2025 BOI rule update US entities are now exempt. Check if you still need to file →
We answer most inquiries within one business hour during US business days.
Illinois · Reinstatement Guide

Reinstate an LLC in Illinois: two hundred dollars, plus the missing years.

The company lapsed, the state acted, and now the way back runs through the Secretary of State: the application for reinstatement (llc-35.40), $200, plus the catch-up the state expects. Illinois prices reinstatement at $200 plus everything that went unfiled, up to six years of it. Here is the whole comeback, in order, and how to make sure there is never a second one.

Restored on the Illinois official record · standing back, history intact
Illinois reinstatement deskCaught up, refiled, and restored on the record
ACCURACY VERIFIED

The reinstatement prepared and filed with the state, back filings caught up, so the company returns with clean standing.

The comeback, decoded

Four facts cover the whole system

1 · What reinstatement is

The filing that restores a lapsed company to the record: the application for reinstatement (llc-35.40), $200, with the Secretary of State, alongside whatever the state requires caught up. Standing returns when it is accepted; the company continues rather than starting over. We prepare and file it →

2 · The $200 door back in

Illinois, which requires good standing even to quit, prices the way back at $200: the LLC-35.40 application plus every delinquent annual report and fee, with the back-filings capped at six years. The state that made leaving strict made returning expensive, current is simply the only cheap place to stand in Illinois.

3 · What must be caught up

Every delinquent annual report and its fees, capped at six years of back-filings, alongside the $200 LLC-35.40 application. Illinois reinstates companies whole, not partially.

4 · What it costs

The state side starts at $200 for the application for reinstatement (llc-35.40), plus the back filings and their fees. When we handle it, the total is the state fees plus a transaction fee plus our service fee, one-time, itemized on the pricing page before you pay, with the back filings prepared and the recurring deadline put on autopilot so the lapse never repeats.

✓ Accuracy verified against the official filing requirements · checked 2026

The way back, in order

Four steps back, and one that keeps you back

CONFIRM THE STATUSCheck exactly what the state did and why: which filings lapsed, what status attached, and what any bank or counterparty currently sees. The cure depends on the cause, and guessing wastes weeks.
CURE THE CAUSEFix what triggered the lapse: the missed reports filed, the agent restored, the accounts squared. Reinstatement applications get rejected when the underlying cause is still standing.
THE BACK FILINGS & FEESEvery delinquent annual report and its fees, capped at six years of back-filings, alongside the $200 LLC-35.40 application. Illinois reinstates companies whole, not partially.
THE APPLICATIONThe application for reinstatement (llc-35.40), $200, to the Secretary of State. Accepted, it restores the company to the record.
NEVER A SECOND LAPSEThe deadline that started this will come around again, forever. Autopilot is the actual fix: the filing goes in on time, every cycle, and reinstatement leaves your vocabulary.

Illinois’s comeback runs in sequence: confirm the status, cure the cause, catch up the filings, then the application for reinstatement (llc-35.40) for $200 with the Secretary of State. Done in order, standing returns and the record moves on.

The comeback is step one

Where you stand decides what you do next

You just got the notice

Move while the cure is simple: we prepare and file the reinstatement with the back filings caught up, and the company returns with clean standing.

You found out mid-deal

Banks and counterparties see the lapsed status until the cure files, and nothing else about the company has actually changed. The catch-up-plus-application path is the fastest route back to a clean record; we expedite exactly this situation routinely.

You want this to never recur

The deadline that started this never stops coming. Put the recurring filing on autopilot and the lapse never repeats.

The six-year cap

We owed four years of reports, and were grateful it caps at six

The team sequencing the comeback together
The Chicago company’s comeback was an exercise in arrears: four delinquent reports, their fees, and the $200 application, filed together. The clerk mentioned the six-year cap almost as consolation. Illinois’s lesson is consistent at both doors: stay current, it is the only affordable status here. In Illinois, lapsing is a loan. The reinstatement is the balloon payment.
Co-owner, Chicago logistics companyFiles the anniversary report early every year now
Arrears clearedApplication filedStanding back

Representative composite drawn from customer outcomes.

BosAI watches the deadline that started this

Ask what the reinstatement means for you

BosAIYour workspace · Illinois records connected

How do I reinstate my LLC in Illinois?

File the LLC-35.40 with every delinquent annual report and fee, capped at six years, plus the $200 application fee, one submission, company restored whole. We prepare and file it with the back filings caught up and the deadline put on autopilot after.

Do I need tax clearance to reinstate in Illinois?

No: Illinois adds no tax-clearance step to the reinstatement, the application and the back filings carry it. Final accuracy still matters, the state cross-checks what you owe, which is why we prepare the catch-up filings together with the application.

How long do I have to reinstate in Illinois?

Illinois does not run a short forfeiture clock on the reinstatement itself, but the arrears grow annually until the six-year cap, and the company stands publicly dissolved throughout. The bill only moves in one direction; file before it gets there.
Create your free workspace →
One comeback done right. The platform keeps it that way

Everything that lapsed, caught up in one place

Business Search hub

Every state's record, one guide per state

Name Availability

Distinguishable is not the same as safe, check properly

Registered Agent

A Illinois address that never misses a service of process

Compliance Calendar

Your deadlines tracked, so the record stays boring

CRM

The counterparties you vet become the clients you keep

Business Banking

Open the account the day your filing comes back

Explore the Business OS
Go deeper

Illinois, beyond the comeback

Cornerstone

How to Start an LLC in Illinois

Name search to filed Articles, the Illinois playbook.

Read the guide →
Costs

What a Illinois LLC Costs

State fees, the recurring bill, and the first-year total.

See the numbers →
State hub

Form a Business in Illinois

Entity types, taxes, and the Illinois playbook.

Open the hub →
File

Form an LLC in Illinois

From clean name to filed Articles, handled.

Start the filing →
Frequently asked

Illinois Reinstatement questions.

How do I reinstate an LLC in Illinois?

Cure the cause, catch up the filings, and submit the application for reinstatement (llc-35.40) with the Secretary of State, $200 plus the back fees. Standing returns when it is accepted, and the company continues rather than starting over. We handle the whole sequence as part of reinstatement service.

How much does it cost to reinstate a Illinois LLC?

The application is $200, plus the back filings and their fees, the real total depends on how long the lapse ran. When we handle it, the total is the state fees plus a transaction fee plus our service fee, one-time, itemized on the pricing page before you pay, with the back filings prepared and the recurring deadline put on autopilot so the lapse never repeats.

Does Illinois require tax clearance to reinstate?

No: Illinois adds no tax-clearance step to the reinstatement, the application and the back filings carry it. Final accuracy still matters, the state cross-checks what you owe, which is why we prepare the catch-up filings together with the application.

How long do I have to reinstate my Illinois LLC?

Illinois does not impose a short statutory window for this cure, but waiting has costs anyway: back fees accumulate, the name loses protection over time, and banks see the lapsed status until the filing lands. The practical deadline is the next moment your standing matters.

Should I reinstate or just form a new LLC?

Reinstate, in most cases: the cure preserves the formation date, the EIN, the contracts, the name, and the history, while a new entity resets all of it and leaves the old company’s loose ends dangling. Re-forming only wins when the back fees exceed the value of continuity, we run that math with you before filing either way.

What should I do after the company is reinstated?

Confirm the standing shows clean on the record, tell the bank and any counterparties who saw the lapse, and put the recurring deadline on autopilot, the filing that started this comes due again on schedule, and the second lapse is never cheaper than the first.

Can File.Business reinstate my Illinois LLC for me?

Yes: we confirm the status, cure the cause, prepare the back filings, and submit the application, then put the recurring deadline on autopilot so the lapse never repeats. When we handle it, the total is the state fees plus a transaction fee plus our service fee, one-time, itemized on the pricing page before you pay, with the back filings prepared and the recurring deadline put on autopilot so the lapse never repeats.

Still specific to your situation? Ask BosAI ↑

Start your business in the next 5 minutes.

No state-fee markup. Pay only the state fee. 60-day money-back guarantee.

No state-fee markup 60-day money-back Cancel anytime