Articles of Organization, also referred to as a Certificate of Formation in several states, is a legal document that establishes the existence of an LLC with the state. As required by state laws, you must file the Articles as part of the LLC formation process.
An Operating Agreement, on the contrary, is not required to be filed with the state. However, this doesn’t diminish its significance in the formation process. Moreover, it becomes a more important document in the life of an LLC because it sets important LLC governance rules. If set properly these rules help streamline relationships and formal interactions between the LLC members moving forward.