Staying compliant in Michigan

What is the Michigan annual statement, and how do you file it?

The annual statement is a short filing with Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division that confirms your resident agent and registered office each year. Every LLC and PLLC is required to file an annual statement starting the year after formation.¹

What it asks for

Under MCL 450.4207(3), the statement is a filing "containing the name of its resident agent and the address of its registered office in this state." The sources for this page describe no other required contents, such as a member list or financial figures.⁶

Because the statement carries your agent and office, it also works as a yearly prompt to check them. If either has changed, the separate change filing, Form CSCL/CD-520, records the new details for $5.^{1, 3}

Deadline and first-year timing

• The due date is February 15 each year, starting the year after formation.²
• LARA phrases the same rule as "February 15 each year after organization/qualification", which brings registered foreign LLCs into it too.²
• The exception: an LLC formed after September 30 does not file on the February that comes right after. A company formed in October, November or December therefore skips one February and files the next.²

Fee, and a scheduled change

The statutory fee in MCL 450.5101(1)(g) reads: Through September 30, 2027, the fee is $25.00. The fee then drops to $15.00 if paid after September 30, 2027. When you file, pay the amount LARA shows at that time.³

Where to file

LARA's annual reports and annual statements page says annual statements can be submitted online through the MiBusiness Registry Portal, and gives the due date. For how other states handle their yearly reports, see annual reports explained, or compare Illinois's yearly filing and New York's model.

Does Michigan charge LLCs a franchise tax or other annual fee?

The facts checked for this page cover Corporations Division filings, not state taxes, so they neither confirm nor rule out a Michigan franchise tax on LLCs.

The only yearly entity charge they show is the annual statement fee ($25).³

Tax obligations run on a different system with different deadlines. This guide does not cover Michigan's tax rules, so ask the Michigan Department of Treasury which registrations and returns apply to your LLC, and the IRS about federal filings. How your LLC's income is taxed depends on how it is owned and whether it has elected corporate tax treatment, a question for a tax professional. Keep those dates on their own calendar: filing the annual statement on time says nothing about whether your tax returns are current.

What happens if a Michigan LLC misses its annual statement?

One missed statement does not end good standing by itself, and on late fees the sources for this page say "No late fee confirmed for LLCs". The consequence arrives after a pattern.⁴

Under MCL 450.4207a(2)-(3), the trigger is an LLC that "fails to file an annual statement required by section 207 for 2 consecutive years." The state then sends a notice, and the result is that after 2 consecutive missed years and 60 days after the administrator's notice, the LLC is not in good standing. In plain terms, you get two missed Februaries and a notice period before the status changes.⁴

What losing good standing means

For LLCs, the statute facts on this page describe a loss of good standing. LARA's annual statements page also warns, for entities in general, that missed filings can lead to dissolution, revocation or loss of good standing after a grace period, so check your record with LARA if you have fallen behind.

Restoration of good standing

Michigan calls this 'restoration' of good standing rather than reinstatement. The filing is Form CSCL/CD-770/771, the Certificate of Restoration of Good Standing.⁵

1. Gather the missing years. The fee for each annual statement is $25.00.⁵
2. File the certificate with those statements. The fee for the Certificate of Restoration of Good Standing is $50.00.⁵
3. Allow time for review. Review can take up to 10 business days for non-expedited submissions.⁵

Add those figures before you file, because a long gap multiplies the per-statement charge. If the business kept signing contracts while out of good standing, a lawyer can tell you whether any of them are affected.

No agent is a separate problem

Having no resident agent is not a listed dissolution ground under the facts checked for this page. Instead, when no agent is on file, process may be served on the administrator (LARA), which means a lawsuit can proceed without reaching you. The Michigan resident agent guide covers that rule and agent resignations in full.⁶

How do you keep your Michigan resident agent current?

Keep a resident agent whose Michigan office or home matches your registered office (MCL 450.4207), confirm both on each annual statement, and file Form CSCL/CD-520 as soon as either changes.^{1, 7}

The usual triggers for a change are an agent who moves, a relative or employee who stops serving, or a switch between paid services. If your agent resigns, the appointment ends 30 days after filing with LARA or when a successor is appointed, whichever is first, which leaves little slack. File the change before cancelling the old provider; the step-by-step order is in how to change a resident agent, and how to cancel an agent service covers contract terms. Foreign LLCs registered here (the application costs $50) also file the annual statement, since its due date runs from qualification.^{8, 9}

What provider compliance features do for a Michigan LLC

Michigan has a fixed yearly deadline, so compliance features have something to track here. They come in two kinds. Where a provider publishes a separate filing price, that price is higher than the state fee.

Filing services. These are listed in order of our score, highest first, ties in editorial order.

• Tailor Brands: Included in Essential and Elite (annual compliance report filing and updates); not in Lite.¹⁰
• ZenBusiness: Annual Report Filing $100 per report, or Worry-Free Compliance $199/year.¹¹
• LegalZoom: $99 + state filing fees, bills once.¹²
• Bizee (formerly Incfile): Annual report filing offered; no standalone price stated.¹³
• Swyft Filings: ComplianceGuard $199/year (14-day free trial then auto-charged).¹⁴
• doola: Annual State Report Filing included in the Tax and Compliance and Business-in-a-Box™ plans.¹⁵
• Northwest Registered Agent: $100 + state fees, charged at filing. Its auto-pay terms show RA customers auto-enrolled in Compliance Services, billed through annual auto-pay, so check your account settings if you'd rather file yourself.^{16, 17}
• Rocket Lawyer: $100 with Pro membership, excluding state fees.¹⁸
• InCorp Services: $89 + state fees.¹⁹
• Harbor Compliance: $199 per state per year plus filing fees.²⁰

Set each of those against the state's own $25 statement fee before deciding a filing plan is worth it for a form that lists two items.³

Reminders. LegalZoom lists alerts and deadline reminders with RA service. InCorp Services lists email reminders included with registered agent service, and Harbor Compliance lists annual report reminders included with registered agent service. The agent page for Bizee (formerly Incfile) lists free lifetime compliance alerts, though its order page shows lifetime alerts only in the Standard and Premium packages. ZenBusiness mentions compliance notices and annual report reminders in describing what an agent passes to owners, without describing a separate alert feature. A reminder doesn't file anything, and it only reaches you if the email on your provider account is current.^{21, 22, 23, 24, 25}

Watch renewal terms as well. Harbor Compliance requires notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term, or the agent service renews. Prices side by side are on the Michigan resident agent comparison, and the compliance-focused list explains how those providers are grouped.²⁶

What does a Michigan LLC compliance calendar look like?

The first year depends on when in the calendar year LARA filed your Articles; after that, the pattern repeats every February.

Year one

1. Formation. LARA files your Articles. The Michigan LLC formation guide covers that step, and the cheapest ways to form a Michigan LLC adds up the fees.
2. Agent setup. Confirm the email and phone your resident agent will use, and note the renewal date if it is a paid service.
3. Taxes. Ask the Michigan Department of Treasury and the IRS which registrations apply, and list their dates separately.
4. Check your formation date against the autumn cutoff. An LLC formed after September 30 does not file on the February that follows, so its first statement waits another year.²

Year two and after

1. February. File the annual statement, due February 15 each year, starting the year after formation, confirming the agent and registered office.²
2. Watch the fee. Through September 30, 2027, the fee is $25.00. The amount changes once that date passes.³
3. Agent renewal. Decide whether to keep a paid service before any notice deadline in its terms.
4. Change filings. File Form CSCL/CD-520 whenever your agent or office changes, without waiting for February.¹

A single missed February doesn't end good standing by itself; that happens only after 2 consecutive missed years and 60 days after the administrator's notice. Terms on this page are defined in the glossary, and the explainer on what a resident agent does covers the role in general.⁴