Direct answer
What should you do after forming an LLC?
After forming an LLC, get the EIN from the IRS, adopt an operating agreement, open a separate business bank account, register for state tax accounts such as a seller's permit and employer accounts, file the business licenses your city and state require, line up insurance and any license bonds, and set up the compliance calendar for annual reports and renewals.
The state approved your LLC filing. What you have now is a legal entity and nothing else: no tax identity, no bank account, no licenses, and a compliance clock that just started ticking. These seven steps turn the certificate into an operating business.
1. Get the EIN
The IRS issues employer identification numbers free, online, in minutes. Even single-member LLCs with no employees want one: banks require it, and using it keeps your social security number out of business paperwork.
2. Adopt an operating agreement
Most states do not require one, and every LLC should have one anyway. It documents ownership, management, and what happens when members disagree or leave, and its existence supports the liability shield by showing the LLC is a real, separately governed entity. Banks and lenders frequently ask to see it.
3. Open the business bank account
Separating business and personal money is the single most practical thing protecting your liability shield. Commingling funds is the classic fact courts cite when disregarding an LLC. Bring the formation certificate, EIN letter, and operating agreement.
4. Register for state taxes
Open the accounts your operations trigger with the state revenue agency: a seller's permit if you sell taxable goods or services, employer accounts if you hire, franchise or gross receipts registrations where your state has them. Our seller's permit guide covers the most common of these.
5. File the business licenses
The LLC certificate is not a license to operate, a distinction our business license vs LLC post covers in full. Check what your city, county, and state actually require, our state-by-state hub and city guides map the terrain, and file the general and industry licenses that apply. The complete sequence is in how to get a business license.
6. Sort insurance and any bonds
General liability is the baseline for most operating businesses; workers compensation becomes mandatory in most states with the first employee; and licensed trades often need a surety bond as a license condition, contractors being the standard example. Line these up before the license applications that require proof of them.
7. Set up the compliance calendar
The recurring layer starts immediately: state annual or biennial reports, registered agent maintenance, license renewals, and tax filing dates. Missing an annual report can dissolve the LLC administratively; missing a license renewal can mean penalties or reapplying. Our annual compliance checklist is the full list, and Cornerstone's licensing practice runs the calendar, licenses, renewals, agents, reports, for companies that want it handled.
Found This Useful? Let's Get You Set Up.
Start an application and an expert will tailor the next steps to your situation.
