How to Start an LLC: Steps, Costs and Requirements by State

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: September 8, 2026

FACT CHECKED by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney

Methodology
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You form an LLC by filing a formation document with your state's business-filings agency, and paying a filing fee. Some states call it Articles of Organization. Others call it a Certificate of Formation or a Certificate of Organization. The fee runs from $35 in Montana to $500 by mail in Massachusetts, across the 37 states in this guide.

The paperwork follows the same five steps everywhere. Only the department, the deadlines, and the dollar figures change from state to state.

This page walks through those five steps. It covers what a state asks for, what it costs, and what changes once you're approved. The facts table below covers all 37 states side by side. Each name links to that state's own page.

Quick Summary

• A handful of state-specific rules can catch you off guard. Publication, unusual annual-report timing, and entity-level taxes each apply in only a few states.
• Every state uses the same five formation steps. Only the document name, agency, and deadlines change by state.
• Most states skip publication and require an annual report. Arizona and New York are the two exceptions worth knowing before you file.

LLC Formation Requirements by State

Find your own state below. Each row lists its exact document, fee, portal, and annual-report rule. It's pulled from this site's own state guides. The full state list further down links to each one's own page, with naming rules and foreign-LLC registration.

How to Start an LLC: 5 Steps

These five steps apply in every state. Only the agency name, document title, and fees change. Your state's own page, linked in the table above, fills in those specifics.

Step 1: Choose and check your LLC name

Pick a name that includes an LLC designator, such as "LLC" or "Limited Liability Company." Then search your state's business-name database. Confirm nothing similar is already registered.

Most states also let you reserve a name for a fee before you file. That reservation fee is a separate line item in the cost table below. It usually holds the name for one to four months.

Step 2: Appoint a registered agent

A registered agent is a person or company with a physical address in your state. They accept legal and state mail on the LLC's behalf. You can serve as your own registered agent if you have an in-state address. Or you can hire a commercial registered agent service, which usually also sends reminders before your annual report is due.

Step 3: File your state's formation document

File the state's own formation document with the agency named in the table above. Pay the filing fee at the same time. Most states let you file online, by mail, or in person, though not every state offers all three.

Online filing is usually the fastest option. It's also the only one that gives instant confirmation the state received your form. The next section covers what that filing actually involves.

Step 4: Create an operating agreement

An operating agreement sets out ownership shares, how profits and losses are split, and who manages the LLC. Most states don't require you to file one. But each state's own default rules apply automatically if you skip writing one. A written agreement is what lets members set their own terms instead.

Step 5: Get an EIN

An Employer Identification Number from the IRS is free [1]. It's usually issued right away online once your LLC is approved.

By default, the IRS taxes a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity. A multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership by default [2]. Either one can elect corporate treatment instead. You need an EIN to open a business bank account, hire employees, or file taxes any other way.

Filing Your Formation Document: What to Expect

Every state's formation document asks for roughly the same information. It wants your LLC's name and your registered agent's name and address. It wants to know if the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed.

It also asks for the name and address of whoever is filing. Some states also ask for a business purpose or an effective date.

Filing fees vary widely, from the low end named above to the high end in a state like Massachusetts. Most states charge $50 to $150.

Nearly every state now accepts online filing through its own portal, named in the table above. Online filings are usually processed faster than paper ones. Only a handful of states publish an exact turnaround time, though.

Most states don't publish a list of common rejection reasons. New Hampshire, Georgia, and Delaware all confirm they keep no such list, though Georgia does warn that a mailed check without a pre-printed address can delay or reject a filing. A careful name search before you file is still the best safeguard everywhere.

Once approved, the state sends back a stamped or certified copy of your filing. That's the document banks and the IRS will ask to see later. The cost section below names what an extra certified copy costs in a few states.

What It Costs to Start an LLC

The state filing fee is the only mandatory cost in every state. But most LLCs end up paying more than that. Name reservation, where a state offers it, is a common add-on: $15 in New Hampshire, $25 online in Georgia, $75 in Delaware.

Skipping a commercial registered agent service saves money in most states. New Hampshire and Georgia both charge $0 when a member or manager serves, and neither publishes a commercial rate at all.

Expedited filing fees vary enormously by state and by how fast you need it. Georgia charges $1,000 for one-hour service. Delaware charges the same $1,000 for its own one-hour tier. New Hampshire's only expedite option is a flat $25.

Beyond formation, nearly every state charges a recurring annual or biennial report fee. That fee ranges from $0 up to several hundred dollars a year.

Arizona and Missouri require no report at all. States with an entity-level tax sit at the high end. The table above names each state's exact annual-report fee and due date.

A certified copy of your filing is another cost people tend to forget. New Hampshire charges $5 plus $1 per page. Delaware charges a flat $50. Any local business license is separate again, and doesn't show up on the state filing fee schedule.

What to Do After Your LLC Is Approved

Once your state approves your LLC, a handful of tasks turn the paperwork into a working business. None of them are formation steps, but skipping them tends to cost more later than doing them up front.

1. Open a business bank account

Bring your approved formation document and your EIN to open a dedicated business account. Keeping business and personal money separate is what actually preserves an LLC's liability protection. Most banks also ask to see your operating agreement, even in states that don't require you to write one.

2. Get required licenses and permits

You may need a general business license, a seller's permit, or a professional license, depending on your business and location. These come from your city, county, or a state licensing board. They're separate from the LLC filing itself. Skip one you actually need, and a fine is the usual consequence.

3. Register for state and local taxes

Register with your state's revenue department for the taxes that apply to your business. That can mean sales tax, employer withholding, or an entity-level tax the state charges LLCs directly. Some states require this registration before your first sale. The rules section below names each state's entity-level tax.

4. File your state's annual report

Most states require a recurring report, annual or biennial. It keeps your registered agent and business address current with the state.

Miss the deadline, and most states charge a late fee. Keep missing it, and the state can eventually dissolve the LLC. Put the date on your calendar as soon as your LLC is approved. The exact fee and department are in the table above.

How to Start an LLC in Your State

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Washington D.C.

Rules That Change by State

A handful of rules apply in only a few states. But they matter a lot if yours is one of them.

1. Publication requirements

Arizona and New York are the only two states in this guide with a publication requirement. Both make you publish notice of your new LLC in a newspaper.

Arizona waives this inside Maricopa and Pima counties. There, the Corporation Commission posts the notice online instead. New York requires two newspapers for six consecutive weeks. Then you file a $50 Certificate of Publication, within 120 days of formation.

2. States with no annual report, or an unusual one

Arizona, Missouri, and South Carolina don't require a standard LLC to file any annual report. Delaware skips the report too, but charges a flat $400 annual tax instead.

Alaska and New York file only every other year. Alaska's Biennial Report is $100. New York's Biennial Statement is $9. Skip any of these and the consequences look the same everywhere else: a late fee first, then eventual dissolution.

3. Entity-level state taxes

Most states tax LLC income only after it reaches the members' own returns. A handful tax the LLC itself instead.

Delaware charges a $400 flat annual tax. Rhode Island charges a $400 minimum tax. Tennessee's Franchise and Excise Tax runs 0.25% of net worth, with a $100 minimum.

Kentucky's Limited Liability Entity Tax has a $175 minimum. Nevada's Commerce Tax applies only above $4,000,000 in gross revenue.

Washington and Hawaii tax gross receipts instead, through the B&O tax and the General Excise Tax. Each state's own page names its exact tax and agency.

How Long LLC Approval Takes

Processing time depends more on the filing method than on the state itself. Filing online is same-day or next-business-day in states like Colorado, Mississippi, South Dakota, and Vermont. Those portals approve routine filings automatically.

Mail filings take longer everywhere. Maryland is a good example: six to eight weeks by mail, versus seven to ten business days online.

Expedited service, where a state offers it, is usually the fastest way to cut that wait. Check your state's own page for its expedite fee and turnaround, since only some states publish one.

A state that quotes no turnaround for its standard channel will often still commit to one figure: its paid expedite tier. Filing early in the week helps too, since some states batch-process paper filings on set days.

FAQs

References:

1. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online
2. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/single-member-limited-liability-companies