Filing fees, annual reports and registered agent rules for all 50 states and DC, checked against each state's own filing office.
Fifty states and DC, each with its own form, fee and deadline. Tap a tile for the numbers, all pulled from the state's own filing office.
State ledger
Filed for you, first-year price
Both services file your paperwork and act as your agent. They win for different people.
$39 + state fee
Best if you want your home address off public records. Northwest lists its own address on your filings and scans your legal mail. Agent service runs $125 a year after that.
See NorthwestRead our Northwest review
$0 + state fee
Best if the lowest upfront price matters most. The Basic package files your LLC for the state fee alone and includes a free first year of registered agent service, then $149 a year.
See BizeeRead our Bizee reviewA registered agent is
the address the state
serves your lawsuit to.
Every LLC needs one, in every state where it's registered. Pick it with care, because whatever address you list goes on the public record. Registered agent rules in all 50 states.
Where you file changes what you pay in year one and every year after.
See LLC cost by state
Each fee, form name and deadline on this site comes from a Secretary of State page, an official fee schedule or the statute itself. Every state guide lists those sources and the date we checked them.
When we can't confirm something, we mark it unconfirmed. We'd rather show a gap than a wrong number you pay for later.
Read our methodologyIt depends entirely on the state. State filing fees on this site currently run from $35 in Montana to $520 in Massachusetts. Some states add an annual report fee or a minimum tax on top. Our LLC cost by state table shows first-year and yearly totals side by side.
Yes. Every state requires an LLC to name a registered agent with a physical street address in that state, available during business hours to accept legal papers. You can usually serve as your own agent if you live there, but your address goes on the public record. That privacy trade-off is why many owners hire a service.
Yes. You can file directly with your state for just the state fee. Formation services charge for convenience, a registered agent address, and reminders. Each of our state guides links to the official filing portal so you can do it yourself if you prefer.
From each state's Secretary of State or equivalent filing office, its fee schedules, and its statutes. Every state page lists its sources and the date we last checked them. If we couldn't confirm a figure with the state, we say so instead of guessing.
Some links to formation services pay us a commission if you buy. That never changes the state fees we publish, and we tell you when filing directly with the state is the cheaper route. Read our affiliate disclosure.
Our research currently flags Arizona, Nebraska and New York. Publication can add real cost, so check the state guide before you file.
Certificate of next steps
Read your state's rules first, then file it yourself or let a service handle it.
