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Business formation, corporate governance, and transactions
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Starting a business in Cincinnati? Ohio makes forming an LLC unusually cheap and simple. You file Articles of Organization with the Ohio Secretary of State for a one-time $99 fee, and Ohio charges no annual report and no annual LLC fee — one of the lowest costs in the country to keep an LLC alive. The Ohio Revised Limited Liability Company Act (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1706, effective in 2022) is the rulebook for how your LLC runs and how the owners are protected. Most Cincinnati business lawyers set up an LLC for a flat $500–$2,000 that includes a written operating agreement, or bill $200–$400 an hour for more complex structures. The cheap part is the state filing; the value a lawyer adds is the operating agreement, the tax election, and keeping your personal assets walled off from the business.
Updated May 12, 2026
Business formation, corporate governance, and transactions
LLC and entity formation, business structuring, and tax planning
Startup and small-business formation and operating agreements
Business formation, LLCs, corporations, and partnerships
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An LLC does two things for a Cincinnati business owner: it separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, and it lets you choose how you are taxed. You create one by filing Articles of Organization with the Ohio Secretary of State for $99 and naming a statutory agent with an Ohio address. Ohio does not require an annual report, so once you are formed there is no recurring state filing fee — a real advantage over states like California or Florida.
The document that actually governs your business is the operating agreement, and Ohio does not file it for you. It sets out ownership percentages, who can make decisions, how profits are split, what happens if an owner wants out, and how disputes get resolved. Single-member LLCs need one too, because it is part of what keeps a court from 'piercing the veil' and reaching your personal assets. A lawyer will also walk through whether to be taxed as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or S-corporation, which can change your self-employment tax bill significantly.
Expect a flat fee of roughly $500–$2,000 for a Cincinnati lawyer to form the LLC, draft the operating agreement, get your EIN, and handle the S-corp election if it makes sense. Hourly work runs $200–$400. You can file the bare-bones LLC yourself through the Secretary of State's website in a few business days, but most owners hire a lawyer once there are partners, outside investors, real estate, or meaningful liability — the situations where a weak operating agreement gets expensive later. Hamilton County business filings and local licensing are handled separately from the state formation.