Short answer
About twenty US states let you form a series LLC in 2026, but published counts run from a dozen to about two dozen because sources count different things. Some fold in US territories, some include states that only recognize a series formed elsewhere, and older lists predate Florida, whose series law took effect on July 1, 2026. Under a consistent test that requires a state statute letting you form a domestic series with a liability shield between each series when formalities are kept, the long-established group is Delaware, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, and Wyoming, with roughly a dozen more states carrying their own series statutes. California is the usual trap: it does not let you form a series LLC, it only recognizes one formed in another state, and it taxes each series as a separate LLC.
Key takeaways
- The number of series LLC states is definition-dependent, which is why published lists disagree. Under a consistent test that requires a domestic-formation statute with a liability shield between series, roughly twenty states qualify in 2026, and the count moves depending on whether a source also counts US territories, recognize-only states, and Florida, whose series law took effect on July 1, 2026.
- The long-established, most-used series states are Delaware (6 Del. C. 18-215), Illinois (805 ILCS 180/37-40), Nevada (NRS 86.296), Texas (Tex. BOC 101.601), and Wyoming (Wyo. Stat. 17-29-211), with about a dozen more states carrying their own series statutes.
- Florida's series LLC law, Fla. Stat. 605.2101 to 605.2802, took effect on July 1, 2026, so Florida now allows a protected series. Lists published before mid-2026, including many 2025 guides, predate it and leave Florida off, which is one reason older counts run lower.
- California is the common misread. It does not allow forming a domestic series LLC, it recognizes a foreign one, and it treats each series doing business in the state as a separate LLC for the $800 minimum annual tax (Cal. R&TC 17941, FTB Form 568).
- A protected series is created in the LLC agreement with no state filing, while a registered series is a Delaware option formed by filing a certificate (6 Del. C. 18-218, effective August 1, 2019) so it counts as a registered organization for financing. They are not interchangeable terms.
- A series shield depends on formalities, not on ranking a state as the strongest. Every series statute promises separation only when each series keeps separate records and accounts, and courts have rarely tested the walls, so treat the protection as formality-dependent.
Who this is for
- Real estate investors and multi-brand operators deciding whether their state lets them form a series LLC at all
- Founders comparing formation states who keep seeing a different number of series LLC states from every source
- Anyone who found a series LLC states list and wants the 2026 status, with the actual statute, before relying on it
Search for which states allow a series LLC and the counts do not agree. One page says a dozen states and two territories. Another says twenty-one. A third says over a dozen plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. None of them explains why its number differs from the page ranking above it, and most were last updated in 2025.
The list is not actually that uncertain. The counts differ because the sources are counting different things, and once you fix the criterion the roster settles down. This guide sets one test, applies it to 2026, cites the statute for the states it can point you to, and names the states that get added to these lists by mistake.
Why the number of series LLC states is never the same twice
Four counting choices explain almost all of the disagreement between one list and the next. Decide each one and the number stops moving.
- Territories. The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have series provisions. Counting them turns a states number into a jurisdictions number, which is where a dozen becomes a dozen and a half.
- Recognize-only states. California will not let you form a domestic series LLC but recognizes one formed elsewhere. Lists that count recognition rather than formation add California and inflate the total.
- Recently effective law. Florida's series LLC statute took effect on July 1, 2026. Lists published before then, including many 2025 guides, leave Florida out, so an older count can be one state low.
- A statute without a shield. A statute that mentions a series but does not put a liability wall between one series and another is not a series LLC in the sense an asset-protection investor means. Counting those states pads the list with structures that do not do the job.
The test this guide uses is the narrow one: a state statute that lets you form a domestic series or protected series, with a liability shield between each series when the formalities are kept. Under that test, roughly twenty states qualify in 2026. The exact members matter more than the round number, so here they are.
The states that let you form a series LLC in 2026
The roster below groups the states by how established the statute is, not by a claim that one state's shield is stronger than another's. The long-standing statutes have simply been in force longer and are referenced more often. The address column comes later; the point here is the formation status.
| Group | States | Statute or status |
|---|---|---|
| Long-established, most-used | Delaware, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, Wyoming | 6 Del. C. 18-215; 805 ILCS 180/37-40; NRS 86.296; Tex. BOC 101.601; Wyo. Stat. 17-29-211 |
| Other statutory series states | Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Indiana | Each has its own series statute. Section numbers vary and are amended periodically, so confirm the current section with the state before relying on it. |
| Newly effective (July 1, 2026) | Florida | Fla. Stat. 605.2101 to 605.2802. A protected series regime, formable since the July 1, 2026 effective date; lists written earlier predate it. |
| Recognizes a foreign series only | California | Cannot form a domestic series LLC. Recognizes one formed elsewhere and taxes each series separately (see the California section). |
Series LLC formation status by state for 2026 under a domestic-formation-with-shield test. Statutes are cited where verified; sections for the second group change periodically, so confirm the current code with the state.
Beyond the states in the table, a further group is commonly counted as series states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Virginia, which brings the total to roughly twenty. North Dakota and Wisconsin, like Minnesota below, mention a series in their statute without a real liability shield between series, so they do not belong on the list under the test used here. Add the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as jurisdictions rather than states, and a careful count reaches about two dozen.
Two states that get listed by mistake
Georgia has no series LLC statute and should not be on these lists, though it often is. Minnesota mentions a series in its statute but does not provide a liability shield between series, so it does not give an asset-protection investor what a series LLC is for. Both are excluded under the test used here.
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Protected series, registered series, and older series statutes
Series LLC, protected series, and registered series get used as if they mean the same thing. They do not, and the difference decides how the series is formed and how a bank or lender treats it.
A protected series is created inside the LLC agreement. There is no separate filing with the state to bring it into existence, and the liability shield between series comes from the statute and the records the LLC keeps. Delaware's protected series lives at 6 Del. C. 18-215, and this is the form most series statutes follow.
A registered series is a Delaware innovation added at 6 Del. C. 18-218, effective August 1, 2019. You form it by filing a certificate of registered series with the state, which makes it a registered organization that can get its own certificate of good standing. That filing matters when a lender or a bank wants to confirm the series exists as its own organization, which a protected series cannot show on the state's records. A registered series carries the same shield as a protected series; the difference is the filing and the paper trail, not the protection.
Older series statutes, the ones several states passed before the more uniform drafting of recent years, vary in their wording and in how much case law has tested them. That variation is the real reason a series is a formality-heavy structure, which the next section gets to.
The California trap: recognized, not formable, and taxed per series
California breaks the most series LLC plans, and it does it through tax rather than through formation. You cannot form a domestic series LLC in California. You can form one in Delaware or Texas and register it to do business in California, and that is where the cost lands.
The California Franchise Tax Board treats each series of a foreign series LLC doing business in California as a separate LLC. Each such series files its own Form 568 and owes the $800 minimum annual tax, and the gross-receipts LLC fee applies per series where the thresholds are met. A series LLC with five series doing business in California can face five separate $800 obligations, not one. The trigger is doing business in California, tied to where the property and the activity are, so it reaches an entity formed in another state.
The $800 is per series, not per LLC
California recognizes a foreign series LLC and treats each series doing business in the state as its own LLC for the $800 minimum annual tax and its own Form 568. The structure that simplifies liability does not simplify this cost, and it is driven by where the activity is, not only by the formation state (Cal. R&TC 17941, FTB Form 568 instructions).
Allowed is not the same as tested
It is tempting to rank the series states by how strong the liability shield is, and plenty of pages do. The honest position is that the ranking is not something a statute or a court has established. Every series statute makes the same structural promise: keep separate records and separate accounting for each series, and the liabilities of one series are enforceable only against that series' assets. Delaware puts it at 6 Del. C. 18-215(b), Nevada at NRS 86.296(3), Texas at Tex. BOC 101.602, and the others in similar language.
What almost no state has is a deep body of case law testing whether the wall holds when a series is sued or a creditor pushes. The handful of disputes to reach a court have largely turned on the specific facts and the bookkeeping, not on a rule that one state's series is safer than another's. So the useful way to read the roster is not strongest to weakest. It is that Delaware, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, and Wyoming have the longest-standing statutes and are referenced most, and that in every state the shield depends on the formalities you keep, not on the state you picked.
The address every series LLC still needs
Whichever state you form in, the master LLC has to maintain a registered agent and a registered office, a physical street address, in that state. Delaware requires it at 6 Del. C. 18-104, Texas at Tex. BOC 5.201, and Nevada at NRS 86.231. That registered office is a statutory slot, and it is separate from the business mailing address the LLC uses on bank applications, lender files, and correspondence.
A series LLC usually adds a second address question on top of that, because the reason to use one is often multiple properties or brands across more than one state. Each state where the LLC is doing business generally wants its own registered agent, while the mailing address is the piece that should stay consistent across the master entity, each series, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Letting the mailing address drift to a different value in each state is the common operational mistake, covered in the three business addresses every LLC needs guide.
save office is not a registered agent service and does not satisfy the registered-office requirement each formation state imposes. It provides the consistent business mailing address used across the master LLC, each series, the IRS, and the bank. For an investor who also wants the owner's name off the public record, the privacy mechanics and the states that allow an anonymous LLC are covered in the real estate series and anonymous LLC address guide, and the structure choice between a series and a holding company is in the series LLC versus holding company comparison.
Not legal or tax advice
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Series LLC statutes, effective dates, the California franchise tax treatment of a foreign series, and registered agent requirements vary by state and change periodically. Confirm the current statute and rules with the relevant Secretary of State and a licensed attorney or tax professional before forming, and maintain a properly designated registered agent in each required state.
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