Ohio LLCs don't file an annual report — here's what "no report" does and doesn't mean

Last reviewed July 28, 2026 · Ohio Secretary of State + Revised Code sources linked below

If you've been searching "Ohio LLC annual report" and can't find the filing, that's because it doesn't exist. Ohio is one of a handful of states — alongside Arizona, Missouri, New Mexico, and South Carolina — where a domestic LLC files no annual report and no biennial report with the Secretary of State. Once formed, your registration doesn't come up for renewal. That's genuinely good news. But "no report" gets misread as "nothing recurring, ever," and that misreading has two costs: real deadlines that do exist get missed, and scam letters that invent fake ones get paid.

The one-line version: An Ohio LLC owes the Secretary of State no recurring report and no recurring fee. What does recur: a registered trade name expires every 5 years ($25 renewal, cancelled if missed), your statutory agent must stay continuously current, tax registrations (like Ohio's commercial activity tax) run separately through the Department of Taxation, and any state where you've registered as a foreign LLC still has its own report calendar.

Who actually files reports in Ohio

Entity type	Recurring SOS report?
LLC (domestic or foreign)	None
Corporation	None (no annual report to the SOS)
Professional association	Biennial report (Form 520), filed in even-numbered years — see the SOS Form 520 instructions for the current window
Limited liability partnership (LLP)	Biennial report, filed April 1 – July 1 in odd-numbered years

This split is where confusion (and copycat advice from other states) comes from: Ohio does have "biennial reports" on the books — they just don't apply to LLCs. If your Ohio entity is a standard LLC, there is no report to file, full stop.

The recurring deadlines Ohio LLCs actually have

Trade names ("doing business as") expire. A trade name registered with the Ohio Secretary of State is effective for 5 years and must be renewed — $25, inside a six-month window before expiration (Ohio Revised Code § 1329.04). The state mails a courtesy notice, but a missed renewal means the registration is cancelled and the name is up for grabs. If your LLC operates under a brand different from its legal name, this is your Ohio deadline.
Your statutory agent must stay current. Ohio LLCs are required to continuously maintain a statutory agent under the Ohio Revised LLC Act (ORC Chapter 1706). If your agent resigns, moves, or the appointment lapses, file the update promptly — an unreachable agent means you don't receive lawsuits or state notices, which is how small problems become defaults.
Tax obligations run on their own track. No SOS report doesn't mean no state filings at all. Depending on gross receipts, an Ohio business may need to register for and file Ohio's commercial activity tax (CAT) with the Department of Taxation — the CAT's exclusion thresholds and filing schedule have changed several times in recent years, so check the Department's current CAT page (linked below) rather than an older blog post. Employer withholding, sales tax, and municipal taxes are likewise separate registrations with their own calendars.
Foreign registrations keep their own calendars. An Ohio LLC that expands and registers in, say, Florida (May 1, $400 late fee) or California ($800 franchise tax + Statement of Information) owes those states their reports — Ohio's report-free status doesn't travel with you.

The scam-letter problem — "no report" is exactly why they target Ohio

Because Ohio has no real annual report, official-looking mailers inventing one are a recurring problem — letters demanding an "annual registration fee," "certificate of good standing fee," or "workplace compliance poster" payment, dressed up with state seals and deadlines. The Ohio Secretary of State maintains an official business-alerts page warning about these solicitations. The rule of thumb: an Ohio LLC gets no legitimate annual-report bill, ever. If a letter says otherwise, check it against the SOS alerts page before paying anything.

So is an Ohio LLC "maintenance-free"?

Closer than almost any other state — but not quite. The honest summary: Ohio removes the Secretary of State treadmill, and what's left is a short list of irregular, easy-to-forget items (a 5-year trade-name clock, agent changes, tax registrations, other states' calendars). Irregular is the operative word — a deadline that arrives once every five years is more likely to be forgotten than one that arrives every April.

The five-year deadline is the one nobody remembers. EntityMinder tracks the deadlines Ohio owners actually have — trade-name expirations, other states' annual reports, tax registrations — on one calendar, and stays quiet about the reports that don't exist.

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Related guides

Look up any state's LLC deadline — the 50-state annual-report + franchise-tax lookup.
Franchise tax vs. annual report, explained — why "no report" and "no recurring cost" are different claims.
Delaware LLC deadlines — the other "no report" state, except it charges a flat $300 franchise tax every June 1.
Missed an annual report? — for your foreign registrations: what default, dissolution, and reinstatement involve.

Official sources

Ohio Secretary of State — Keeping Your Business Up to Date (which entity types file reports; Ohio businesses generally file no annual report)
Ohio Secretary of State — Form 520 Biennial Report instructions (professional associations; not LLCs)
Ohio Revised Code § 1329.04 — Renewal of trade name registration (5-year term, $25 renewal, six-month window, cancellation)
Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1706 — Ohio Revised Limited Liability Company Act (statutory agent requirement; no annual-report provision exists in the chapter)
Ohio Secretary of State — Official Business Alerts (deceptive annual-report-style solicitations)
Ohio Department of Taxation — Commercial Activity Tax (current registration thresholds and filing schedule)