How Much Does an LLC Cost in Virginia?

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: August 23, 2026

Methodology
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Filing the Articles of Organization costs $100. That single payment forms the LLC with the state. After that, the LLC owes a $50 annual registration fee each year following the year it was formed. The deadline falls on the last day of the LLC's anniversary month, each time.

Virginia calls that yearly charge an annual registration fee, not an annual report, and keeps the two apart. There's no extra report to file. It's just the payment itself, made through the state's online filing portal.

Everything past those two line items depends on the business. Several things vary from owner to owner: a hired registered agent, a reserved name, a local business license, and which taxes actually apply. Those add up differently for each LLC. The table below sorts each one by when it comes due.

Quick Summary

Cost to Start an LLC in Virginia

Two things stand between an idea and an active Virginia LLC. One is a required filing. The other is an ongoing need that has to be in place before that filing goes through. A third item only matters to an owner who wants a name locked down early.

1. Articles of Organization Filing Fee ($100 - Mandatory)

A Virginia LLC exists once the Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011) are filed with the State Corporation Commission (SCC). The fee is $100 whether the form goes in online through the Clerk's Information System (CIS) or by mail.

Filing online tends to move faster, especially with the system-generated filing image instead of an uploaded attachment. That combination often gets a filing approved within the same business day [1]. Owners in licensed occupations like law or medicine file a Professional LLC instead, through Form LLC1103, at the same $100 fee.

2. Registered Agent ($0 Self / $80-$300 Hired - Mandatory to Maintain)

Each Virginia LLC has to keep a registered agent with a Virginia street address on file. That's the spot where legal papers and state notices get delivered.

Naming yourself or a fellow LLC member costs nothing extra. The address has to be a genuine Virginia street location. A P.O. box only works in a town under 2,000 people with no numbered street address available.

Owners who'd rather keep a home address off the public record often hire a Virginia registered agent service instead. That often runs $80 to $300 a year. Updating the registered agent or registered office later costs nothing either way.

3. Business Name Reservation ($10 - Optional)

Reserving a name ahead of filing isn't required. Filing the Articles of Organization itself locks in the name the moment the SCC approves it. An owner who's ready to move can skip straight to that step.

An owner who isn't ready yet, but wants a specific name held, can reserve it for $10 through the SCC. Transferring an already-reserved name to someone else costs another $10.

Costs After Your Virginia LLC Is Approved

Formation is the entry fee. Other LLC costs follow depending on the business itself. Some of it recurs each year. Some of it only applies in certain situations.

1. Annual Registration Fee ($50 - Mandatory)

Each Virginia LLC owes $50 each year, starting the year after formation rather than the formation year itself. Payment is due by the last day of the month the LLC was first formed. Missing that date adds a flat $25 penalty on top [2].

Three months past due, the LLC gets cancelled on its own, by law, with no extra warning sent. Getting it back active after that takes its own reinstatement filing. The cost runs $100 plus each fee that built up while it sat cancelled.

2. Local Business License (Varies - If Applicable)

Local business licenses come from the city or county, handled by the Commissioner of the Revenue where the LLC operates. The state itself stays out of it. Cost and rules swing by locality and industry, often landing somewhere between $50 and $100 or more.

3. Taxes

Virginia has no state-level tax specifically for LLCs. The owners and the business itself still owe several, though. What follows only applies where relevant:

• Personal income tax on pass-through profits: LLC profits flow to the owners' personal returns. Virginia taxes that income in four brackets. It starts at 2% on the first $3,000, then 3% up to $5,000, 5% up to $17,000, and 5.75% above that. The top bracket starts at just $17,000. Because of that, most owners end up paying close to 5.75% on the bulk of their earnings.
• Sales and use tax: an LLC selling taxable goods or services registers with the Virginia Department of Taxation. It collects at the general rate of 5.3%. Several localities charge more, up to 7% in a handful of areas.
• Federal self-employment tax: a flat 15.3% on net self-employment earnings, covering Social Security and Medicare. The IRS collects it regardless of which state the LLC operates in. Virginia itself levies no extra self-employment charge.

4. Employer Identification Number ($0 - Free but Often Needed)

An EIN comes only from the IRS, at no charge. It usually takes a few minutes through the online application. Most banks require one before opening a business account, and hiring any employee makes it required.

5. Business Insurance (Varies - Mandatory With Two or More Employees)

Virginia LLCs with two or more employees have to carry workers' compensation insurance. That rule comes from the state's Workers' Compensation Act.

Coverage often runs $40 to $50 a month per employee. The actual premium depends on industry, payroll size and claims history. A licensed private insurer sells the coverage. No state agency does.

6. Operating Agreement (Optional but Recommended)

Nothing in Virginia law forces an LLC to file an operating agreement with the state. Drafting one privately costs nothing. Many banks ask to see one before opening a business account, though.

An operating agreement also settles disputes over money or control before they happen rather than after. A free single-member template covers the basics. Hiring an attorney or buying a formation-service template runs $100 to $200 or more. Costs climb higher for a multi-member LLC with a more complicated ownership split.

7. DBA / Fictitious Name Registration ($10 - Optional)

An LLC operating under a different name needs a DBA in Virginia. That means filing a Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name with the SCC. Virginia handles this at the state level rather than through the local circuit court. It costs $10, with no renewal fee since it stays on file until released [3].

8. Expedited Processing (Optional, Online Filings Only)

Filers in a hurry can pay extra through CIS to speed up review. Next-business-day turnaround runs $50 or $100, and a same-day response costs $200 if submitted early enough. Paper and mailed filings can't be expedited at any price. Expedite fees don't get refunded either, even if the SCC ends up rejecting the filing.

FAQs

References:

1. https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/new-business-resources/
2. https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/maintaining-your-business/
3. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter5/section59.1-70/