Do You Have to Be an LLC to Hook Up Google AdSense? (Or Can You Be a Freelancer With a Domain and Content?)

Do you have to form an LLC before hooking up Google AdSense? No — a freelancer with a domain, original content, and a Social Security number can sign up as an individual and get paid under their own name, no business paperwork required. But there's a catch most guides never mention: your AdSense account type and payee name are effectively permanent, and switching to a business entity later usually means starting a whole new account. This guide covers what Google actually requires, how the individual account and W-9 taxes work for freelancers, when an LLC genuinely becomes worth it, and the one decision to get right before you hit submit.