New York LLC Certificate of Amendment: $60, mostly paper filing, and the name-change exception

A New York domestic LLC amends its Articles of Organization by filing a Certificate of Amendment under section 211 of the Limited Liability Company Law. The filing fee is $60. For most amendments, New York still expects a paper filing mailed to the Department of State in Albany. The big exception is a name-change-only amendment, which the state now allows online.

Checked against New York Department of State and IRS materials on September 3, 2026.

The short answer

If your New York LLC needs to change something that belongs in the Articles of Organization, the state filing is a Certificate of Amendment. New York says the articles may only be amended to amend or add provisions that could lawfully have been in the original filing. The filing fee is $60.

For most founders, the practical takeaway is simple. A name change, or another formal change to the original articles, usually means a Certificate of Amendment. But unless it is a name-change-only amendment, you should expect to handle it on paper rather than through a fast online form.

New York LLC amendment basics	Official rule
Main filing	Certificate of Amendment for a domestic LLC
State filing fee	$60
Where to file	New York Department of State, Division of Corporations, Albany
Online filing	Available for name-change-only amendments
Expedited options	24-hour for $25, same day for $75, 2-hour for $150
Name search fee	$5 per name availability inquiry

What New York says an amendment can do

The Department of State says a domestic limited liability company may amend its Articles of Organization from time to time by filing a Certificate of Amendment under section 211 of the LLC Law. It also says the articles may only be amended to amend or add provisions that may lawfully be contained in the initial Articles of Organization.

That is the boundary. If the change belongs in the original articles, a Certificate of Amendment is the usual tool. A legal name change is the most common example, but it is not the only one.

New York treats an amendment as a change to the LLC's original formation record, not just a profile update on a website.

The filing fee is $60

New York's Certificate of Amendment page lists a $60 filing fee. The broader Department of State fee schedule shows the same amount for LLC amendments. So this is one of the easier New York fee questions to pin down.

Payment options listed by the state include cash, check, money order, MasterCard, Visa, or American Express. Checks and money orders must be payable to the Department of State. If you want expedited processing, the state says that fee is extra and must be identified separately.

Most amendments are still a paper filing

New York says the completed Certificate of Amendment, together with the fee, should be forwarded to the Division of Corporations at One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12231. That is the normal filing path for the general amendment page.

This matters because many founders assume everything in New York can be done online now. Not here. The state created an online route for one narrow category, but it did not turn the whole amendment process into a general self-serve portal.

The name-change-only exception

The Department of State has a separate page for a Certificate of Amendment name change only for domestic LLCs. That page says these name-change amendments may now be filed online. It also says all other Certificates of Amendment must be submitted on a paper form and sent to the Department of State.

So if the LLC is only changing its legal name, New York gives you a faster route. If the filing does something broader, assume you are back to the paper process.

Check name availability before you get attached

New York warns that the Division of Corporations must reject a name that is not distinguishable from existing names on file. It also says the public database is intended for status inquiries of entities already on file, not for a final availability decision.

The official path for a name availability inquiry is a separate request, and the fee schedule on the name-change page points to a $5 fee per name submitted. That does not mean every small founder runs a formal inquiry first, but it does mean a quick database search is not the same thing as state approval.

Expedited service can be worth it if timing matters

New York offers optional expedited handling for business filings. The amendment page lists three levels: 24-hour processing for $25, same-day processing for $75, and 2-hour processing for $150. The envelope and request need to be marked for expedited processing.

If your amendment is tied to a closing, rebrand launch, or banking deadline, paying for speed may be worth more than the base filing fee itself.

What the amendment does not finish for you

Getting the Certificate of Amendment filed updates the New York record. It does not automatically update the IRS. The IRS says a name change by itself usually does not require a new EIN, but the business still has to notify the IRS using the right method for its tax classification.

If the LLC changed its legal name, you may also need to update contracts, banking records, state tax accounts, licenses, and any newspaper publication process if the change affects a name-sensitive filing sequence later.

Bottom line

A New York domestic LLC uses a Certificate of Amendment to change provisions in its Articles of Organization that could lawfully have been included there in the first place. The filing fee is $60. Most amendments still go to the Department of State as paper filings in Albany. The one easy shortcut is a name-change-only amendment, which New York says can now be filed online. If speed matters, the state also offers paid expedited handling.