Series LLC EIN by State: Delaware, Texas, Nevada, Illinois

Does the state change how many EINs a series LLC needs?

No. The 4 federal triggers apply identically in all 50 states. What the state changes is the name on line 1 of Form SS-4 and whether a bank can verify that name from a public record.

The Internal Revenue Code contains no state-by-state rule for series. A series in Texas and a series in Delaware that both run payroll each need their own EIN for the same reason: Form 941 is filed per EIN and the employer has to be identified correctly. A series in either state that reports through the master needs no number in either state.

Where the state matters is identity. Line 1 of Form SS-4 asks for the legal name of the entity applying, and that name has to be the one the state or the governing document actually uses. A mismatch between line 1 and the document a bank later inspects is the single most common cause of a stalled account opening in this structure.

The second place the state matters is visibility. A registered series in Delaware or a designated series in Illinois appears on a public record a bank can pull independently. A Texas or Nevada series exists only in the company agreement, so the owner supplies the evidence, and the bank decides whether to accept it.

State tax treatment is a third, separate question that touches the EIN count not at all. Texas assesses franchise tax on the series LLC as 1 taxable entity. Illinois treats each registered series as its own filer for some state purposes. Neither position changes what the IRS does with a Form SS-4.

How does Delaware handle a series LLC EIN?

Delaware Code title 6 section 18-215 authorizes both protected series and registered series. A registered series files a certificate with the Division of Corporations, so it has a state-issued name that line 1 of Form SS-4 can match exactly.

Delaware splits the concept in 2, and the distinction decides the paperwork. A protected series is created inside the limited liability company agreement and appears on no public record. A registered series is formed by filing a certificate of registered series with the Division of Corporations, which issues a name and puts the series on the public record.

For EIN purposes the registered series is the easier path by a wide margin. The certificate gives the series a name the state stands behind, so line 1 of Form SS-4 matches a document a bank, a payer, or the IRS can verify independently. A protected series has no such document, and every downstream verification runs on the operating agreement instead.

Delaware charges an annual franchise tax on the LLC, with a separate annual amount for each registered series. That is a state cost of the structure and it has no federal counterpart, because the EIN itself is $0 in year 1 and $0 in every year after.

Delaware's statute is the oldest and most tested of the 4 states on this page, which matters for the liability wall rather than for the tax answer. Case law on whether a series shield holds against an out-of-state creditor is thin everywhere, and thinnest in states that adopted the concept recently.

How does Texas handle a series LLC EIN?

Texas Business Organizations Code section 101.601 creates series inside the company agreement, with no separate state filing per series. Texas also treats the whole series LLC as 1 taxable entity for franchise tax, which cuts against the federal position.

A Texas series is created by the company agreement and by records that identify the assets held by each series. Nothing is filed with the Secretary of State for the individual series, so no state document names it. The certificate of formation names the LLC and states that it can create series, and that is the extent of the public record.

That makes line 1 of Form SS-4 an internal-document question. The series name has to come from the company agreement and has to be used consistently across the agreement, the SS-4, the bank application, and every contract that series signs. Consistency is doing the work that a state filing does in Delaware.

Texas franchise tax runs the other way from federal practice. The Comptroller treats a series LLC as 1 taxable entity filing a combined report, so a structure with 5 series files 1 franchise tax report even where it holds 5 federal EINs. Owners who assume the federal count drives the state filing send returns nobody asked for.

The Texas franchise tax reaches $0 below the Comptroller's published no-tax-due threshold, which stands at $2.47 million in total revenue. That threshold applies to the combined entity rather than per series, which is another place the 2 rulebooks diverge.

How do Nevada and Illinois differ from each other?

Nevada Revised Statutes 86.296 creates series in the operating agreement with no per-series filing. Illinois requires a certificate of designation per series under 805 ILCS 180/37-40, which puts each one on the public record.

Nevada follows the Texas pattern. Series are named in the operating agreement, records identify which assets belong to which series, and the Secretary of State holds nothing series-specific. Line 1 of Form SS-4 therefore draws on the operating agreement, and a bank asks to see it.

Illinois follows the Delaware pattern and goes further. A certificate of designation is filed for each series, and Illinois has historically treated a designated series as a separate entity for several state purposes. That gives the series a state-issued identity that lines up cleanly with a separate federal EIN when a trigger is live.

The Illinois naming rule is stricter than most and worth knowing before filing anything. A designated series name has to contain the full name of the parent LLC, so the series name on line 1 of Form SS-4 runs long and has to be reproduced exactly. Truncating it on the SS-4 produces a CP-575 that does not match the state record.

Neither state changes the trigger list. A Nevada series with 2 employees needs its own EIN for the same reason an Illinois series with 2 employees does, and a dormant series in either state needs nothing.

Source: the cited state statutes and the IRS Instructions for Form SS-4, verified August 2026. No state statute changes the federal EIN rules; state law decides the liability wall and the name, the Internal Revenue Code decides the number.

What name goes on line 1 for a series in each state?

The name the governing document uses, verbatim. Delaware and Illinois supply that name on a state certificate. Texas and Nevada supply it in the company or operating agreement, and the owner is responsible for using it consistently.

Get this wrong and the CP-575 is wrong, permanently. The IRS prints the letter once, from the name on line 1, and never reprints it. A correction is proved afterwards with a 147C letter rather than a corrected CP-575, which is an extra step at every bank and payer that already holds the wrong document.

The failure mode differs by state. In Illinois it is truncation, because the required naming convention makes series names long. In Delaware it is filing under the master's name out of habit, which produces a valid EIN attached to the wrong entity. In Texas and Nevada it is drift, where the agreement says one thing and the bank application says another.

Line 4a and 4b carry the mailing address the CP-575 is sent to, and a series can use the master's address without consequence. Line 7a carries the responsible party, which is a natural person who controls the series, and it does not have to be the same person as the master's responsible party.

Line 10 asks the reason for applying. Banking purposes is the accurate entry for a series that is taking a number to open an account, and started new business is the accurate entry for a series beginning its own operations. Neither entry changes the classification questions on lines 8a, 8b and 9a.

Where does state treatment diverge from the federal EIN count?

In 3 places: franchise tax filing, public visibility, and the liability wall. A Texas structure can hold 5 federal EINs and file 1 state franchise report, and neither number is wrong.

Franchise tax is the clearest divergence. Texas combines the series LLC into 1 taxable entity, Delaware charges per registered series, and neither approach tracks the number of EINs the IRS issued. A structure operating in 2 states answers 2 different state questions from 1 set of books.

Visibility diverges next. A federal EIN is not public; the IRS treats it as confidential taxpayer information under 26 U.S.C. section 6103, and no public registry lists private company EINs. A state series filing is public. So a series can be publicly identifiable and federally invisible at the same time, which is exactly the combination that confuses banks.

The liability wall diverges last and matters most commercially. State statutes wall each series off from its siblings. Federal tax law has no final rule saying a series is a separate taxpayer at all. An owner relying on the wall for asset protection and on single-EIN reporting for simplicity is relying on 2 positions that do not sit comfortably together.

The practical reconciliation is to let each rulebook answer its own question. Use the state statute to decide how the series is created, named and recorded. Use the 4 federal triggers to decide whether it takes a number. Do not let either answer imply the other.

Does the formation state change the cost of the EINs?

No. The IRS charges $0 per EIN in all 50 states and on all 4 channels. What changes by state is the annual state cost of maintaining the series, which runs from $0 to several hundred dollars per series.

The federal side is flat and identical everywhere. Online through the IRS assistant is $0 and about 15 minutes for an applicant holding an SSN or ITIN. Fax to 855-641-6935 is $0 and 4 to 7 business days. Mail is $0 and 6 to 11 weeks. The international phone line at 267-941-1099 is $0.

The state side is where the money is. Delaware charges an annual amount per registered series on top of the LLC's own franchise tax. Illinois charges a fee per certificate of designation. Texas and Nevada charge nothing per series because no per-series filing exists, though Nevada's annual list and business licence fees apply to the LLC.

A structure planning 5 series should therefore price the state cost 5 times and the federal cost 0 times. That is the opposite of what most owners assume when they first read that an EIN is needed per series.

Formation state choice is a liability and cost question rather than a tax-identifier question. Full cost detail for the EIN itself, including what a paid filing buys, sits on the LLC EIN cost page.

Who should pay anyone to file this?

An applicant holding an SSN or ITIN pays nobody. The IRS online assistant issues each EIN in about 15 minutes for $0. An applicant without either uses the fax route, also $0, or hands it to someone.

Price context, so the $97 is legible. The IRS charges $0 for the EIN itself and it never renews, so year 2 and every year after costs $0. Formation companies price it as an add-on: Northwest at $200 without an SSN, ZenBusiness at $99, Rocket Lawyer at $59.99, all verified July 2026. None of the 3 publishes a written filing deadline, and none reviews the SS-4 classification lines before filing. Full breakdown on LLC EIN cost.

What else do owners ask about series EINs by state?

8 questions come up most: whether registration creates a federal record, how Texas franchise tax works, the protected versus registered split in Delaware, the Illinois naming rule, and whether the state changes the cost.