One of the nice benefits of filing an LLC in Iowa is that the owners are not required to disclose the members in filings with the Iowa Secretary of State. In many instances when filing a Certificate of Organization, I won’t list the member(s) to provide anonymity to the member(s) on the public search site. Instead, I’ll sign as the organizer and use our law office address as the registered office for the company. In biennial report filings, I’ll sign as the registered agent or authorized representative.

This strategy is helpful when business owners don’t want others to know what their doing through public searches on the Secretary of State’s site. Today’s Des Moines Register BIZ BUZZ column had a report about a buyer that purchased a home in our area for $2.5 million. The owner obviously did not want others to know who purchased the home so they set up an LLC with only the lawyer disclosed as the organizer. This kept the information confidential – for now. Someone will likely found out when they move in since it’s a residential property. But I’ve represented several people who use this strategy to keep their identities protected from public searches. The member is disclosed in the operating agreement, meeting minutes and other documents but those documents are not filed or shared on the Iowa Secretary of State site.

Just another reason why forming an LLC in Iowa is beneficial for Iowa residents.