Name

• You must choose a name for the business not used by any other entity in Texas. The name you select cannot have a similarity to a name that another company has reserved with the Texas Secretary of State. You can contact the Secretary of State at 512-463-555 to conduct a preliminary business name check. However, the name of your company does not become official until the Texas Secretary of State approves the company's formation document.
  
  

Registered Agent

• Every company in Texas that wants to set up an LLC has an obligation to select a registered agent. The LLC may designate itself as the registered agent. A person who has a physical residence in the state of Texas can act as an LLC's registered agent, or a business registered with the Texas Secretary of State can assume the company's registered agent duties. The registered agent's address represents the location where official business documents get delivered. The registered agent of a Texas LLC cannot use a post office address. The LLC has a duty to list the name and address of its registered agent in the company's certificate of formation.
  
  

Certificate of Formation

• An LLC in Texas must file a certificate of formation with the Texas Secretary of State. The certificate of formation includes information about the company such as the purpose of the business, as well as the name and address of each person responsible for organizing the LLC. The Texas Secretary of State provides a fill-in-the-blanks certificate of formation. As of 2010, it costs $300 to file a certificate of formation.
  
  

EIN

• A Texas LLC can get a federal tax ID, also known as an employer identification number, from the IRS electronically by using the IRS website or by telephone, fax or regular mail. Online and by telephone are the fastest methods for the company to obtain a federal tax ID number. You must provide information about the company such as the date when the LLC formation occurred, the nature of the company's activities and the number of people that work for the business. Communicate your name, Social Security number and home address. The IRS will issue the federal tax ID number at the conclusion of the telephone or online session. Fax applications will receive a federal tax ID number within four days, while mailing Form SS-4 will cause you to wait up to four weeks.