Can I use a UPS Store address as the principal place of business of an LLC ?

I am planning to create an LLC for an online and home-based type of business but my apartment's management does not allow anybody to use their address for commercial purpose. Since this is a startup, I can't afford to lease an office space just to have an address.

Per Illinois form LLC-5.5, it says

" Address of principal place of business where records of the company will be kept: (PO Box alone or c/o is unacceptable. "

Since UPS Stores are using physical street address instead of a normal PO BOX number, can I use it as my LLC address? For sure "records" are not there since it is only a mailbox, am I allowed to use it?

Please share your thoughts on this... Thanks.

Yes. That is what Mail Boxes, Etc. is in business to do. You can get a PO Box for your regular mail and use their address as your delivery address for packages. Contact them for more info.

no, that would not count as your physical address.

Management at your apartment complex would never know that its your business address. Its for private correspondence and you hold the key to you mail box. Its not like the Division of Corporations sends them a notice or anything. Good Luck with you business.

Could you not have two addresses: one for mailing purposes (UPS Store) and your physical location, where you would NOT be receiving mail and therefore not in violation of your apt.'s management? This would be better from a legal standpoint.

For the purposes of filing the LCC-5, what do they do with this information exactly? Meaning, is it simply kept on file, or would this require you to get tons of business mailing to that address? Perhaps you can list your home address (your apt) for the LCC-5, but for everything else list the UPS Store address as your company's business address. I would think for tax returns, you would have to use your apt address because that's where you actually work and pay taxes.

Come to think of it, ask an attorney or CPA, since in setting up an LLC you likely are going to need the help of one or both of them down the road.

You know, this is a very good question and I am afraid I don't have an answer, except for you to call your state licensing department and ask for a clarification.

I DO have a suggestion though, I actually have a friend in another state (not Illinois) who rented a storage unit (the smallest one they had) and put the address of the storage unit on his business license for the physical address and then used his personal address for the mailing address. He had his own home, but building codes would not let him "operate a business" from there - based on traffic in the area. All storage units have a number so the address read:

NAME OF COMPANY
123 West Big Street, Unit B-2
Anyoldcity, Anyoldstate 12345

This storage unit is where he kept all the records for his business, plus all the junk you would normally store in a storage unit. :-)