How to create an LLC operating agreement in 9 steps Decide between a template or an attorney. Include your business information. List your LLC's members. Choose a management structure. Outline ownership transfers and dissolution. Determine tax structure. Gather LLC members to sign the agreement. Distribute copies.
Operating agreements are not necessarily needed or legally required for setting up or operating an LLC. Some states require LLCs to have a written operating agreement, including California, Delaware, Maine, Missouri, and New York.
Why do you need an operating agreement? To protect the business' limited liability status: Operating agreements give members protection from personal liability to the LLC. Without this specific formality, your LLC can closely resemble a sole proprietorship or partnership, jeopardizing your personal liability.
The members of an LLC are required to adopt a written Operating Agreement. See Section 417 of the Limited Liability Company Law. The Operating Agreement may be entered into before, at the time of, or within 90 days after the filing of the Articles of Organization.
Their absence can lead to governance by default state laws, management, and financial disorganization, and increased legal vulnerabilities. LLCS should draft and maintain an operating agreement tailored to their specific business needs.
California LLCs are required to have an Operating Agreement.
Ask a Fellow Co-Owner. Each principal in an LLC should have a copy of the operating agreement and can provide you with one if yours has been misplaced. In fact, the operating agreement itself may include language regarding the responsibility of each company officer to provide copies of documents upon request.
Once you (and the other LLC Members, if applicable) sign the Operating Agreement, then it becomes a legal document. Can I write my own Operating Agreement? Yes, but we recommend using an Operating Agreement template. An Operating Agreement is a legal document.
Look through your files dating back to the business formation, and check your personal financial records (for example, your tax records) for a copy of the agreement.