Does Kentucky require an operating agreement?
No. Kentucky's LLC law doesn't require an LLC to have one: an operating agreement is any agreement, written or oral, among all the members about the conduct of the company's business and affairs (for a single member, a writing the member signs about the company's affairs), and the chapter, whose policy is to give maximum effect to freedom of contract and the enforceability of operating agreements (KRS 275.003(1)), doesn't require one (KRS 275.015(21)). It's still worth having. Without one, the Kentucky Limited Liability Company Act decides how profits are shared, who can act for the LLC and what happens when a member leaves, and banks often ask to see a signed agreement before opening an account for an LLC.
The Kentucky Limited Liability Company Act lets the agreement be oral or implied as well as written (KRS 275.015(21)). A signed, written agreement is still the only kind a bank, a court or a new member can read.
Kentucky's LLC law and this template
Kentucky LLCs are governed by the Kentucky Limited Liability Company Act (KRS Chapter 275) (KRS ch. 275). Where your agreement is silent, the act's default rules apply. Where the act lets an operating agreement change one of its rules, your agreement controls.
Choose Kentucky in the form and the agreement names the State of Kentucky as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State, and defines “the Act” as the Kentucky Limited Liability Company Act. Everything else adapts to your answers: one member or several, run by the members or by managers, with or without a buyout when a member dies.
What the Kentucky agreement covers
The agreement follows the order most operating agreements use: formation, name, principal office, registered agent, purpose and term; each member's contribution and, with several members, capital accounts and percentage interests; how profits, losses and cash are shared; management by the members or by managers, with the major decisions that need every member's consent; taxes, books, records and a separate bank account; transfers, new members, withdrawal and what happens when a member dies; and dissolution. Schedule A lists each member's contribution and share.
Forming and keeping a Kentucky LLC
The operating agreement stays with the LLC's records; these are the filings that go to the state. Check that the name is free first with our Kentucky LLC name search.
| Kentucky | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization, $40, filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State |
| Name must end with | “limited liability company”, “limited company”, “LLC”, “LC”, “(must END the name; "limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "Company" "Co."; professional LLCs: "professional limited liability company", "professional limited company", PLLC or PLC)” |
| Recurring report | $15 each year (by June 30) |
| Newspaper notice | Not required |
| Name reservation | $15, 120 days |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Existence, $10 |
How to finish your Kentucky agreement
- Type the LLC's name exactly as it appears on its Articles of Organization, ending included.
- Fill in or strike out anything left as a blank line, and make Schedule A's percentages add up to 100%.
- Have every member read and sign it. Electronic signatures count, and members can sign separate copies.
- Keep the signed agreement with the LLC's records; don't send it to the Kentucky Secretary of State. Give each member a copy.
For an LLC with one owner, see the single-member operating agreement; with partners, the multi-member version explains shares, voting and buyouts.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-08 against the state's own pages:
- https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=38578
- https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=47081
- https://web.sos.ky.gov/fasttrack/default.aspx
- https://www.sos.ky.gov/bus/business-filings/Pages/Annual-Reports.aspx
Common questions
Does Kentucky require an LLC operating agreement?
No. Kentucky's LLC law doesn't require one, but it's worth having: without it, the Kentucky Limited Liability Company Act's default rules decide how profits are shared and who can act for the LLC.
Do I file the operating agreement with the Kentucky Secretary of State?
No. The Kentucky Secretary of State receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this Kentucky operating agreement template free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no email address, and the agreement is built in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.