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Anonymous LLC States Compared: Wyoming, Delaware, New Mexico, and Nevada

Wyoming, Delaware, and New Mexico are the three states most often cited as allowing you to form and maintain an LLC without publishing member or manager names on public Secretary of State records; Nevada is a myth because Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.263 requires filing an Initial and Annual List of Managers or Managing Members that anyone can look up. Founders seeking to protect their home address, personal identity, and financial privacy from public scrapers, predatory litigants, and aggressive marketers often look toward these jurisdictions. However, their statutory disclosure requirements, state fees, and true privacy mechanisms vary widely.

Last checked 2026-11-10. General information, not legal or tax advice.

What "anonymous LLC" actually means (and what it does not)

Before evaluating state statutes, founders must understand the boundaries of entity privacy:

  • Public privacy vs. law enforcement transparency: An anonymous LLC shields your name from the public internet, Secretary of State web databases, data aggregators, and curious neighbors. It is not an offshore bank secret or a tax haven.
  • Mandatory private disclosures: Anonymity applies to public records only. The IRS asks for the LLC's responsible party (and the number of members) on Form SS-4, banks collect owner and control-person information when you open an account, and state taxing authorities will have your details when you register for state taxes. FinCEN's beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting no longer applies to US-formed companies (an interim final rule in March 2025 exempted domestic companies, and FinCEN has since finalized it), but foreign-formed companies registered to do business in a US state must still report; see FinCEN's BOI page.
  • The formation architecture: True statutory privacy requires two foundational elements: (1) using a commercial Registered Agent whose address appears as the company's registered office, and (2) using an authorized third-party organizer (such as an attorney or professional formation service) so the founder's signature does not appear on the formation charter.

Wyoming: the gold standard for statutory privacy and asset protection

Wyoming created the modern American LLC in 1977 and remains the benchmark for privacy and low statutory maintenance:

  • Formation privacy: Under the Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act (Wyo. Stat. tit. 17, ch. 29), Articles of Organization filed under Wyo. Stat. § 17-29-201 require only the LLC name, the registered agent's name and physical Wyoming address, and the signature of an authorized organizer (the Secretary of State's form also asks for the LLC's mailing and principal office addresses and a contact person). Neither member nor manager names are submitted.
  • Annual report compliance: Under Wyo. Stat. § 17-29-209, Wyoming requires an annual report certifying the LLC's assets in Wyoming and giving its principal office address, along with a license tax of $60 or two-tenths of one mill on those assets, whichever is greater. The statute does not call for member or manager names, so using a business or commercial address as the principal office keeps personal addresses off the filing.
  • Filing costs: $100 initial formation fee, followed by an annual report license tax of at least $60 per year.

Delaware: zero annual report disclosures

Delaware is the premier corporate capital of the United States and offers an exceptionally private LLC framework:

  • Formation privacy: Under Delaware's Limited Liability Company Act (6 Del. C. ch. 18), a Certificate of Formation filed under 6 Del. C. § 18-201 requires only the company's legal name and the name and address of its registered agent under 6 Del. C. § 18-104.
  • Zero annual report requirement: Unlike corporations, Delaware LLCs are completely exempt from filing an annual report. The Delaware Division of Corporations does not collect annual officer or member filings. The company simply pays its mandatory flat $400 annual tax under 6 Del. C. § 18-1107 by June 1 each year (the amount rose from $300 beginning with tax year 2026, so the first $400 payment is due June 1, 2027). Because no annual report exists, member names never enter the state database.
  • Filing costs: $110 initial state filing fee, followed by a $400 flat annual tax.

New Mexico: low-cost privacy with zero annual fees

New Mexico is popular among budget-conscious bootstrapped founders:

  • Formation privacy: New Mexico Articles of Organization do not require member or manager names. Under NMSA 1978, § 53-19-8, they state the LLC's name, the street address of its registered office and the name of its registered agent, and the street address of its principal place of business if different.
  • Zero annual report or franchise tax: New Mexico does not require an annual report or an annual franchise tax for limited liability companies. Once the initial $50 state filing fee (NMSA 1978, § 53-19-63) is paid, there is no recurring annual Secretary of State fee.
  • Local tax considerations: Businesses active in New Mexico must comply with state tax requirements, including comprehensive gross receipts tax statutes (NMSA 1978, § 7-9-3.5).

Debunking the Nevada myth: why Nevada is NOT an anonymous LLC state

Promoters frequently group Nevada with Wyoming and Delaware as a "top privacy state." This is legally false under Nevada statutes:

  • Mandatory public officer lists: Under the Nevada Limited Liability Companies Act (Nev. Rev. Stat. ch. 86), specifically Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.263, every Nevada LLC must file a list of its managers (or, if there is no manager, its managing members) when it files its articles of organization (or by an alternative due date the Secretary of State may allow), and an annual list every year thereafter.
  • Public searchable records: The names and addresses (either residence or business, under the statute) of all managers or managing members on these lists are filed with the Nevada Secretary of State and can be looked up by anyone through its online business search (SilverFlume).
  • Expensive state fees: Nevada has the highest upfront cost of the four: $75 for Articles of Organization, $150 for the initial list under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.263, and $200 for a mandatory state business license ($425 total upfront, and about $350 every year thereafter: $150 for the annual list plus $200 for the business license). Nevada offers less privacy than Wyoming or Delaware, at a much higher annual cost than Wyoming (at least $60) and a similar one to Delaware ($400).

The home-state foreign qualification trap

Forming an anonymous LLC out-of-state does not provide privacy if you operate your business from home in another state:

  • Foreign registration: If you live and work in California, you generally must register your out-of-state LLC as a foreign entity under Cal. Corp. Code, Title 2.6 and pay the annual $800 franchise tax.
  • Loss of privacy on home-state filings: Many states' foreign registration filings or recurring reports require listing at least one manager or member (Florida's application does, and California requires a Statement of Information naming managers or members). Registering a Wyoming or Delaware LLC in those states can therefore put your name on that state's public registry, defeating the out-of-state privacy shield.
  • The holding company solution: To preserve privacy while operating locally, founders often establish a Wyoming or Delaware parent LLC that serves as the 100% owner and sole member of a local domestic operating LLC, listing the parent company's name rather than individual personal names on local public filings where the state's form allows an entity to be listed.

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Compare privacy options: Wyoming vs. Delaware LLC true costs · Using a home address for an LLC · All 50 state LLC formation guides

Sources

Last checked 2026-11-10. Corpus is not a law firm and does not provide legal or tax advice.