Below are instructions for filing a Michigan company’s annual report, using an LLC as an example.
Note the resident agent must reside in Michigan, at the registered office, which must be located in Michigan. The resident agent may be an owner of the company or a third-party service, many of which can be found online. While we do not endorse any particular service, clients have used Harbor Compliance without issue in the past.
Needed Information:
To file the annual report for a company in Michigan, you will need the following information:
- Entity Name
- Entity CID
- Entity PIN
- Resident Agent Name
- Registered Office Address
- Registered Office Mailing Address (if applicable)
Filing the Annual Report
The annual report for a Michigan LLC is filed online at this link: https://cofs.lara.state.mi.us/corpweb/LoginSystem/ExternalLogin.aspx
First, login with the LLC’s CID and PIN, included above. If you do not have your CID and PIN, see “Retrieving my CID and PIN below.”
Then, click “Annual Statement” to highlight it in the list and click “Select”.
Next, if it is not already selected, select the appropriate year in the “Annual Statement Filing Year” field.
Update any fields that need to be updated, including the Resident Agent Name, the registered office address, and the mailing address of the registered office, if appropriate (if the registered office address and its mailing address are the same, you can either leave the mailing address blank or re-enter the registered office address). Note that it is not appropriate to change the name of a company using the annual statement; even though a field is included to do so, you should NOT attempt to change the name of the company using this form.
Finally, in the Signature block, click “Add new entry to this list”.
Enter the signer’s name, then select whether the signer is a member, manager, or authorized agent, click “Accept” and then click “Add”.
Once you have added a signer, you can add another signer if needed or continue to the submitter’s information shown below.
Above the submitter’s contact information, you can enter special instructions for the form. Generally no special instructions are needed for an annual report.
Complete the submitter’s contact information and select whether you would like to receive LARA notices by e-mail or mail. If you select email, most LARA notices sent to the resident agent will be submitted to the e-mail you provide. Otherwise, notices will be sent by mail to the registered office.
NOTE: E-mail notice only applies to certain notices sent by LARA. Legal process will not be served by mail. Other state and federal agencies have their own records and processes for sending notice, and if you need to update an address with those agencies it must be done separately.
After entering the submitter information, you can select standard review at no additional cost or expedited review for an additional fee. Standard review is selected by default, but you have the option to select expedited service. As annual reports process almost immediately and there is no penalty or legal consequence for late filing, there is rarely a reason to pay for expedited review of an annual report.
After selecting the level of service, click “Review”. If there are any technical errors in the annual report form, they will be marked with a red asterisk and you will be required to complete them before continuing. If there are no technical errors, you will have the option continue to payment.
Before your filing is submitted, you need to pay the filing fee. Your annual report will not be considered filed until you have completed payment. To make payment, click “Enter credit card details”. You will be prompted over the course of several screens, not included here, to enter and submit your credit card information.
Once payment is successfully submitted, you will be shown a receipt. You should print the receipt or save it as a PDF for your records. The annual report will typically appear in the company’s online records within 1 business day.
Retrieving Your CID and PIN
If needed, you can retrieve the CID and PIN quickly online at this link: https://cofs.lara.state.mi.us/Corps/CIDPINRecovery
The recovery page looks like this:
To complete the CID/PIN Recovery you will need the company’s Entity ID. If you do not have access to your company’s entity ID, you can find it by completing the “Find Your Entity ID” instructions below.
Complete each field using the appropriate information for your company and click “Submit Request.” The CID and PIN will be sent to the email address included.
Find Your Entity ID
If you need to find your LLC’s ID number, you can click “Search for Entity ID” on the CID/PIN Recovery page, or click this link https://cofs.lara.state.mi.us/SearchApi/Search/Search to go to the Michigan entity search page.
Enter the name of your LLC and click “Search.”
Click the name of your company in the list. Note that in the example below, only one company is listed. Depending on the name of your company, other companies may appear in the list as well.
Your entity ID is the “Identification Number” that appears on this page, circled in red in the example below. Note that LLCs formed in or before 2016 may list both an “Identification Number” and an “Old ID Number.” Do not use the “Old ID Number.”
Once you have the entity ID, return to the CID/PIN Recovery page to complete and submit the form.
