Why Critics Call NY LLC Publication Outdated: The Record

As of October 2026, New York's LLC publication requirement is in force. Section 206(a) of the New York Limited Liability Company Law sets the rule:

"Within one hundred twenty days after the effectiveness of the initial articles of organization as determined pursuant to subdivision (d) of section two hundred three of this article, a copy of the same or a notice containing the substance thereof shall be published once in each week for six successive weeks, in two newspapers of the county in which the office of the limited liability company is located, one newspaper to be printed weekly and one newspaper to be printed daily, to be designated by the county clerk." (NY LLC Law §206(a))

Section 206(a) also states what happens when proof of publication is not filed in time:

"If within one hundred twenty days after its formation, proof of such publication, consisting of the certificate of publication of the limited liability company with the affidavits of publication of the newspapers annexed thereto has not been filed with the department of state, the authority of such limited liability company to carry on, conduct or transact any business in this state shall be suspended, effective as of the expiration of such one hundred twenty day period." (NY LLC Law §206(a))

Section 206 imposes no fine.

The requirement remains in force: repeal bills have been introduced in ten two-year sessions of the New York Legislature since 2007-08, and none has been reported out of committee. This page, compiled by LLC Publishers, a New York LLC publication service, sets out the record behind the debate: the documents, dates and figures, each with its source, and what critics and supporters say in their own words.

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LLC Publication Since 1994: The Attorney General Called It "Costly and Unnecessary"

Publication has been part of New York's Limited Liability Company Law since the law was enacted as Chapter 576 of the Laws of 1994, approved by Governor Mario Cuomo on July 26, 1994. The Governor's approval memorandum is dated "JUL 26 1994" and stamped "CHAPTER 576 / APPROVAL #35" (1994 bill jacket, NYS Archives object 99261, PDF p.141).

On July 11, 1994, Attorney General G. Oliver Koppell wrote to the Governor: "In my opinion, a publication requirement is costly and unnecessary. The information contained in the publication is readily available in the Secretary of State's Office. Requiring an LLC to publish its Articles of Organization will only increase the cost of forming an LLC with no corresponding benefit to the public." The same memo says: "Although I am disappointed that the legislature passed an LLC bill containing a publication requirement, I believe the statute is necessary, and I urge you to approve the bill." (Memorandum for the Governor, bill jacket for Chapter 576 of 1994, NYS Archives object 99261, PDF p.151, stamped 000042.)

The Attorney General's memo is the only 1994 document in the bill jacket that discusses the newspaper notice; it opposes the notice and still urges approval of the bill.

Newspaper notices for business entities are older than LLCs: the 2005 sponsor's memo for the bill that became Chapter 767 of the Laws of 2005 cites a 1922 limited partnership law (2005 bill jacket, p.3).

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How It Changed: Today's Penalty Came From a Bill the Budget Division Marked "Veto"

Section 206's core (publication within 120 days, once a week for six weeks, two county-clerk-designated newspapers) dates from 1994. The change in effect June 1, 2006 replaced the bar on "maintaining any action or special proceeding" with a suspension of the LLC's authority to do business, and set the one-daily, one-weekly rule.

The 2005-06 bill and who weighed in

In 2005, the Division of the Budget recommended a veto. Its report on the bill is marked "Veto: X" and reads "Recommendation: Veto"; it says the bill "increases LLC licensure costs by approximately $2,000" (2005 bill jacket, pp.7 and 9). The same report says: "A similar bill (S5902-B) was passed by the Legislature in 2004. That bill was pocket vetoed." (p.8).

The Department of State's May 24, 2005 memorandum to the Governor's counsel is headed "Recommendation: Disapproval" (p.14); its objections include the bill's list of owners, its cost and the new suspension penalty (pp.14-25).

The New York City Bar's Committee on Corporation Law (June 29, 2005, pp.38-41) and the New York County Lawyers' Association (May 27, 2005, pp.57-60) urged the Governor to veto it. The New York Newspaper Publishers Association urged him to sign it (May 18, 2005, p.74). Governor Pataki signed it on February 3, 2006, as Chapter 767 of the Laws of 2005 (cover page).

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What Was It For? The 2005 Sponsor Named Two Purposes: State Records and Owners' Names

The 2005 sponsor's memo gave the bill a twofold purpose: "first to ensure filing of legally required records with the department of state, and second to inform the public in a traditional manner with respect to the identity of persons with the most valuable ownership interest" in an LLC (2005 bill jacket, p.3). Chapter 44 of the Laws of 2006, signed May 31, 2006, removed the owner list. The suspension penalty took effect on June 1, 2006 and remains in Section 206(a).

LLC Publishers read the 1994 bill jacket for Chapter 576, including the Governor's Program Bill memorandum and his approval memorandum, and the 2005 bill jacket for Chapter 767. No document in either states that the requirement's purpose is to support newspapers. The 1994 memoranda state the purpose of the LLC Law as a whole, not of the notice. Some 2005 opponents called the requirement a subsidy to newspapers (their words are in the critics' case); those are opponents' descriptions of the bill's effect, not a statement of purpose by the sponsor, the Governor or the State.

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Has New York Tried to Repeal It? Ten Sessions, 19 Bills, None Out of Committee

Repeal bills have been introduced in ten two-year sessions of the New York Legislature, 2007-08 through 2025-26 (in 2015-16 in the Senate only), 19 bills in all. None has been reported out of committee or reached a floor vote; the furthest any went was "held for consideration" in the Assembly Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee on May 1, 2012. The current bills, S.6483 and A.3546, were introduced in 2025 and re-referred to committee on January 7, 2026, where they remain as of October 24, 2026.

The current bills would repeal the newspaper notice and create a $50.00 online filing fee and a Department of State modernization fund. The current Senate bill, S.6483, is sponsored by Senator Liz Krueger, with cosponsors John C. Liu, Sam Sutton and Bill Weber (R). The current Assembly bill, A.3546, is sponsored by Assemblymember Burke, with cosponsors Lee, Ra (R) and Powers.

Apart from that online filing fee, the sponsors' memos cite no cost, compliance or readership figure. Their fiscal line reads "Unknown" in the Assembly memos of 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2013-14 and "None" in those of 2017-18 through 2023-24. The Senate sponsor's memo for the current bill, S.6483, lists its fiscal implications as "None"; the Assembly memo for A.3546 has no fiscal line.

The same table, with sponsors, cosponsors and each memo's fiscal line, is available as a CSV file.

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Which Other States Require LLC Publication at Formation? Only Arizona and Nebraska

New York, Arizona and Nebraska are the only states whose LLC statutes call for a newspaper notice after an LLC is formed. LLC Publishers checked the LLC acts of the other 47 states and the District of Columbia on October 23, 2026 and found no such requirement. In Arizona, when the LLC's statutory agent is in a county of more than 800,000 people, the Corporation Commission enters the filing in its database instead of a newspaper notice.

The sources are A.R.S. §29-3201(G) for Arizona and Neb. Rev. Stat. §21-193 for Nebraska; the other 47 states and the District of Columbia were read from official statute and Secretary of State sources.

The three-state fact is about forming an LLC. Georgia (O.C.G.A. §14-2-201.1) and Pennsylvania (15 Pa.C.S. §1307) require a newspaper notice when a corporation is formed, Louisiana requires one before an LLC is liquidated out of court (La. R.S. 12:1336 and 12:1339), and California (Bus. & Prof. Code §17917), Florida (Fla. Stat. §865.09) and Minnesota (Minn. Stat. §333.01) require publication when a business, an LLC included, trades under an assumed name.

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How Much Does LLC Publication Cost per LLC? In New York City, Several Times the $200 Formation Fee

A filer who places the notices directly pays an estimated $230 to $2,350+ per LLC, depending on the county, including the $50 state filing fee (LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates, last updated August 2026). Each county's range is in LLC Publishers' county-by-county cost table.

Prices vary by county because Section 206(a) places the notices in "two newspapers of the county in which the office of the limited liability company is located", designated by the county clerk. Newspaper rates vary by county.

For an LLC in New York City's five counties, the newspaper notices cost a direct filer an estimated $1,400 to $1,900 on average, about eight times the State's $200 filing fee for the Articles of Organization (LLC Law §1101(f)). The New York City figures are LLC Publishers estimates as of October 2026, built from LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates (last updated August 2026) and averaged over the five counties by where 2025's Certificates of Publication were filed; each county's own range is in the county table.

Counting only each state's required first-year costs at its minimum fee, an LLC in New York City pays more than an LLC in any other state at LLC Publishers' direct-filer estimate, though its newspaper notice is paid once while California's $800 tax recurs every year.

An LLC whose office is in New York City has the highest first-year required cost in this chart: an estimated $1,650 to $2,150, against $890 in California, the highest of the other states shown. In most New York counties outside the city, the estimate is $600 to $1,050.

New York estimate, low to high endOther states, official fees

New York CityFive-county average; notice paid once

$1,650–$2,150

California$800 tax due again every year

$890

New York, most counties outside NYCEstimate for most counties; notice paid once

$600–$1,050

Massachusetts$500 annual report every year

$500

Nevada$350 due again every year

$425

TennesseeMinimum fee; $50 per member

$300

Texas

$300

Illinois

$150

Florida

$125

Nebraska

$125 + notice*

Delaware$400 annual tax every year

$110

Arizona

$50 + notice*

* Arizona and Nebraska also require a newspaper notice (Arizona only when the LLC's statutory agent is outside Maricopa and Pima counties). No official price exists for it, so their bars leave it out.

Not included: registered agent services, service fees, expedited filing, local licenses and taxes based on income.

The data and sources behind the chart

The data and sources behind the chart

Jurisdiction	First-year required cost
New York City	$1,650–$2,150
$200 Articles of Organization filing fee (LLC Law §1101(f)) $1,400–$1,900 Newspaper notice in two papers for six weeks, paid once: average of the five counties at direct-filer prices $50 Certificate of Publication filing fee (LLC Law §1101(s)) Sources, as of October 24, 2026: LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates (county cost table); New York LLC Law §1101
California	$890
$70 Articles of Organization filing fee $800 Annual tax, the first due by the 15th day of the 4th month after filing $20 Statement of Information, due within 90 days Later years: $800 tax every year; $20 Statement of Information every two years Sources, as of October 24, 2026: California Franchise Tax Board; California Secretary of State, Form LLC-1; California Secretary of State, LLC fees
New York, most counties outside NYC	$600–$1,050
$200 Articles of Organization filing fee (LLC Law §1101(f)) $350–$800 Newspaper notice in two papers for six weeks, paid once: LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimate for counties without their own range in its table $50 Certificate of Publication filing fee (LLC Law §1101(s)) Nassau, Suffolk and Erie counties have their own, higher ranges in LLC Publishers' county cost table. Sources, as of October 24, 2026: LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates (county cost table); New York LLC Law §1101
Massachusetts	$500
$500 Certificate of Organization filing fee Later years: $500 annual report every year Both chambers passed a 2026 bill that would cut the filing fee to $100 for most LLCs; it was in conference committee on October 24, 2026. Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Massachusetts General Laws c.156C §12; Massachusetts Legislature, H.5576 (2026)
Nevada	$425
$75 Articles of Organization filing fee $150 Initial list of managers or members $200 State business license Later years: $150 annual list and $200 license renewal: $350 every year Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Nevada Revised Statutes 86.561 and 86.263; Nevada Revised Statutes 76.100
Tennessee	$300
$300 Articles of Organization filing fee at the minimum ($50 per member, at least $300) Later years: Annual report, $300 minimum, and a $100 minimum franchise tax every year Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Tennessee Secretary of State, forms and fees; Tennessee General Assembly, SB 37's summary of current law; Tennessee Department of Revenue, franchise tax
Texas	$300
$300 Certificate of Formation filing fee Later years: Annual franchise tax report each May 15; no tax is due at or below $2.65 million in revenue (2026 and 2027 reports) Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Texas Secretary of State, Form 205 instructions; Texas Comptroller, franchise tax
Illinois	$150
$150 Articles of Organization filing fee Later years: $75 annual report Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Illinois Compiled Statutes, 805 ILCS 180/50-10
Florida	$125
$100 Filing fee $25 Registered agent designation fee (State) Later years: $138.75 annual report every year, due January 1 to May 1 Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Florida Division of Corporations, LLC fees; Florida Division of Corporations, annual report
Nebraska	$125 + notice*
$100 Certificate of Organization filing fee, online $25 Proof of publication filing fee, online Newspaper notice for three successive weeks in one legal newspaper: no official price, not included Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Nebraska Secretary of State, forms and fees; Nebraska Revised Statutes §21-193
Delaware	$110
$110 Certificate of Formation filing fee Later years: $400 annual tax, due each June 1 for the year before Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Delaware Division of Corporations, fee schedule (August 1, 2026); Delaware Division of Corporations, annual tax
Arizona	$50 + notice*
$50 Articles of Organization filing fee Newspaper notice, three consecutive publications, when the statutory agent's street address is outside Maricopa and Pima counties: no official price, not included Sources, as of October 24, 2026: Arizona Corporation Commission, LLC fee schedule; Arizona Revised Statutes §29-3201

LLC Publishers charges one fixed, one-time total determined by the county listed in the LLC's Articles of Organization. Across New York's 62 counties those totals run $395–$1,795, including both newspapers, the affidavits of publication and the $50 state filing fee; a customer is never quoted a statewide range.

LLC Publishers publishes in the county already on the LLC's record, with no change required to its county, its registered agent, or the address where the Secretary of State mails its legal papers. When the owner designates a different New York county for the LLC's office, LLC Publishers files the Certificate of Change first, then publishes in that county. LLC Publishers serves all 62 New York counties. The LLC designates the county; LLC Publishers does not recommend one.

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How Much Do New York LLCs Spend on Publication in Total? An Estimated Tens of Millions in 2025

In 2025, at the prices a filer pays placing notices directly, New York LLCs spent an estimated $45 million to $72 million on newspaper publication, plus about $3.5 million in State filing fees (LLC Publishers estimate, as of October 2026, built from LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates; method below).

The 2025 estimate is what filers would pay at direct-filer prices. Newspapers receive less where notices are placed at volume rates, and the estimate counts the Certificates of Publication filed with the Department of State, not every notice published.

Before this page, the only statewide dollar totals LLC Publishers found were made in 2004 and 2005. The older dollar figures rest on stated assumptions or none:

• The Department of State estimated about $16.3 million in publication costs, from its filing counts and an assumed average cost of $1,500 in some counties and $88 in others (2005 memo to the Governor, 2005 bill jacket, p.25; the memo labels the year 2003, though its filing counts are 2004's).
• The State Bar's Business Law Section committee wrote that newspapers receive "in excess of $40 million" a year from publication notices of LLCs, limited partnerships and similar entities, with no method shown (2005 memorandum, p.62).

These older figures describe 2003 to 2005 and are not today's prices.

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Where Does a Direct Filer's Money Go? The $50 Filing Fee to the State, the Rest to Two Newspapers

The Certificate of Publication is the filing that Section 206(a) requires as proof of publication: it goes to the Department of State with each newspaper's affidavit of publication attached.

For a filer who places the notices directly, the $50 state filing fee is the only part of the cost that goes to New York State; the rest is the two newspapers' charges. The fee is set by LLC Law §1101(s): "For filing a certificate of publication with affidavits of publication annexed thereto pursuant to section two hundred six, eight hundred two, twelve hundred three or thirteen hundred six of this chapter, fifty dollars."

In 2025, New York State collected about $3.5 million in Certificate of Publication filing fees.

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How Long Does LLC Publication Take? Six Weeks by Statute, About 8–10 Weeks in All

Section 206(a) requires publication "once in each week for six successive weeks". When a newspaper runs the notice on the same day each week, its first and sixth insertions are 35 days apart.

As of October 2026, LLC Publishers has handled 1,439 New York LLC publications; completed orders took a median of 57 days from order to Certificate of Publication delivery.

LLC Publishers' estimate for the whole process is about 8–10 weeks: the six-week newspaper run, about 1–2 weeks for the affidavits of publication, and about 1–2 weeks for the Department of State to process the Certificate of Publication. The newspapers and the State set their own pace, so these are estimates.

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Does the Notice Repeat the State's Public Record? In 1994, the Attorney General Said the Information Was "Readily Available"

Attorney General Koppell wrote in 1994 that "The information contained in the publication is readily available in the Secretary of State's Office." In 2005, the Consumer Protection Board, which took no position on the bill, wrote: "Consumers will not seek the desired information in legal notices that have been published in newspapers" (2005 bill jacket, p.11).

Section 206(a) lists seven numbered items the notice must include, (1) to (7), plus a sub-clause, (3-a). Who can see an LLC publication notice quotes them in full and shows which are already on an LLC's public Department of State record. The 2005 sponsor's memo gave the notice a different role: "to inform the public in a traditional manner with respect to the identity of persons with the most valuable ownership interest" (p.3), through a list of owners that Chapter 44 of the Laws of 2006 removed.

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The Critics' Case Since 1994, in Their Own Words

These are the critics' arguments, in their words. The requirement is in force, and Section 206(a) suspends an LLC's authority to do business if proof of publication is not filed within 120 days.

Critics: "Twenty-first century disclosure is the Internet"

The State Bar Association's Business Law Section committee, in its May 11, 2005 memorandum opposing the bill that created today's penalty: "Twenty-first century disclosure is the Internet, not a classified notice in some county newspapers." (2005 bill jacket, p.66; the memorandum states that it is the committee's view, not the Association's.) The committee wrote that the sponsor's memo "ironically refers to disclosure for twenty-first century consumers": that memo said the bill would "disclose such information to twenty-first century consumers in a manner consistent with past statutorily imposed requirements" (p.4).

Every Assembly repeal memo since 2007-08, including the current A.3546, says: "The transparency that publishing this information allows can be better achieved today through the Internet."

Assemblymember Micah Kellner, who sponsored repeal bills from 2008 to 2014, said in 2010: "This law made sense when print publications were the primary method of communication, but that’s no longer the case. In the internet era, this is a no-brainer." (as quoted by the Roosevelt Islander, April 8, 2010).

Critics: "from a different and obsolete era"

Alan E. Weiner, a partner of the accounting firm Holtz Rubenstein Reminick, wrote to the Governor's office on June 14, 2005: "The Justification and Purpose in the legislative introduction is fallacious in 2005 and the historical protection cited therein is from a different and obsolete era. Publication serves no public purpose." (2005 bill jacket, p.75).

Critics: the notices go unread

The New York State Bar Association, in its May 30, 2023 memorandum supporting repeal, called the notices "generally unread and ignored". LLC Publishers found no public study that measures how many people read New York LLC formation notices, either way.

Critics: New York City pays far more

According to the New York State Bar Association's May 30, 2023 memorandum, the cost of LLC publication in New York County "commonly ranges from $1,200 to $2,000". LLC Publishers' own estimate for a direct filer across New York City's five counties is in How Much Does LLC Publication Cost per LLC?

Critics: a private charge that funds newspapers

The Pro Bono Lawyers Committee to Promote Microenterprise called the requirement "effectively a private tax to subsidize the newspapers who benefit from publication" and the 2005 bill "a 'stealth tax hike' to subsidize certain newspapers" (letter of May 6, 2005, 2005 bill jacket, pp.46 and 48). Legal Momentum wrote that "while publication fees may be a desirable subsidy for an industry that the State of New York wishes to promote, i.e., the newspaper industry", it is "singularly unfair to burden our citizens who are struggling to expand the State's economic base with this subsidy" (May 27, 2005, p.78). The New York City Bar's Committee on Corporation Law wrote that "the only true benefactors of the bills are the newspapers" (June 29, 2005, p.38).

Critics: "an effective monopoly" on price

The memo for the current Assembly repeal bill, A.3546, says: "These requirements are both unnecessary and very expensive, sometimes prohibitively so, as the designated newspapers have an effective monopoly in setting the charges for notices." The "effective monopoly" wording appears in the Assembly memos of 2017 onward, and "unnecessary and very expensive" in every Assembly memo since 2007-08.

Critics: it "serves no useful purpose"

The State Bar Association's Business Law Section committee wrote in its May 11, 2005 memorandum: "Our preference is and has been complete elimination of the publication requirement which serves no useful purpose" (p.63; the memorandum states that it is the committee's view and not the Association's unless adopted).

Critics: it pushes businesses elsewhere

The New York State Bar Association's 2023 memorandum says members of its Business Law Section "have advised businesses that have a choice as to where to locate to avoid New York".

Critics: "a trap for the unwary"

Colin R. Bruckel of the law firm Trevett Cristo wrote on February 27, 2018 that the requirement "only serves as a trap for the unwary", and asked: "Further, with the existence of DOS’s online business entity database, are twelve publications in an obscure section of the newspaper truly necessary?" (Trevett Cristo, 2018). Section 206(a) calls for a notice once a week for six consecutive weeks, and for proof of publication within 120 days after formation.

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What Supporters Say: "The Most Effective Way to Accomplish the Goal of Public Notice"

The New York Newspaper Publishers Association (Diane Kennedy, May 18, 2005) wrote to Governor Pataki to express "strong support for S.85, and to respectfully ask that you sign it into law". The letter says: "This legislation continues a long tradition in New York State of providing notice to local residents when a new corporation is being formed to conduct business in their community. Citizens know that the best place to turn for news of their community is their local newspaper, and we believe that placing these notices in local daily and weekly newspapers is the most effective way to accomplish the goal of public notice." (2005 bill jacket, p.74). The bill it supported also would have cut the notice from six weeks to four; a 2006 amendment restored six.

The Public Notice Resource Center, which describes itself as a "Nonprofit organization that provides information about the value of public notices in local newspapers", writes: "There is a long tradition that there are four elements that mark a valid public notice. The notice must be published from an independent party, the publication must be archivable, the publication must be accessible, and the publication must be verifiable." On business notices, the same page says: "With notices of incorporation and dissolution, citizens can be aware of who is doing business in their community and ensure that businesses are not abusing limited liability incorporations to avoid the payment of debts." (Public Notice Resource Center, About Public Notice, page as of October 2026.)

Writing about public notices generally, the New York Press Association says printed notices "cannot be quietly edited, buried, or removed", that "Readers often come across public notices while browsing their local newspaper, even when they weren’t actively looking", and that "Many New Yorkers—particularly older adults, rural residents, low-income households, and members of certain religious communities—do not or cannot use the internet." (New York Press Association, 2025.) Its examples are government notices; the page does not mention LLC notices.

Northwestern University's Medill Local News Initiative, in the methodology of its State of Local News Report 2025, writes about legal advertising in general: "We recognize that the income from legal advertising is critical to small dailies and weeklies." (The State of Local News 2025, p.77.)

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Nuances a Careful Writer Should Check

• It dates from 1994, not 1999 and not "the 19th century" for LLCs.
• Section 206(a)'s penalty is a suspension of the LLC's authority to do business, not dissolution. Before June 1, 2006, the penalty was a bar on "maintaining any action or special proceeding".
• The 2005 agencies opposed the whole bill, not the penalty alone. The Department of State's objections include the bill's list of owners, its cost and the new suspension penalty.
• The State earns fees. New York State collected about $3.5 million in Certificate of Publication filing fees in 2025.
• New York City carries about half the estimated spend. Filers in New York City's five counties filed about a quarter of 2025's Certificates of Publication and carried about half of the estimated spend.
• The first-year comparison counts required costs only, each state at its minimum fee: no registered agents, service fees, local licenses or income-based taxes. New York's notice is paid once; California's $800 tax is due every year, so over three years California's required costs (about $2,510) pass even the high end of New York City's first-year estimate.
• The three-state fact is about forming an LLC. Corporations publish in Georgia and Pennsylvania, Louisiana LLCs publish before an out-of-court liquidation, and assumed-name publication applies to LLCs in California, Florida and Minnesota.
• Foreign LLCs face a parallel rule under Section 802(b), with the 120 days running from the filing of the Application for Authority.
• Government notices are a separate debate. A study of Florida local governments in counties with public-notice websites, summarized by ProMarket on March 6, 2026, found that they "reduced their newspaper publications by 37 percent after the reform, compared to governments without this option". It concerns government notices, not business-formation notices.
• No court decision is described on this page.

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Method and Sources

Documents. LLC Publishers read each quote on this page in its source document in October 2026:

• 1994 bill jacket, Chapter 576 of the Laws of 1994, NYS Archives object 99261: Section 206 as enacted (PDF p.17); the Governor's approval memorandum, July 26, 1994 (PDF p.141, stamped 000032); the Attorney General's Memorandum for the Governor, July 11, 1994 (PDF p.151, stamped 000042). The jacket's other memoranda and letters (PDF pp.114-186) were read for any statement of the notice's purpose.
• 2005 bill jacket, Chapter 767 of the Laws of 2005, NYS Archives object 28475. Page numbers on this page are the PDF's: cover, signed February 3, 2006 (p.1); sponsor's memo (pp.3-5); Division of the Budget (pp.7-9); Consumer Protection Board (pp.10-11); Department of State, May 24, 2005 (pp.14-25); City Bar's Committee on Corporation Law, June 29, 2005 (pp.38-41); Pro Bono Lawyers Committee to Promote Microenterprise, May 6, 2005 (pp.46 and 48); New York County Lawyers' Association, May 27, 2005 (pp.57-60); the State Bar Association's Business Law Section committee, May 11, 2005 (pp.61-68); New York Newspaper Publishers Association, May 18, 2005 (p.74); Alan E. Weiner, Holtz Rubenstein Reminick, June 14, 2005 (pp.75-76); Legal Momentum, May 27, 2005 (p.78).
• Chapter 44 of the Laws of 2006: A.10399-A, signed May 31, 2006.
• Repeal bills: the Assembly and Senate bill pages linked in the table above, including each sponsor's memo and each bill's list of actions. S.6483 and A.3546 were re-checked on October 24, 2026.
• New York State Bar Association, Memorandum in Support, May 30, 2023 (archived copy).
• Other statements are linked where they are quoted. The first-year comparison's sources and definition are in the chart's table.
• Statutes: NY LLC Law §206, §802 and §1101, quoted from the official text.
• Other states: A.R.S. §29-3201; Neb. Rev. Stat. §21-193; the LLC acts of the other 47 states and the District of Columbia, read from official legislature, code-commission or Secretary of State sources on October 23, 2026. Arizona's counties of more than 800,000 people are from the U.S. Census Bureau's county population estimates for July 1, 2025. The rules for corporations and assumed names cited above: Georgia's Secretary of State filing procedure for corporations (archived copy), 15 Pa.C.S. §1307, La. R.S. 12:1336 and 12:1339, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §17917, Fla. Stat. §865.09 and Minn. Stat. §333.01.

State figures. The fee figure comes from the New York Department of State's filings in the State's open data, Corporations and Other Entities: All Filings. The filter is Certificates of Publication filed in 2025 for domestic and foreign LLCs and professional service LLCs.

The spend estimate. Each county's 2025 Certificates of Publication, from the same dataset, were multiplied by the low and high ends of that county's range in LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates, and the results were summed. Fourteen counties have their own range in the county table; one range covers the remaining 48. The New York City figures use the same inputs for the five New York City counties, and the multiple compares them with the $200 Articles of Organization fee in LLC Law §1101(f).

• These are estimates of what a one-off filer pays, built from LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates. They are not invoices or a survey.
• A foreign LLC's notice is longer, but foreign filings are priced at the domestic ranges, so the foreign share is a floor. A filing with no county recorded is not priced.
• Newspapers receive less where notices are placed at volume rates, so the estimate is what filers would pay at direct-filer prices, not what newspapers received.

LLC Publishers' own figures (orders handled, median days, newspapers worked with) are read live from LLC Publishers' records, the same figures published at /stats.json and on the publications page.

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How to Cite This Page

LLC Publishers, "Why Critics Call NY LLC Publication Outdated: The Record", October 2026, llcpublishers.com/learn/why-critics-call-ny-llc-publication-outdated

LLC Publishers' figures, tables and compilations on this page are free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0; quoted text belongs to its authors. Each figure carries its date; where a figure updates, this page shows the current value.

Two of the page's tables are available as CSV files under the same license: repeal bills by session (bill numbers, sponsors, last action, the memos' fiscal lines) and the primary-source index (each quoted document with its date, author, bill-jacket page and the quoted line).

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is New York's LLC publication requirement still in force?

Yes. As of October 2026, Section 206(a) of the New York LLC Law is in force. If proof of publication is not filed with the Department of State within 120 days after formation, Section 206(a) provides that "the authority of such limited liability company to carry on, conduct or transact any business in this state shall be suspended". Section 206 imposes no fine.

Why do critics call New York's LLC publication requirement outdated?

Critics say the notices are costly, unnecessary and unread, and that the internet now does their job. Attorney General G. Oliver Koppell wrote in 1994 that "a publication requirement is costly and unnecessary"; the State Bar Association's Business Law Section committee wrote in 2005 that "Twenty-first century disclosure is the Internet, not a classified notice in some county newspapers" (the committee's view, not the Association's); and the New York State Bar Association's May 30, 2023 memorandum calls the notices "generally unread and ignored". Supporters, including the New York Newspaper Publishers Association in 2005, have called newspaper notices "the most effective way to accomplish the goal of public notice".

Has New York tried to repeal the LLC publication requirement?

Yes. Repeal bills have been introduced in ten two-year sessions of the New York Legislature, 2007-08 through 2025-26, 19 bills in all, and none has been reported out of committee; the furthest any went was "held for consideration" in an Assembly committee on May 1, 2012.

Which states besides New York require LLC publication?

New York, Arizona and Nebraska are the only states whose LLC statutes call for a newspaper notice after an LLC is formed. LLC Publishers checked the LLC acts of the other 47 states and the District of Columbia on October 23, 2026 and found no such requirement. In Arizona, when the LLC's statutory agent is in a county of more than 800,000 people, the Corporation Commission enters the filing in its database instead of a newspaper notice.

How much does LLC publication cost a New York LLC?

A filer who places the notices directly pays an estimated $230 to $2,350+ per LLC, depending on the county, including the $50 state filing fee (LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates, last updated August 2026). LLC Publishers charges one fixed, one-time total determined by the county listed in the LLC's Articles of Organization; across New York's 62 counties those totals run $395–$1,795, including both newspapers, the affidavits of publication and the $50 state filing fee; a customer is never quoted a statewide range.

How much do New York LLCs spend on newspaper publication each year?

In 2025, at the prices a filer pays placing notices directly, New York LLCs spent an estimated $45 million to $72 million on newspaper publication, plus about $3.5 million in State filing fees (LLC Publishers estimate, as of October 2026, built from LLC Publishers' published direct-filer estimates). The estimate is what filers would pay at direct-filer prices; newspapers receive less where notices are placed at volume rates.

What was New York's LLC publication requirement for?

The 2005 sponsor's memo gave the bill that created today's penalty a twofold purpose: to ensure that legally required records are filed with the Department of State, and to inform the public "in a traditional manner" of the identity of an LLC's leading owners. Chapter 44 of the Laws of 2006 removed the owner list; the suspension penalty remains. No 1994 document states a purpose for the notice, and no 1994 or 2005 document LLC Publishers read states that the requirement's purpose is to support newspapers.

How long does LLC publication take in New York?

LLC Publishers' estimate for the whole process is about 8–10 weeks: the six-week newspaper run, about 1–2 weeks for the affidavits of publication, and about 1–2 weeks for the Department of State to process the Certificate of Publication. The newspapers and the State set their own pace, so these are estimates.

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Disclaimer

This article is general information about the history and public record of New York's LLC publication requirement, not legal advice. Laws and Department of State procedures change, and how they apply to a particular LLC depends on its facts. For a question about your own LLC, consult a New York attorney. LLC Publishers is a document filing service, not a law firm.