Forming a Michigan LLC

When I was living in California a few years back I used LegalZoom to form an LLC. After that I moved to Washington and now I live in Michigan. In each of these last two states I formed an LLC without the help of a 3rd party. I was surprised how easy it was. So I am writing this post to help residents of Michigan. There is no reason to pay LegalZoom to do these things for you... save your money, it's easy!

Quick disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and I don't want to be one. So take this all with a grain of salt. I may be wrong on some detail and if you really want to make sure you did everything correctly, you should contact a lawyer.

Michigan LLC
Step 1 is to make sure you can actually use the name you picked out -- someone may have beaten you to it. I'd recommend doing a quick Michigan search and USPTO trademark search for your business name. (Michigan has some more business naming guidelines that may be helpful.)

Step 2 is to form the LLC. Click here to download the required form (BCS/CD-700). Now, the instructions are on page 2 and it is pretty clear, but I thought I'd summerize if you aren't into reading instructions.

Article I: This will be the name of your company. Don't forget to add "LLC" to the end of the name. It is required.
Article II: You can just say that you're generally in compliance or list what your LLC will be doing for business.
Article III: Leave blank if the LLC has no end or dissolution date.
Article IV: This is where you put your name and address.
Article V: This is where you would tell Michigan that your LLC is managed by a manager (someone besides the LLC members). But for most, like freelancers and small home-businesses, you will be member-managed and will leave this field blank.

Have it signed by each member and send it in. It will take about 2 or 3 weeks to hear back (unless you expedite).

Lastly, after you form your Michigan LLC (and get back confirmation) you can apply for a DBA name (if you'll be operating under another name besides your new LLC) and get a FEIN (a kind of social security number for a business).

It is all quite easy. Save yourself some money and do it yourself.