An LLC Membership Certificate shows how much of an LLC someone owns. We have a complete guide on how to get yours here.

LLC Membership Certificates

While a corporation will designate ownership through stock shares, an LLC designates ownership through membership interests. In fact, an LLC membership certificate will document each member’s ownership interests by percentages or units. Although you don’t have to issue membership certificates, it can be beneficial for your company if you plan to sell membership interests in order to incentivize future investments.

Do I need a LLC?

Incfile
Go Vitru

What Does an LLC Membership Certificate Include?

An LLC membership certificate shows the amount of ownership that each member claims in the LLC. Membership is usually assigned by ownership percentages or a particular number of ownership units that will be distributed among the members of the company. Here are some of the most important things that need to be included in this document:

  • The name of the company
  • The number of units/percentage of ownership issued
  • The name of the member that receives the certificate
  • The state where the company operates

The original copy of membership certificates should be distributed to each corresponding member as proof of his/her claim to the company. The LLC needs to keep a copy of each certificate issued as part of its records.

LLC companies should make sure that they have an updated copy of their Certificate of Good Standing, which acknowledges that the company was formed legally and maintained accordingly. Both, Certificates of Good Standing and membership certificates, help the LLC company to structure and manage membership interests, taxation, and profits in a better way.

When Do You Need to Issue Membership Certificates?

LLCs aren’t legally required to issue membership certificates, and for some companies, membership certificates are not necessary or beneficial at all. For example, if your LLC has a small number of owners and you are not planning to take in outside investors, you don’t have to issue membership certificates.

But there are times when the issuance of membership certificates could be beneficial to your LLC. For example, if your LLC plans to raise outside capital and use membership interests to lure potential investors, LLC membership certificates could be beneficial to your organization. It may mostly affect LLCs with a large number of owners that seek outside funding. To be on the safe side, you should include clear provisions of LLC membership interests in LLC membership certificates. It makes the necessary restrictions on the type of membership that investors can easily enforce.

How do You Start an LLC?

LLCs are the easiest formal structures out there to start your business. LLCs have unique protection structures when it comes to your business gains and personal liabilities. We can help you start an LLC in just six steps:

You need to include any LLC company membership certification information in the operating agreement. It should contain the process of issuing the certificate, the percentage of each membership certificate, as well as the value of each membership interest.

FAQ – LLC Membership Certificate

A: There are two different ways of creating an LLC membership certificate: Purchase a blank certificate from an office supply store in the area or acquire one from a registered agent. If you plan to start from scratch, you should include the date, name of the LLC, the state where you plan to establish the company, and the percentage of the number of units of ownership you plan to issue.

A: An LLC membership certificate or membership interest certificate is a document that allocates a specific unit of interest/ownership to members of the LLC. Membership certificates are not mandatory for all LLCs. LLC membership certificates are beneficial for LLCs that plan to seek outside investors.

A: It all starts with the operating agreement of the LLC. All membership interests should be detailed in the operating agreement along with how they are issued – whether in units or percentages. You should also include the type of consideration that will be exchanged for membership interest such as cash, services, or personal assets.

The party that plans to issue membership interests must be documented under LLC membership resolutions in the operating agreement. We recommend using the services of a qualified attorney to issue membership interests for your LLC company to make sure the process is correctly executed.