If you operate a small business in Michigan that is a limited liability company, designated as an LLC, or a professional limited liability company, designated as a PLLC, you are among the nearly half-a-million operators in the state receiving statements from the State of Michigan which you will need to process and file on or before February 15, 2017. Failure to do so could leave the very name of your company at risk and potentially up for grabs by anyone who wants to use it for themselves.
According to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, or LARA, the 2016 annual statements for LLCs and PLLCs are being mailed this week to resident agents of record with the Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau of LARA.
Section 207 of the Michigan Limited Liability Company Act, Public Act 23 of 1993, effective June 1, 1993, provides that all domestic limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies authorized to transact business in Michigan are required to file an annual statement each year. In addition, Section 209 of the Act requires professional limited liability companies to file an annual report listing all of the members of the PLLC. Annual statements and reports must be filed no later than February 15 of each year and can be filed online at www.michigan.gov/fileonline.
These sections also provide that if a limited liability company fails to file its annual statement/report and filing fee for two years, the limited liability company will not be in good standing. The status of the limited liability company will be “active, but not in good standing.”
A limited liability company that is not in good standing is not entitled to a certificate of good standing; its company name will be available for use by another entity, and no document will be filed on behalf of the company other than a certificate of restoration.
The links to the applicable sections of the Limited Liability Company Act, (Section 207a (3)) and (Section 909 (4)), are http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-450-4207a and http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-450-4909, respectively.
There are a total of 419,315 LLCs and 12,199 PLLCs in the state of Michigan that are receiving 2016 statements (LLCs) and statements and reports (PLLCs). Action is required by February 15, 2017 to protect your company.
