Why New Mexico has no Annual Report (and what Wyoming and Delaware do require)

If you've been researching where to form your LLC for a while, you've seen the term Annual Report in nearly every state: Wyoming, Delaware, Florida, Texas... All of them have one. All of them charge you to file it. And if you don't, your LLC drifts into bad standing or gets dissolved.

New Mexico doesn't. New Mexico is one of the few US states where LLCs don't file any periodic report with the state. Not annually, not biennially. And it's not a glitch on the Secretary of State's website — it's the law.

What is the Annual Report in other states?

The Annual Report (or Biennial Report, depending on the state) is a form many states require to confirm your LLC is still active, that contact info is up to date, and to collect an administrative fee. In practice:

• You file it with the state's Secretary of State
• It includes basic data: LLC name, address, Registered Agent
• You pay a fee (varies by state)
• If you don't file, your LLC loses Good Standing and can be administratively dissolved

It's basically the state's way of confirming you're still around — and charging you for it.

Why NM doesn't have one

The New Mexico LLC statute (§53-19 NMSA 1978, the New Mexico Limited Liability Company Act) simply does not establish any periodic filing obligation for LLCs. The New Mexico legislature decided that keeping an active Registered Agent with a physical address in the state was enough. Period.

No annual administrative fee. No form to fill out. No deadline to remember. If your Registered Agent is active and your formation data is correct, your LLC stays in Good Standing indefinitely without doing anything else at the state level.

New Mexico decided to rely on the Registered Agent as the only mandatory point of contact. Most other states bolted on the Annual Report as an extra layer of control (and revenue).

What Wyoming and Delaware do require

Wyoming

Wyoming is popular among privacy- and cost-conscious founders, but it does have an Annual Report. They call it "Annual Report" and the minimum fee is $60/year (calculated on the value of the LLC's Wyoming-located assets; if you have few assets, you pay the minimum). The deadline is the first day of the LLC's anniversary month.

If you don't file, Wyoming flags your LLC as "Delinquent" and eventually dissolves it. The Wyoming Annual Report also includes the Registered Agent declaration and the principal address.

Delaware

Delaware is the go-to state for startups and C-Corps chasing investment, but it has its own obligations. For Delaware LLCs, there is no Annual Report as such — but there is a flat annual Franchise Tax of $300, payable before June 1 each year. If you don't pay, your LLC drifts into bad standing.

Important: although many people call this filing the "Annual Report", technically it's just the Franchise Tax payment. Delaware LLCs don't file a corporate-data form like corporations do.

For Delaware corporations (not LLCs) the scheme is different: they do file a full Annual Report with director and officer data, and the Franchise Tax can be much higher depending on the calculation method.

Direct comparison

What you do have to do in New Mexico

No Annual Report doesn't mean zero obligations. What is required in NM:

• Active Registered Agent — with a physical address in New Mexico. It's the only recurring state obligation. If your RA stops operating or doesn't renew, your LLC can lose Good Standing.
• Update data if it changes — if the principal address or RA changes, you need to notify the Secretary of State (often free).
• Federal obligations — these are state-independent: Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 with the IRS, FBAR if applicable, and any other federal tax obligation.

In NM, your LLC doesn't die from administrative oversight. It dies if your Registered Agent fails. That's why picking a reliable RA matters more here than in other states.

Is NM better than WY or DE?

It depends on the use case. For a non-resident single-member LLC operating digital services and not chasing investment:

• New Mexico wins on operating cost — $0 in annual state obligations vs. $60+ in WY or $300 in DE
• New Mexico wins on privacy — NM does not publish member names in any public registry
• Wyoming has more media buzz but the real cost is higher and the practical advantage over NM is minimal for non-residents
• Delaware makes sense if you're chasing VC — the legal ecosystem and investors expect Delaware for corporations. For a personal LLC, there's no reason to pay an extra $300/year

To better understand the rest of the obligations your LLC actually has (at the federal level), the guide on the most common LLC management mistakes covers exactly what you do have to do. And if you're comparing formation options, the comparison with Stripe Atlas goes into detail on why the state matters more than it seems.