Texas requires member and/or manager disclosure on public LLC filings. For anonymous LLC formation, form in Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware, or Nevada instead.
By Shafwan Ahmed, Operations & Fulfillment Lead, Anonymousllc.co
Updated May 2026
| Requirement | Texas | Wyoming (recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Member disclosure | Required | Not required |
| Manager disclosure | Required | Not required |
| Filing fee | $300 | $100 |
| Annual report | Annual franchise tax report | $60/year |
| State income tax | None (franchise tax) | None |
Texas requires both member and manager disclosure on public LLC filings. This means your name appears in the state's business search database, accessible to anyone - competitors, litigants, journalists, data brokers, and the general public.
For genuine anonymity, form your LLC in one of the four anonymous-friendly states: Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware, or Nevada. If you need to operate in Texas, you can foreign-qualify your anonymous LLC here.
Texas has no state income tax but imposes a franchise (margin) tax on entities with revenue above $2.47M. The $300 filing fee is among the highest.
Form a Wyoming anonymous LLC ($397 all-in) or New Mexico anonymous LLC ($347 total ($297 + $50 state)). If you have physical operations in Texas, foreign-qualify the LLC here. The foreign qualification may require some disclosure in Texas, but your formation state (Wyoming/NM) records remain anonymous. This preserves partial privacy while maintaining local compliance.
For online-only businesses without physical presence in Texas, foreign qualification is typically not required. You can operate the Wyoming or NM LLC without registering in Texas.
Texas names governing persons on the Certificate of Formation and re-lists them every year on the Public Information Report, both searchable through SOSDirect and the Comptroller's Taxable Entity Search. The Certificate of Formation records the initial members of a member-managed LLC or the managers of a manager-managed one, with names and addresses. Each year the Comptroller requires a Public Information Report that reprints the current managers or managing members, so the disclosure refreshes annually rather than fading. SOSDirect returns the formation document and the registered agent, while the Taxable Entity Search returns the franchise-tax status and the officer and director listing. Between the two portals, a researcher assembles a full ownership picture at no cost. Texas carries a reputation for privacy that the Public Information Report does not support.
A Texas LLC costs $300 to file, among the highest state fees, and owes the franchise (margin) tax once revenue passes the no-tax-due threshold near $2.47M. The Certificate of Formation fee is a one-time charge, but the annual franchise tax report is mandatory whether or not tax is due. Below the revenue threshold a company files a no-tax-due report and still submits the Public Information Report that republishes its managers. Texas levies no personal income tax, a real benefit, yet that benefit is unrelated to privacy, because the margin-tax filing and the ownership disclosure are separate obligations. Wyoming matches the no-income-tax advantage at $397 all-in, adds no franchise tax, and never prints your name on an annual public report.
No. A manager-managed Texas LLC still names its managers on the Certificate of Formation and the annual Public Information Report, and a registered agent only receives legal mail. Choosing manager management moves the listed name from members to managers, but a real person still appears, and the Comptroller's yearly report keeps that name current. A registered agent supplies a Texas address for service of process and shields nothing about the owner's identity. There is no confidential Texas LLC and no nominee filing that the Secretary of State recognizes as removing the true owner. The dependable way to keep your name out of SOSDirect and the Taxable Entity Search is to form the entity in a state that never collects it.
Form a Wyoming or New Mexico anonymous LLC and foreign-qualify it into Texas only when you have a storefront, employees, inventory, or real estate in the state. The out-of-state anonymous LLC holds the business, and its ownership stays in the formation state's private record. Foreign qualification registers that LLC with the Texas Secretary of State so you operate legally where you have physical nexus, and it brings the entity into the Comptroller's franchise-tax system for Texas activity. An e-commerce or services business with no Texas premises, staff, or stock has no nexus and does not register in Texas at all. We handle the Wyoming or New Mexico formation and add the Texas foreign qualification when your footprint calls for it.
Wyoming at $397 all-in mirrors Texas's no-income-tax appeal with strong asset protection; New Mexico at $347 total is the lowest-maintenance option with no annual report. A Texas founder drawn to the state's lack of personal income tax finds the same treatment in Wyoming, which adds a $60 annual report and no margin-style entity tax. New Mexico removes recurring state paperwork entirely, with no annual report and no annual fee after formation, at the lowest all-in cost of $347. Both keep members and managers out of public databases, which a direct Texas filing cannot do because of the Public Information Report. Choose Wyoming for charging-order protection and a clean single annual filing; choose New Mexico to minimize what you file after formation.
Wyoming from $397. New Mexico from $347. 5-10 day turnaround.
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