Does Louisiana require an operating agreement?
No. Louisiana's LLC law doesn't require an LLC to have one: an operating agreement is any agreement, written or oral, of the members about the company's affairs and the conduct of its business, or for a single-member company a written agreement between the member and the company, and the chapter doesn't require one (La. R.S. 12:1301(A)(16)). It's still worth having. Without one, the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 12, Chapter 22 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 Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 12, Chapter 22 lets the agreement be oral or implied as well as written (La. R.S. 12:1301(A)(16)). A signed, written agreement is still the only kind a bank, a court or a new member can read.
Louisiana's LLC law and this template
Louisiana LLCs are governed by the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 12, Chapter 22 (Limited Liability Companies) (La. R.S. 12:1301 et seq.). 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 Louisiana in the form and the agreement names the State of Louisiana as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State, and defines “the Act” as the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 12, Chapter 22. 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana LLC name search.
| Louisiana | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization (with Initial Report), $125, filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State |
| Name must end with | “limited liability company”, “L.L.C.”, “L.C.”, “(low-profit LLCs: "low-profit limited liability company", L3C or l3c)” |
| Recurring report | $35 each year |
| Newspaper notice | Not required |
| Name reservation | $25, 120 days |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Good Standing (unconfirmed) |
How to finish your Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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://legis.la.gov/Legis/Laws_Toc.aspx?folder=86&title=12
- https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=76248
- https://geauxbiz.sos.la.gov
- https://static.sos.la.gov/shared/fee_changes_2026.pdf
Common questions
Does Louisiana require an LLC operating agreement?
No. Louisiana's LLC law doesn't require one, but it's worth having: without it, the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 12, Chapter 22's default rules decide how profits are shared and who can act for the LLC.
Do I file the operating agreement with the Louisiana Secretary of State?
No. The Louisiana Secretary of State receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this Louisiana 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.