Arkansas — statewide
Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division
In short
Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division issues 4 permits we publish for Arkansas — statewide, last verified 2026-09-04. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division | $45 filed online; $50 on paper | perpetual, but a franchise tax report is due every year | 2026-09-04 |
| Annual Franchise Tax Reportonly if it applies to you | Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division | $150 flat for an LLC; three-tenths of one per cent of a stock corporation's authorised capital, apportioned to Arkansas; $300 flat for a corporation with no stock | annual — due 1 May | 2026-09-04 |
| Certificate of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division | $45 filed online; $50 on paper | perpetual, but a franchise tax report is due every year | 2026-09-04 |
| General Business License — Arkansas Secretary of State Guidanceonly if it applies to you | Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-04 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Articles of Incorporation
The same $45 online, $50 on paper as an LLC to form. Whether that choice was the right one shows up the following year, when the two entity types are taxed on completely different formulas — see the franchise tax record.
Annual Franchise Tax Report
Three genuinely different formulas sit under one name, and getting the entity type wrong misprices the tax badly. An LLC owes a flat $150. A corporation with stock instead pays a percentage of its own authorised capital — three-tenths of one per cent of the par value, apportioned by how much of the corporation's property sits in Arkansas — which can land well above or below $150 depending on how much stock is authorised. A corporation with no stock at all pays a flat $300, twice the LLC figure, for structurally the simplest entity on this list. Every filer shares the same due date, 1 May, and missing it adds a flat $25 penalty plus ten per cent annual interest, though the combined penalty and interest is capped at twice the tax actually owed.
Certificate of Organization (LLC)
Filing online genuinely saves five dollars, at $45 against $50 on paper. A corporation costs the same to form — see the corporate registration record — but the two entity types then diverge sharply on what they owe every year afterward.
General Business License — Arkansas Secretary of State Guidance
No fee is listed for this record because the Secretary of State's Business Services FAQ answers 'Where would I obtain a state business license?' board by board: it states that 'a state board, commission, or association regulates most businesses that require a state license or permit,' giving the Real Estate Commission as its example, rather than pointing to a single general state license. What that means in practice is entity registration with the Secretary of State, a Department of Finance and Administration tax permit for anyone selling goods, and whichever of the trade-specific licenses below actually applies.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Arkansas — statewide
- Phone
- (888) 233-0325
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Arkansas Code section 26-54-104 — the three franchise tax formulas by entity typeState of Arkansas · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Arkansas Secretary of State — business services FAQ, describing licensing as board-by-board rather than a single general licenseArkansas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Arkansas Secretary of State — corporation formation fee scheduleArkansas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Arkansas Secretary of State — LLC formation fee scheduleArkansas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
Other Arkansas statewide offices
- Arkansas Department of Health, Food Protection Program
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration
- Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners
- Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education
- Arkansas HVACR Licensing Board
- Arkansas State Board of Barber Examiners
- Arkansas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners
Arkansas jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.