Firstly, I wonder if I can use a PO box as the business address? If not, a private mailbox from somewhere like postnet? I'm rather zealous when it comes to my privacy, and I heard that anyone who knows your LLC name can look up the filed info if they want.

Second, I don't participate in social security for political and socio-economic protest reasons. (never was issued a number in the first place, thank god i had progressive parents) It's no bother as there's nothing difficult about registering to vote, getting a driver's license, passport, etc without one. Thanks to asscroft, I'm limited when it comes to bank accounts, but starting a LLC will allow me to use the bank account of the company as my own. I'm not too concerned about the whole 'alter ego' thing, I'm not starting something that would have legal risks, just a webhosting business.

However, I'm wondering about providing a SSN for the EIN. I know the IRS tosses out EINs like candy, but I wonder if they'll give me one without a SSN.

If they won't, I'm thinking of just having a relative with a SSN be my 'tax matters' member until I get the EIN, and then just removing them from the LLC. Unless that would cause them any possible problems when they start their own, or open them up to undue scrutiny.

Thanks in advance.

Legalzoom probably has a registered agent service you can use. That way the address that is associated with your LLC is the registered agent's and your registered agent forwards any correspondence to your address.



The IRS gives them out like candy. You just call them, tell them what you want it for and they give you one. At least I'm 99.999% sure about this. I don't remember giving them my SSN for my EIN.

I would not suggest using someone else's SSN for your LLC. You can't just "remove" someone from an LLC. It will cause you and him/her nothing but headaches. I don't think it will cause them undue scrutiny, but they would be responsible for anything attached to the LLC.

Sweet. I should mention that your replies to other LLC posts on this forum really helped me out a lot earlier and are the reason I posted my question here.

Thanks for the help.

Glad to help. Good luck!

I've been going over the filing instructions on the TN SoS website, thinking I could save some money doing it myself.

Lil complicated. I'm almost inclined to go with the added expense of a filing service, but jeez, 600+ bucks for the MINIMAL plans, and I want expedited service. I can act as my own registered agent and save some money there.

I'm thinking about picking a state with low registration fees and no hidden ones (There was a page somewhere that said Wyoming was better because Nevada had fees that you don't see.. but I don't know), but then you're adding a registered agent in that state and a foreign entity registration in mine, and that probably jacks it up to what I'd spend registering it here.

I look at the filing services, and aside from doing the actual filing and checking of documents to make sure they're all right, it's nothing I need or can't do myself. The name search, for example. Should I take the plunge and attempt to file it myself?

Forming an LLC happens at the state level, so every state is different. I used bizfilings.com and I also use them as my registered agent. I can't remember off the top of my head what the initial cost was, but IMO it was well worth it. I just renewed the registered agent for $179/year.

Even using bizfilings, I recently had a meeting with my lawyer about something else and we discussed PK. I found out that despite the fact that I had used a service, I still had missed a step that I needed to do. So technically, until I file some paperwork with the State of NY, my LLC is not recognized with limited liability.

Anyway, doing everything yourself increases the likelihood of error exponentially. If you do not file your LLC correctly according your state requirements, the limited liability protection means nothing and in court, that status can and will be challenged and you can be held personally liable like a sole proprietorship.

Also, I thought you didn't want to use your address? If you use yourself as the registered agent, you need to give them your address and it must be a physical address because this is where a business would be served with court documents. You can't do that to a post office box.

Don't even think of going out of state to form an LLC or any type of entity. It causes headaches and in the long run costs more money anyway because you still need to file with the state that you are located in to do business there.

Why do you want to form an LLC? Why don't you just create a DBA and form the LLC when the money isn't an issue to do so. Frankly, with all other expense you run into with your business, forming the LLC is "cheap".

This seems pretty high to me.

My humbly submitted two cents: get a lawyer. If you are serious about doing/building business, you are eventually gonna need a lawyer and an accountant, at the very least. As PK says, as registered agent, your lawyer's address is the LLC address, then you can have a "mailing" address to a PO box. And a lawyer will know the answer to every one of your questions.

I started just as a DBA myself and when the volume started to grow, problems become exponential and I hired a lawyer. I can't imagine anyone suing me because their horse bookends don't match their decor, but I do sleep better at night.

For the record, I personally dislike most things having to do with lawyers. In my very humble opinion, there are too many of them (law schools need to have applicant caps like vets) and the tort system is out of control. With too many lawyers competing for available business, they have to invent it. But they do have their uses.

Anecdote: I hired my accountant a year after I hired the lawyer, and he found a mistake my lawyer had made. Go figure.

Oops, typo alert. It was $129. That still was high to me and I had plans to shop around, but so much to do, so little time. There's always next year!


I agree with whoa. If you're serious, eventually you need a lawyer. Find one that you can have a good, professional relationship with.

I can't imagine getting sued over a crochet pattern, but you just never know...

Someone could get a paper cut that gets infected and then all of a sudden PK is sucked into a lawsuit along with Leisure Arts.

Whoagirl - one of those bookends might fall off a bookshelf and hit someone on the head. Of course, you'd be responsible for that, you know.

I hope I'm covered! Maybe I could sell them some riding helmets as well!

Just a suggestion:

Get a really good accountant first, then have them recommend a lawyer. As has been mentioned, accountants are always finding lawyers' errors, so they usually know which ones to avoid, and which are good. They also know which ones are overpriced.

This is an old thread, but I'll give it a shot.

I've been thinking about going LLC through Legalzoom. I don't have a business, per se -- I'm a freelancer, and some of my clients are requiring me to bill through a separate entity. Purplekitty, you mentioned that LegalZoom failed to submit some paperwork to NY state. I'm a NYer, and was wondering what that paperwork was.

thx