Forming a Limited Liability Company in Illinois is relatively easy.  This article should give you resources to understand how the process works in Illinois, and to use the legal forms from the Illinois Secretary of State to form an LLC in Illinois.

While not required, it is advised that you reserve your company name prior to filing any paperwork. You can conduct a preliminary search of the Corporation/LLC Database (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/business_services/corp.html) to check name availability. Afterwards you can fill out your name reservation form. To do this, you can fill out form LLC-1.15 (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/llc115.pdf) and submit it, with your $300 filing fee to: Secretary of State Jesse White, Department of Business Services, Limited Liability Company Division, 501 S. Second Street, Rm. 351, Springfield, IL 62756. Once received, the company name will be reserved for a period of 90 days. Please note that once this is filed, it does not establish a Limited Liability Company, only the reservation of the name.

Illinois offers two ways to file your articles of organization - online or via mail.

To file via mail, you must fill out form LLC-5.5 (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/llc55.pdf) and submit the forms in duplicate, and your $500 filing fee to: Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Limited Liability Division, 501 S. Second St., Rm. 351, Springfield, IL 62756.

To file online, simply visit the Online Articles of Organization (http://www.ilsos.gov/llcarticles/frontinstructions.html) and follow the step-by-step process that is available. A list of requirements is presented on the first page to see if you are eligible to file online. If you meet these requirements, follow the link at the bottom of the page to begin your online filing. The filing fee to file online is increased, as it is treated as an expedited case.

Annual reports can be filed online if specific requirements are met. More information about online annual filing is available on the LLC Annual Reprt Filings Web site: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/business_services/annual_r... If you meet the specified requirements, simply follow the link at the bottom of the page and the easy step-by-step process offered.

There are many companies that offer the service of filing these articles on your behalf, such as FileOnline  or LegalZoom.