Federal filings go to the IRS. A tax professional can explain how your LLC's income is taxed given its ownership and any election to be taxed as a corporation.

Keep tax dates on their own list. The Business Entity Report is a corporate record filing, and filing it on time does not satisfy any tax obligation.

What happens if an Indiana LLC misses the report or loses its agent?

The state may begin administrative dissolution when an LLC misses the statute's limit for its biennial report, which requires delivery not later than sixty (60) days after it is due, or goes 60 consecutive days without an Indiana registered agent. Reinstatement is available afterwards for a fee.⁴

The report deadline is the easier one to miss, because it arrives only every other year. The window after the due date is a margin for error. Treat the due month itself as the deadline.

A dissolved LLC loses its good standing. That can hold up a bank loan, a contract that asks for a certificate of standing, or a licence renewal. Ask a lawyer if the business kept trading or signed contracts while dissolved.

How reinstatement works in Indiana

The state fee is $20 online, $30 on paper. Online reinstatement through INBiz is the simpler path where it is available. The state's reinstatement list shows that paper reinstatement also requires a Certificate of Clearance and a Business Entity Report with its fee. The Secretary of State's reinstatement page lists the paper set, including the Application for Reinstatement SF 4160.³

Time narrows the options under the state's rules. Entities dissolved over 5 years must file on paper with a reason statement. For the Certificate of Clearance, the reinstatement page points to the Indiana Department of Revenue, so start that request early.³

The paper set includes a Business Entity Report with its fee, so expect to bring the report current as well as pay the reinstatement fee.

How do you keep your Indiana registered agent current?

Keep an agent with an Indiana street address on record at all times, and file the free Statement of Change of Registered Agent (State Form 56367) whenever the agent changes (No fee).^{1, 4}

The address rule comes from the agent chapter that holds Ind. Code § 23-0.5-4-3: where a record must state an address, the record must state a street address in this state. If your agent moves out of state, they stop meeting it.⁴

Watch for resignations. An agent's resignation takes effect on the 31st day after the Secretary of State files it, and the agent must promptly notify the LLC. That notice goes to the contact details the agent holds, so keep your email and mailing address current in any provider account. File the replacement before you cancel the old service. Our guides on changing an agent and cancelling an agent service set out the order, and the Indiana registered agent guide covers who may serve.⁴

Foreign LLCs registered here on a Foreign Registration Statement (State Form 56369), which costs $75 online, $125 on paper, keep the same agent duty, and changing their agent carries no state fee either (No fee).⁴

Provider compliance features and Indiana's report

Indiana's every-other-year report changes the maths on compliance plans. A plan priced per year pays for a year in which no report is due, while a plan priced per filing charges only when a report goes in. Providers below are in the order of our score, highest first. These are each provider's general terms; apart from LegalZoom's footnote, the pages behind this guide don't say how each one handles Indiana's biennial report.

• Tailor Brands bundles report filing into some plans (Included in Essential and Elite (annual compliance report filing and updates); not in Lite).⁷
• ZenBusiness sells Annual Report Filing $100 per report, or Worry-Free Compliance $199/year; its registered agent page mentions reminders when describing the agent's role (State compliance notices and annual report reminders).^{8, 9}
• LegalZoom sells a Compliance Filings subscription that starts at $199/year, but a footnote on its page leaves Indiana out of automatic filing (auto-filing excludes Indiana, Maryland, Wyoming). It also sells a one-time annual report filing at $99 + state filing fees, bills once; its page doesn't say how that applies to Indiana's report. Confirm with the provider before paying.^{10, 11}
• Bizee (formerly Incfile) lists free lifetime compliance notifications with its agent service.¹²
• Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard $199/year, offered as a 14-day free trial then auto-charged, so the charge follows unless you cancel during the trial.¹³
• Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees, charged at filing. Its terms also enrol agent customers in compliance services automatically (RA customers auto-enrolled in Compliance Services billed in annual auto-pay), so check your account settings.^{14, 15}
• Rocket Lawyer lists annual report filing at $100 with Pro membership, excluding state fees.¹⁶
• InCorp Services lists annual report filing at $89 + state fees.¹⁷
• Harbor Compliance lists its annual report service at $199 per state per year plus filing fees. Its agent service needs non-renewal notice at least 90 days before the end of the current term.^{18, 19}

None of these features keeps your agent on file for you if you cancel it, and a reminder email is only useful if it reaches a working inbox. Side-by-side prices are on the Indiana registered agent comparison, and a wider view is on services with compliance tools.

What does an Indiana LLC compliance calendar look like?

Indiana's calendar turns on one date, your formation month, because the Business Entity Report falls in that month every other year at $20 online, $50 by paper filing.³

Year one

1. Articles filed. Note the month the state files your Articles of Organization; that month anchors the report cycle. How to file is on our Indiana LLC formation guide, and the fees are added up on the cheapest ways to form an Indiana LLC.
2. Work out when your first Business Entity Report falls due, and ask the Secretary of State if the cycle isn't clear.
3. Confirm the email and phone your registered agent will use, and note its renewal date.
4. Ask the Indiana Department of Revenue and the IRS which registrations apply, and put their dates on a separate list.

Year two and later

1. In each report year, file the Business Entity Report in your anniversary month through INBiz ($20 online). The statute requires delivery not later than sixty (60) days after it is due, and missing that opens the door to dissolution.^{3, 4}
2. In the off years, check your record once on INBiz and confirm the agent and principal office address.
3. Decide on any agent or compliance plan renewal before its notice date.
4. If your agent resigns at any point, file a statement of change straight away; the dissolution count starts once the LLC has no agent.

Terms used here, such as administrative dissolution, are defined in our glossary, and what a registered agent does covers the agent's role.