Does Rhode Island require an operating agreement?
No. Rhode Island's LLC law doesn't require an LLC to have one: an operating agreement is any agreement of the members, written or oral, about the company's affairs and the conduct of its business, and for a one-member company it includes a document the sole member adopts (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-2(23)). It's still worth having. Without one, the Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Limited Liability Company Act lets the agreement be oral or implied as well as written (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-2(23)). A signed, written agreement is still the only kind a bank, a court or a new member can read.
Rhode Island's LLC law and this template
Rhode Island LLCs are governed by the Rhode Island Limited Liability Company Act (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 7-16) (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-1 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 Rhode Island in the form and the agreement names the State of Rhode Island as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the Rhode Island Department of State, and defines “the Act” as the Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island LLC name search.
| Rhode Island | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization, $156 online ($150 by mail) (unconfirmed), filed with the Rhode Island Department of State |
| Name must end with | “Limited Liability Company”, “L.L.C.”, “LLC (the letters with or without punctuation)” |
| Recurring report | $52.50 online ($50 on paper) each year (due February 1 to May 1) |
| State tax or fee | $400 minimum annual tax |
| Newspaper notice | Not required |
| Name reservation | $52.50 online ($50 by mail), 120 days (unconfirmed) |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Good Standing, $22 online ($20 in person or by mail) |
How to finish your Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Department 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://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-1.htm
- https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-2.htm
- https://business.sos.ri.gov/corp/loginsystem/login_form.asp
- https://www.sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-report
- https://docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/business-forms-fee-schedule.pdf
- https://www.sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/business-basics/costs-and-fees
- https://docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/400-articles-of-organization.pdf
Common questions
Does Rhode Island require an LLC operating agreement?
No. Rhode Island's LLC law doesn't require one, but it's worth having: without it, the Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Department of State?
No. The Rhode Island Department of State receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this Rhode Island 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.