Updated August 12, 2026. Quick answer. To dissolve an LLC in Ohio you file the Certificate of Dissolution (Limited Liability Company), and it can be filed online or on paper. Fee: $50. Ohio requires no tax-clearance certificate to accept the filing. Until that filing is accepted the LLC still legally exists — and whatever Ohio charges an LLC each year keeps accruing against it.
What you file in Ohio, and what it costs
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Filing | Certificate of Dissolution (Limited Liability Company), Form 616, filed with the Ohio Secretary of State |
| Fee | $50 |
| How you can file | both — Filed online at OhioBusinessCentral.gov or by mail with check/money order to the Ohio Secretary of State — per the Form 616 instructions (ohiosos.gov 403-blocked to automated fetch; method corroborated by two independent secondaries: businessanywhere.io/how-to-dissolve-an-llc-in-ohio/ and legalclarity.org/ohio-llc-dissolution-steps-to-close-your-business-properly/). |
| Tax clearance | not required |
| Statute | Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.471 (certificate of dissolution); § 1706.47 (events causing dissolution); § 111.16(N) (filing fee); § 1706.09(L) (cancellation for failure to maintain statutory agent) |
Single-step filing under the Ohio Revised LLC Act. ORC 1706.471 requires the certificate to state: ‘The name and registration number of the limited liability company,’ ‘That the limited liability company has dissolved,’ the effective date if delayed, a copy of any notice to be published under 1706.474(A) (the optional claim-barring notice), and any other information the LLC considers appropriate. Form number 616 confirmed by the form’s own URL (ohiosos.gov/assets/616.pdf, ‘Form 616 Last Revised: 01/2022’) though the ohiosos.gov site blocked automated retrieval (403).
On the fee. Statutory fee: ORC 111.16(N) — ‘Fifty dollars for filing and recording any of the following: A certificate of dissolution and accompanying documents… under section 1701.86, 1702.47, 1705.43, 1706.471… of the Revised Code.’ Optional expedite tiers (secondary reporting of SOS schedule): $100 (2 business days), $200 (1 business day), $300 (4 hours).
Tax clearance in Ohio
No tax-clearance certificate is required to file in Ohio. That is not the same as owing nothing — it means the state will accept the filing without a revenue-agency sign-off first.
ORC 1706.471 contains no tax-clearance condition for LLC dissolution (verified on codes.ohio.gov). Ohio’s pre-dissolution tax notification (Form D5, Notification of Dissolution or Surrender, filed with the Department of Taxation 30 days before the SOS filing) applies to CORPORATIONS seeking a certificate of tax clearance under the corporate dissolution statute (ORC 1701.86), not to LLC Form 616 filings. Final tax accounts must still be closed separately (see final_tax_steps).
Do not just walk away
Closing the business is not closing the entity. No annual report exists for Ohio LLCs, so there is no report-based administrative dissolution; the LLC persists on the record indefinitely. If it fails to maintain a statutory agent, the SOS cancels its articles after a 30-day cure notice; CAT and other tax obligations continue while registered
ORC 1706.09(L): ‘Unless the default is cured within thirty days after the mailing by the secretary of state of the notice…, the articles of the limited liability company… shall be canceled without further notice or action by the secretary of state.’ Reinstatement possible within the statutory window by application and appointment of an agent. Because Ohio imposes no LLC annual report/franchise fee, walking away accrues no SOS fees, but open tax accounts (CAT annual minimum, vendor’s license) continue to generate filing obligations until cancelled.
Closing the tax accounts
File final sales tax return and close the vendor’s license via Ohio Business Gateway; cancel Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) account; final employer withholding reconciliation (IT 941) within 15 days of discontinuing business
Per the Ohio Department of Taxation ‘Closing a Business’ guidance (tax.ohio.gov): a vendor’s-license holder files a final sales tax return for the period of the final sale and closes the license through the Ohio Business Gateway; CAT taxpayers must cancel the CAT account (cancel on or before May 10 to avoid that year’s annual minimum tax); employers file IT 941 no later than 15 days after discontinuing business.
Before you file
- The order the steps go in — internal decision, creditors and distributions, the state filing, the final returns, then the registrations you are still paying for.
- What an LLC costs to keep alive in Ohio — the bill that keeps running until this filing lands.
- What dissolution costs in all 51 jurisdictions — the fee, the filing route and the tax-clearance flag, side by side.
- What happens if you simply stop filing — administrative dissolution is the walk-away trap happening to you rather than by you.
We do not form or dissolve LLCs, sell filing services, or take a commission from anyone who does. No advertising appears on this page and we earn nothing from it.
Sources and limits
Ohio Rev. Code § 1706.471 (certificate of dissolution); § 1706.47 (events causing dissolution); § 111.16(N) (filing fee); § 1706.09(L) (cancellation for failure to maintain statutory agent). Fee, form and procedure read 2026-08-10 from the statute source.
Research note. ACCESS FAILURES RECORDED: ohiosos.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch for both https://www.ohiosos.gov/assets/616.pdf and https://www.ohiosos.gov/businesses/filing-forms–fee-schedule/ (WAF block; curl returned an HTML challenge page). Fee and dissolution requirements therefore anchored to the official statute (codes.ohio.gov); form number and online/mail method corroborated by the official form URL plus independent secondaries.
Honest gap. This page covers the state filing that ends the entity, its fee and its tax-clearance condition. It does not cover creditor claims against a dissolved LLC, disputes between members, the tax treatment of a final distribution, reinstatement after an administrative dissolution, or withdrawal from any other state you registered in — each of those has its own rules. General information, not legal or tax advice. See methodology and corrections.