If you sell on Amazon or Shopify, freelance for US clients, or run an online business from outside the United States, a US LLC can unlock cleaner payments, access to Stripe and US banking, and a more professional footing with American customers. The good news: non-residents form US LLCs every single day. You do not need citizenship, a green card, a visa, or a Social Security number to do it.
What trips people up isn't the filing — that part is easy. It's two specific requirements that work differently when you're abroad: the registered agent and the EIN. Get those right and the rest is paperwork. This guide walks the whole process in plain language.
Can a non-US resident really own a US LLC?
Yes. There is no residency or citizenship requirement to be the owner ("member") of a US LLC. The vast majority of states let anyone in the world form one. You won't be able to walk into a US bank branch, and US tax filing has its own rules, but ownership itself is wide open. Single-member LLCs owned by non-residents are extremely common for e-commerce and online service businesses.
The 6 steps to forming your US LLC from abroad
Forming a US LLC from abroad: the 6 steps
No SSN, visa, or US address required to own the company. The two steps people get wrong are highlighted: the EIN method, and the Form 5472 filing.
1. Choose the state you'll form in
If you have no physical presence in the US, you're free to pick the most founder-friendly state rather than being tied to where you live. Wyoming is the most popular choice for non-residents because of low fees, strong privacy, and no state income tax. More on choosing below.
2. Appoint a registered agent (this is mandatory)
Every US LLC must have a registered agent — a person or company with a physical street address in your formation state who can receive legal and government mail during business hours. As a non-resident you almost certainly don't have a US address, so you'll use a registered agent service. This isn't optional, and it's the single requirement most beginners overlook.
3. File the Articles of Organization
This is the document that legally creates your LLC. A formation service prepares and files it with the state for you, or you can file directly with the Secretary of State. You'll pay the state's filing fee either way (roughly $50–$500 depending on the state).
4. Get an EIN from the IRS — no SSN required
An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is your business's tax ID. You need it to open a US bank account, use Stripe/PayPal as a business, and file taxes. The online EIN tool requires an SSN, but non-residents apply instead by submitting Form SS-4 by fax, mail, or phone — no SSN needed. It's free directly from the IRS; the catch is the wait, which differs a lot by method.
Per the IRS Instructions for Form SS-4, here's how the three methods compare for an applicant abroad:
| Method | How non-residents use it | Typical turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | Call the IRS international line at +1 267-941-1099 (6am–11pm ET, Mon–Fri). This line is for applicants with no US legal residence — the only group the IRS still issues EINs to by phone. | Same day, on the call |
| Fax | Fax your completed Form SS-4 (from outside the US, fax 304-707-9471) under the Fax-TIN program. | Generally about 4 business days |
| Mail Form SS-4 to the IRS. Start early — the IRS advises completing it 4–5 weeks before you'll need the number. | About 4 weeks |
If you want your EIN before you start a bank application (which speeds up onboarding), the phone or fax route is the way to go. Many formation services will also obtain the EIN for you for a fee if you'd rather not deal with the IRS yourself.
5. Open a US business bank account
With your formation documents and EIN in hand, you can open a US business account. You usually don't need to fly to the US — several fintech platforms onboard non-resident-owned LLCs remotely. The three most commonly used, with what each one's own documentation says about non-resident eligibility:
- Mercury — explicitly supports US companies founded by people living abroad, with no monthly fee. You'll need your formation documents, EIN, and beneficial-owner details, and your founder country must not be on Mercury's prohibited-countries list. (See Mercury's eligibility requirements.)
- Wise Business — non-US citizens can open a US Wise Business account with a registered US business; for non-US beneficial owners Wise asks for a photo ID rather than an SSN. Note Wise can't onboard businesses formed in Nevada or US territories (see Wise's US business verification help).
- Relay — accepts US entities owned by non-residents (passport accepted for ID), but its application asks for a US address and, in practice, often an SSN or ITIN, so it can be the stickier of the three if you have neither. Check Relay's required-documents page before applying.
Eligibility and country lists change, so confirm current requirements on the provider's own site before you apply. None of these is a chartered bank in the traditional sense; they partner with FDIC-insured banks to hold deposits.
6. Stay compliant
After formation you'll have ongoing duties: most states require an annual report (and fee), the federal BOI / FinCEN beneficial-ownership reporting may apply, and non-resident-owned LLCs often must file IRS Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 each year. Penalties for missing these are steep, so put the deadlines on a calendar or use a service that tracks them for you. This is general information, not tax advice — confirm your obligations with a cross-border accountant.
Here is the rule founders abroad most often get wrong. A foreign-owned single-member US LLC is a "disregarded entity" with no income-tax return of its own — so people assume that with zero US income there is nothing to file. That's not how it works. Under the IRS Instructions for Form 5472, if the LLC had any reportable transaction with you or a related party (and funding the LLC or paying its expenses counts), it must file a pro-forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached — by the Form 1120 due date — even when no tax is due. The penalty for filing late or not at all starts at $25,000, with another $25,000 if the failure continues more than 90 days after the IRS sends notice. This is informational reporting, not a tax bill, but the penalty is real. Not tax advice; confirm with a cross-border accountant.
If you miss a state notice or a lawsuit because mail went to a dead address, your LLC can lose good standing — or you can lose a case by default. A reliable registered agent with real US support and address privacy is worth far more than the small annual fee, especially when you can't easily receive US mail yourself.
Which state should you form in?
If you ever have a physical presence in a specific US state (an office, employees, inventory you own there), form in that state. If you're fully online with no US footprint, here's the quick comparison non-residents weigh most often:
| State | Why founders pick it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | Low fees, strong privacy, no state income tax — the default for online non-resident LLCs | Annual report "license tax" scales with Wyoming assets (see below) |
| Delaware | Best if you'll raise venture capital or want the well-known corporate courts | Higher franchise tax, more formality than you may need |
| New Mexico | Very low cost, no annual report | Less established ecosystem for non-residents |
One detail most guides skip: Wyoming's annual report fee is not a flat number. The state charges a license tax of $60, or $0.0002 (two-tenths of one mill) per dollar of assets located in Wyoming, whichever is greater. For a typical online non-resident LLC with little or no property physically in Wyoming, that means the $60 minimum — the per-dollar rate only exceeds $60 once you have more than $300,000 of assets located in the state. Source: Wyoming Secretary of State, Annual Report. So Wyoming stays cheap for remote founders, but if you ever hold significant property in the state, budget for the higher figure.
The service we recommend for non-residents
For founders abroad, the deciding factors are address privacy, a registered agent that's actually included, and support staff who understand non-resident formation. In our reviews, Northwest Registered Agent stands out: their flat $39 + state fee includes the first year of registered agent service, they put their own address on public filings where the state allows (keeping yours private), and their US-based support answers real questions instead of reading a script. They regularly work with international founders.
If your priority is the absolute lowest upfront cost, Bizee files the formation itself for $0 (you still pay the state fee) and also includes a free first year of registered agent — just be ready to decline the checkout add-ons. We compare the two in detail in our Northwest vs Bizee guide.
To make the trade-off concrete, here's what each costs in year one if you form in Wyoming (state filing fee $100):
| Service | Service fee | Example total (Wyoming, $100 state fee) | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | $39 | $139 (incl. first-year registered agent) | Slightly higher than Bizee, but no checkout upsells and your address stays off the public filing |
| Bizee | $0 | $100 (incl. first-year registered agent) | Lowest out the door, but the checkout pushes paid add-ons you have to decline |
Verdict: Bizee wins on pure lowest upfront cost; Northwest wins on privacy, a flat price with no upsell pressure, and support that understands non-resident formation — which is why it's our pick for founders abroad. The gap is about $39, so choose on which of those matters more to you.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Forming in a "tax-free" state when you actually have a presence in another state — you can end up registered and paying in both.
- Skipping the EIN and then being unable to open a bank account or use Stripe.
- Trying to use the online EIN tool (it requires an SSN) instead of faxing Form SS-4 as a non-resident.
- Ignoring Form 5472 — the penalty for non-resident-owned LLCs that miss it starts at $25,000.
- Using a friend's home address as your registered agent and missing critical mail.
Forming a US LLC from abroad is genuinely achievable in an afternoon of focused work, plus the wait for your EIN. Pick your state, get a solid registered agent, file, and get your EIN — then you've got a real US company to build on.