The minimum New Mexico LLC Cost is $50, which covers the cost of filing your LLC formation document (known as the Articles of Organization).

Having said that, the total cost of forming a New Mexico LLC will depend on several factors, including your personal preferences and business needs.

In our How Much Does an LLC Cost in New Mexico article, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about the different costs associated with launching and maintaining an LLC.

LLC Cost in New Mexico

In the table below, you can find a summary of the main requirements of forming a New Mexico limited liability company (LLC) and their associated fees.

                                                         

Requirement	Fee
Articles of Organization	$50-$100+
Registered Agent Fee	$0-$130+
LLC Name	$0-$370+
Operating Agreement	$0+

New Mexico LLC Filing Fee ($50-$100+)

The first step towards officially forming your LLC within New Mexico is registering it with the Secretary of State.

If you’re setting up a domestic LLC, this means filing the Articles of Organization online and paying a $50 filing fee, while a foreign LLC would instead have to submit a Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration alongside a $100 fee.

However, if you choose to use an LLC formation service, the total cost will be a little higher as it will include a small service fee in addition to the state filing fees outlined above.

The typical cost of these LLC formation services can range significantly, but normally start from as low as $29, increasing if you decide to purchase any additional offerings.

Note: For more details on the formation process you can check out our New Mexico LLC Formation guide.

New Mexico Registered Agent ($0+)

As part of the process of filling out either your New Mexico LLC Articles of Organization or Foreign LLC Registration, you’ll be required to appoint a registered agent. This is a person or entity that you must assign to receive tax, legal, and governmental correspondence on behalf of your Oklahoma LLC.

Your LLC’s resident agent will also need to officially consent to their appointment by signing the Statement of Acceptance of Appointment by Designated Initial Registered Agent form.

You’ll need to fill out and upload this document alongside your LLC’s Articles of Organization, though it’s included at no additional cost.

While you can act as your own registered agent at no cost, it’s often recommended to hire a professional service so you avoid any potential penalties or legal issues caused by non-compliance with state regulations.

A Registered agent service can also ensure that your personal information remains private.

While the exact New Mexico registered agent fee you’ll be required to pay will depend on the specific provider you choose, you’ll typically be required to pay around $130+ per year.

Alternatively, you can find some of the top recommendations for professional RA services in our Best Registered Agent Services of 2024 article.

Naming Your New Mexico LLC ($0-$370+)

When forming your New Mexico LLC, you’ll be required to pick a suitable name that’s available to use.

While registering a name in itself has no cost, there are two main potential costs to be aware of when naming your LLC.

Reserving a Name

If you’ve already chosen a name for your LLC but aren’t yet ready to establish your business, you can always reserve it so that it’s secure for future use.

To reserve a name, you’ll just need to submit an Application for Reservation of a Domestic LLC Name to the New Mexico Secretary of State and pay a $20 filing fee. This should be completed by mail and filed to the following address:

New Mexico Secretary of State Office
325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

This form will reserve your name for a period of 120 days — after which, you’ll need to decide whether to form your LLC with this name or re-apply for a reservation, since renewals aren’t available.

Note: It’s a good idea to confirm your desired name isn’t already being used by another business by carrying out a Business Search on the New Mexico Secretary of State website.

When choosing a name for your LLC, it’s important to select one that corresponds to an available domain. This is because a matching domain ensures consistency between your LLC’s name and its online presence, which helps to strengthen its brand recognition and credibility.

Trademarking an LLC Name

Unlike many other states, in New Mexico you won’t be automatically granted exclusive legal rights to your LLC’s name just because you registered it. The only way to prevent another company from using the same name as you is to apply for a trademark instead.

There are two types of trademarks you can apply for, depending on the scope you want and price you’re willing to pay:

• Statewide trademark: This costs a minimum of $50 to apply for and is obtained by mailing a Trademark Application to the New Mexico Secretary of State
• National trademark: Applications are submitted through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) and will cost at least $250 or $350 depending on the filing option you choose

Both of these trademarks vary in price depending on the number of “trademark classes” you select on your application. These are categories that reflect the types of goods or services your LLC will sell to customers that are connected to this trademark.

Statewide trademarks will increase by $25 for each additional class you add, while national trademarks will increase by either $250 or $350, depending on whether you filed a TEAS Plus or TEAS Standard application.

New Mexico LLC Operating Agreement ($0+)

While not mandatory, it’s good practice for New Mexico LLCs to have an operating agreement — also known as a company agreement.

This document defines the roles and responsibilities of the members or managers in your LLC and will help prevent and solve any business disputes that may arise later on.

While you can opt to hire an online service or business attorney to draft this document for you (which typically costs at least a few hundred dollars), it’s actually quite straightforward to do it yourself at no extra cost.

It’s also important to note that this doesn’t actually need to be filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State — it’s purely an internal document.

Additional New Mexico LLC Formation Costs

On top of the more common fees outlined above, there are a number of potential additional formation costs that LLCs in New Mexico may encounter depending on their circumstances.

We’ve summarized some of these additional costs below:

Local Business Licenses

In order to comply with the local-level regulations of your city and county, your business may be required to obtain some local business licenses. While very few municipalities impose a general licensing requirement for businesses operating within their limits, your LLC might need a specific business license if it’s involved in certain activities.

For example, if your LLC plans to sell goods or take orders from a physical location in the City of Gallup, it would first need to obtain a Fixed Permanent Licensed Business license, which costs $100 per year.

However, if you were looking at getting started in the City of Lordsburg instead, you’d need a general business license costing $75 each year just to be able to operate.

A similar situation is apparent in most areas in New Mexico, and with the prices of these licenses generally varying from $25 to several hundred dollars. However, for a more exact estimation of how much your business may need to pay, you’ll need to contact your local county clerk’s office.

Note: You can use the New Mexico Municipal League website to find the contact information of the relevant officials in your local municipality.

Certificate of Good Standing

A Certificate of Good Standing is an official document often required to open a business bank account, or by lenders in order to check that your LLC is properly registered and legally authorized to conduct business in the state.

To obtain this document for your LLC, you’ll need to pay a $25 fee in order to submit an online request through the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Corporations and Business Services portal.

Note: You will need to create an account for this portal before you can begin submitting any requests.

Certified Copies of Documents

You may need certified copies of your business documents if you’re dealing with financial institutions, regulatory bodies, or are involved in legal proceedings.

You can obtain these copies of any of your New Mexico LLC’s key business documents using the Corporations and Business Services portal. Each copy will cost you $25 plus a fee of $1 for each of the document’s pages (up until a maximum limit of $10).

Note: While there’s no expedited filing option available, if you submit a request in-person it’s typically processed while you wait.

Cost to Maintain an LLC in New Mexico

In addition to the cost of forming an LLC in New Mexico, there are also several ongoing costs you’ll be responsible for paying each year.

We’ve outlined these recurring costs associated with maintaining a New Mexico LLC below.

Registered Agent Maintenance

If you decide to take advantage of a professional registered agent in order to handle your legal documents, you’ll be required to pay an annual fee in return for their services. This fee commonly ranges between $35 and $300 depending on the provider and features you select.

While you’re not required to use a professional registered agent service, it’s highly recommended for most small LLC owners.

Taxes

In addition to your LLC’s federal tax obligations, there are a variety of state-specific taxes you need to be aware of, including:

• Sales tax
• Franchise tax
• Employment taxes
• Business privilege taxes
• Property taxes

Additionally, an LLC pays taxes depending on the municipality or county in which it’s located. there are various local taxes your LLC may need to pay depending on the municipality or county it’s based in, such as:

• Sales and use taxes
• Property tax

New Mexico vs Other States

Due to its low initial formation fee of only $50 and lack of annual reporting requirements, New Mexico is a very cost effective state in which to establish and run an LLC. When compared to popular states for business formation, such as Texas and California, New Mexico represents a great alternative.

For example, an LLC in Texas would be required to pay an upfront fee of $300 in order to get started. Moreover, while California LLCs are only required to pay an upfront fee of $70, they’ll also need to pay an ongoing fee of $20 in order to stay in good standing, and may be liable for an additional $800 fee if they make more than $250,000 in revenue per annum.

Even so, the best state to form your LLC will be one in which you plan to primarily operate your business from. This is because this makes it far easier to stay legally compliant on a number of levels, including taxation, licensing, and filing requirements, as you’ll only need to deal with one state’s set of rules.