How Much Does an LLC Cost in Wyoming (A Breakdown of Fees)
Filing the Articles of Organization costs $100 by mail, or slightly more online through WyoBiz. That one payment forms the LLC.
Wyoming doesn't stop there. Every LLC also owes an Annual Report each year, and the tax that comes with it isn't fixed at one number. It's covered in full below.
What else you'll spend depends on the LLC. A registered agent has to stay on file the whole time the business exists, whether that's an owner or a paid service. A possible name hold, a trade name filing, and a few optional costs round out the list. Below, everything is sorted by when it actually comes due.
Quick Summary
- The Annual Report tax scales with the LLC's in-state assets instead of charging one fixed price.
- Wyoming skips income tax entirely, but sales tax and the Annual Report still cost money.
- Paid rush filing exists at the Secretary of State, but it skips new LLC paperwork entirely.
| Cost Item | Amount | Frequency | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization | $100 mail / $102.40 online (2.4% card fee, min $1) | One-time | Yes |
| Annual Report License Tax | Greater of $60 or $0.0002 x Wyoming assets | Every year, first day of anniversary month | Yes |
| Registered Agent Service | $0 self / $100-$300 hired | Every year | Yes (self-serve allowed) |
| Name Reservation | $60 | One-time, optional | No |
| Operating Agreement | $0-$200 template / $500-$1,000 attorney-drafted | One-time | No |
| Certificate of Good Standing | $20 (Wyoming) / varies by other state | As needed | If required by another state |
| Business License/Sales Tax Permit | Varies / $0 for sales tax license | Varies | If applicable |
| Trade Name (DBA) Registration | $100 | One-time | No |
| Professional/Formation Services | $100-$1,000+ | One-time | No |
| Expedited Filing | $700-$1,400 (not available for initial formation) | One-time | No |
| EIN | $0 | One-time | Yes for multi-member, if applicable for single-member |
Cost to Start an LLC In Wyoming
Two costs can't be skipped: the state filing fee, and a registered agent kept on file continuously. Everything past that is optional.
1. LLC Formation Filing Fee ($100 - Mandatory)
The Wyoming LLC filing fee is $100 (see the fee schedule linked in the cost table above), and you pay it when you submit the Articles of Organization.
File online through WyoBiz and a 2.4% card fee (minimum $1) gets added. On this filing, that's $2.40, for a total of $102.40. Pay by mail with a check or money order and you skip that extra charge.
This fee is a one-time cost. It covers the paperwork that creates your LLC, and it's due the moment you apply. It doesn't turn into a yearly bill on its own. That comes from a separate charge: the Annual Report License Tax, covered next.
2. Annual Report License Tax (Greater of $60 or Asset-Based Rate - Mandatory)
Every Wyoming LLC files an Annual Report each year, whether it was formed in-state or registered in from elsewhere. It's due on the first day of your LLC's anniversary month. Say your Articles of Organization were filed on May 15. Your Annual Report would then be due every May 1 after that.
The tax owed with that report isn't fixed at $60. You pay whichever number is bigger: $60 flat, or two-tenths of one mill ($0.0002) on the LLC's assets located and used in Wyoming.
Here's what that means in practice. An LLC with $300,000 or less in Wyoming assets pays $60 either way, since $0.0002 times $300,000 comes out to exactly $60. Own more than that in the state, and the tax climbs from there.
Filing online adds the same 2.4% card fee (minimum $1), based on the tax you owe. But that option has a limit.
Owe more than $500 in tax, and the state's online system won't take the filing at all. At that point, you print the report at the confirmation step and mail it in with payment. Mailing itself costs nothing extra.
3. Registered Agent (Required by Law, $0 Self-Serve or $100 - $300 Hired)
Wyoming law says every LLC must have a registered agent [1]. A registered agent service in Wyoming usually runs $100 to $300 a year, depending on who you pick, if you hire one.
That agent is a person or business with a real street address in the state. They must be reachable during business hours to accept legal papers for the LLC. The requirement itself isn't optional. Only the choice to pay someone else to fill the role is.
An owner, or another LLC member, can take on the job for free. The catch: if nobody's there when a document arrives, that falls on the LLC. A paid service handles official paperwork on a set schedule instead. That's why some owners pay for it.
4. Name Reservation ($60 Optional, but Recommended)
Got a name picked out but not ready to file yet? Hold it for 120 days for $60 using the Application for Reservation of Name (linked in the cost table above), paid by check or money order. This one can't go in by email. Mail it to the Secretary of State's office, and expect up to 15 business days to process.
Reserving a name keeps anyone else from claiming it while you sort out the rest of the paperwork. Ready to file the Articles of Organization right now instead? Skip this step, since name availability gets checked automatically at that point anyway. Renaming an LLC later works differently: see how to change an LLC name in Wyoming for that process.
Expenses Following the Approval of Your LLC
Once your LLC is approved, a few more costs can show up. What applies depends on your industry, where you operate, and whether another state needs anything from you.
1. Certificate Of Good Standing ($20 Optional)
Registering as a foreign LLC in another state often means proving you're current back home in Wyoming. That's what this certificate does.
Wyoming charges $20 for one, and you can also get it online at no cost through WyoBiz. A different state's own certificate can cost more, depending on that state's own fee schedule.
2. Business Licenses And Permits (Optional)
What licenses or permits you need depends on your industry and where you're based, so the cost isn't the same for every business.
One thing worth flagging: sell taxable goods or services in Wyoming, and you'll need a sales tax license from the Department of Revenue before you collect the state's 4% sales tax. Some cities and counties add their own tax on top of that. The license itself costs nothing.
Wyoming charges no personal or corporate income tax at all. That doesn't make the state free to run a business in, though, once you count sales tax and the yearly report tax above.
3. Professional Services (Optional)
Hiring an attorney, an accountant, or a formation service is optional. Skip all three, and you're more likely to redo paperwork down the road.
Prices vary by provider and by scope. A formation service usually runs $100 to $200. An attorney handling a trickier filing, or reviewing your operating agreement, typically charges more. Get a quote first either way.
4. Expedited Processing Fees (Optional, Doesn't Apply to Initial Formation)
The Secretary of State's rush filing service (linked in the cost table above) costs $700 for next-business-day work, or $1,400 for same-day, on top of your regular filing fee.
New LLCs don't qualify, though. The state's own rules exclude any filing you can already do online, and forming a new LLC is one of those. This rush option is for other paper filings instead.
5. DBA (Optional)
A DBA (called a Trade Name Registration in Wyoming) costs $100, paid to the Secretary of State. It's not the same thing as forming an LLC.
It just lets your business operate under a different name than its legal one. Filing a DBA can also mean picking up extra licenses or permits, separate from that state fee. Other optional LLC costs worth knowing about live outside this Wyoming-specific list too.
An operating agreement isn't required by the state, but skipping one leaves ownership and decisions unwritten. A free single-member template covers the basics (see the cost table above). A multi-member LLC typically pays $100 to $200 for a fuller template, or $500 to $1,000 for one an attorney drafts.
An EIN from the IRS costs nothing and usually takes just minutes online. A multi-member LLC needs one to file taxes. A single-member LLC only needs one once it hires someone or opens certain bank accounts.
FAQs
Can I Withdraw or Cancel My Wyoming DBA?
Yes. A Wyoming DBA is withdrawn or canceled by mailing the Cancellation of Trade Name form to the Secretary of State, signed by the registrant, with a $10 filing fee.
Can a Non-Resident Open an LLC in Wyoming?
Yes. There's no residency or citizenship requirement to form an LLC in Wyoming. A non-resident owner still needs to appoint a registered agent with a physical Wyoming address, the same as any other LLC.
Why Is Wyoming Good for LLCs?
Wyoming is good for LLCs because the compliance list stays short: no franchise tax return, no corporate income tax return, and just one Annual Report to file each year. Owners in states with a separate franchise tax filing on top of everything else tend to notice the difference most.
Does Wyoming Require an Operating Agreement?
No. Wyoming doesn't require an LLC to have an operating agreement, but creating one is still worth doing. It sets out ownership structure, how profits get split, and how decisions get made, which helps head off disputes between members later.
References:
- https://sos.wyo.gov/Forms/WyoBiz/Registered_Offices_and_Agents_Act_Chapter_28.pdf
