If your filing shows as 'processing' or 'pending' for longer than expected, it's almost always because we're waiting on one piece of information from you — not because anything has gone wrong. Below are the most common reasons and what to do about each.
Registered Agent not yet chosen. Every state requires an LLC to have a Registered Agent — someone who receives legal and state mail on your company's behalf. We can't submit your filing to the state until this is set. You can either serve as your own registered agent at no extra cost (your home or business address will then appear on the public Secretary of State record, and you'll need to be reachable during normal business hours), or have FormationHub serve as your registered agent for $192/year — that's just $16/month, prepaid yearly to cover the next 12 months — which keeps your address off the public record. This service renews automatically each year — we'll email you a reminder during the final three weeks before your renewal date, and if you cancel before that date you won't be charged.
Business name unavailable. If the state rejects your chosen LLC name because it's already taken, we'll ask you for 2-3 backup names ranked in your order of preference. As soon as we have those, we check availability and file with the first one that's free — no further steps needed from you.
Missing or incorrect details (physical address, county, name spelling). Some states require a physical business address for the LLC that is separate from your registered agent's address — a PO box is not accepted for this physical address field (PO boxes are fine for general mailing). If we've reached out asking you to confirm or correct a detail like this, replying with the correct information is the only thing holding up your filing.
Never finished your application? No problem — anything you started but didn't submit is saved and stays resumable for 30 days from when you began it. Just log back in to pick up exactly where you left off, including any address or registered-agent choices you hadn't made yet.
Your link expired or won't open. This used to be a real bug — it's now fixed. If a secure link we sent you (for example, to select your registered agent) isn't opening, log into your account, go to portal login, and choose 'Email me a link' — this sends you a fresh, secure sign-in link that's valid for 7 days. If that still doesn't work, contact us and we'll get a person on it right away.
Operating agreement questions (ownership % and capital contribution). If you're the only owner, enter 100% for percentage of ownership. For capital contribution, enter whatever amount you've personally put into the business so far — this can be $0 if you haven't contributed anything yet.
A quick way to check what's outstanding on your end: log into your FormationHub account and look for the 'Actions Required' section, which lists anything we're waiting on you to complete.
Need to talk to someone about any of this? Chat and phone are answered live, and email replies come within 1 hour.
Step by step
Log into your FormationHub account and check the 'Actions Required' section for any outstanding items.
If you started an application but didn't finish it, don't restart — your progress is saved for 30 days, so just log back in and continue where you left off.
If it asks you to choose a Registered Agent: decide whether you'll serve as your own registered agent (free, but your address becomes public) or have FormationHub serve as your registered agent ($192/year — $16/month, prepaid yearly, auto-renewing), then complete that step.
If you were told your business name is unavailable: reply with 2-3 alternative names, ranked in order of preference.
If a secure link in an email isn't working: log into your account, go to portal login, and use 'Email me a link' to get a fresh one (valid for 7 days) — no need to wait on a reply from us.
If you're filling out an operating agreement as the sole owner: enter 100% ownership and your current capital contribution (or $0 if none yet).
Once everything requested is provided, no further action is needed — we'll file with the state and email you a confirmation.
Related: State-by-state LLC processing times