Starting an LLC usually costs between $100 and $800 in the first year, though the total depends heavily on your state and how much professional help you use. The only fee you can’t avoid is your state’s filing fee for the Articles of Organization, which ranges from $50 to $520. Everything else — registered agent service, operating agreement, business licenses, and in three states a newspaper publication requirement — is a choice or a location-specific add-on. Here is how much it costs to start an LLC once you account for each piece.
The State Filing Fee Is the One Cost You Can’t Skip
The Articles of Organization (called a Certificate of Organization or Certificate of Formation in some states) is the document that legally creates your LLC. You file it with your state’s business filing office, and the fee is set by statute. Across all 50 states, this one-time charge ranges from $50 in states like Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Michigan up to $520 in Massachusetts. Most states fall in the $50 to $200 range.
That fee only puts your LLC on the state’s registry. It doesn’t cover any of the other formation expenses below, and it doesn’t exempt you from the annual fees your state may charge later to keep the LLC in good standing.
Registered Agent: $0 to $300 Per Year
Every state requires your LLC to designate a registered agent, meaning a person or company with a physical address in the state who can accept legal documents like lawsuits and government notices during business hours.
You can serve as your own registered agent for free if you have a consistent physical address in the state and don’t mind that address appearing on public records. Hiring a commercial registered agent runs $100 to $300 per year. Premium tiers that include compliance reminders, annual report help, and digital document storage sit at the higher end of that range. This is a recurring cost, not a one-time fee.
The privacy tradeoff matters more than most people expect. When you act as your own agent, your home address becomes part of the public filing record, and that record is searchable. A commercial agent’s address replaces yours on those documents.
Operating Agreement: $0 to $2,500
An operating agreement is the internal document that sets who owns what percentage, how profits and losses split, how decisions get made, and what happens if a member leaves. A few states legally require one, even for single-member LLCs. In states that don’t require it, going without means your state’s default LLC rules govern the business, and those defaults rarely match what the members actually intended.
Cost depends on where you get it:
- Free templates included with many formation services work for straightforward single-member LLCs but stay generic.
- Mid-tier formation service packages, running $100 to $300, typically bundle a slightly customized operating agreement with other documents.
- An attorney-drafted agreement runs $500 to $2,500, with multi-member LLCs involving buyout provisions, capital contribution schedules, or complex profit-sharing landing at the higher end.
For a single-member LLC running a simple business, a template is usually fine. For multi-member LLCs, this is the wrong place to save money. Disputes over ownership, profit splits, and exit terms cost far less to prevent than to litigate.
EIN: Free From the IRS
Your LLC needs an Employer Identification Number from the IRS if it has employees, more than one member, or elects to be taxed as a corporation. Single-member LLCs without employees often get one anyway to keep personal and business tax reporting separate. The IRS issues EINs for free through its online application, which takes about 10 minutes.
Third-party websites charge $50 to $150 to “obtain” an EIN for you. They fill out the same free IRS form you can complete yourself, and the IRS explicitly warns against paying for the service.
Business Licenses, Permits, and DBAs
Forming an LLC is a state-level event, but operating one usually triggers local requirements too. General business licenses or business tax certificates from your city or county typically cost $50 to $300, and many renew annually. The fee often scales with projected revenue or number of employees.
Regulated industries add more. Construction, food service, healthcare, and professional consulting each carry their own permit structures. A home-based consulting LLC might need only a general business license, while a restaurant LLC faces health permits, liquor licenses, fire inspections, and zoning approvals that can collectively add thousands to startup costs.
If your LLC operates under a name different from its registered legal name, you may also need to file a DBA (doing business as) registration, sometimes called a fictitious business name filing. These run $10 to $100 depending on the jurisdiction.
Newspaper Publication in Three States
Three states require newly formed LLCs to publish a notice of their creation in local newspapers, and the rules differ in each. In the most expensive of these states, the notice must run in two newspapers for six consecutive weeks, and the cost depends on the county. Publication expenses typically fall between $600 and $1,500, with lower figures in rural counties where newspaper rates are cheaper.
Missing a publication requirement doesn’t dissolve your LLC, but it can suspend your authority to conduct business in the state, block you from filing lawsuits in state courts, and prevent you from getting a certificate of good standing. Completing publication and filing proof with the state usually restores your authority retroactively. Check whether your state has a publication requirement before you finalize a budget, because it applies in so few places that people forming there often don’t hear about it until after they file.
Optional Extras: Expedited Processing and Name Reservation
Standard processing takes anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the state and time of year. Most states offer expedited filing at extra cost. Some states charge as little as $25 for next-day service, while one-hour turnarounds in others can add $1,200 to the standard fee. If you plan a few weeks ahead, you skip this cost entirely. Online filings often process faster than paper submissions at no extra charge.
Name reservation is the other small optional cost. If you’ve picked a business name but aren’t ready to file, you can reserve it for $10 to $50, holding the name for 30 to 120 days depending on the state. Filing your Articles of Organization secures the name automatically, so reservation only makes sense if you’re waiting on partners or still drafting your operating agreement.
Formation Services: Convenient but Optional
Online formation services handle the paperwork for a fee. Basic packages often start at $0 plus the state filing fee, with the companies making their money on upsells for registered agent service, EIN filing, compliance packages, and operating agreements. Mid-range packages run $100 to $300. Comprehensive packages with rush processing and attorney consultations can exceed $500.
Every state lets you file Articles of Organization directly through its business filing website. If you’re comfortable with a straightforward government form, you can skip the markup. Formation services earn their fee when you’re forming in an unfamiliar state, filing in multiple states, or want someone else tracking deadlines for you.
Ongoing Annual Costs
Formation is the cheap part. Ongoing compliance is where budgets slip.
Annual Reports and Franchise Taxes
Most states require LLCs to file an annual or biennial report confirming your business address, registered agent, and member information. Filing fees run from $0 in several states to over $800 in the most expensive. The national average sits around $90 per year. Some states skip the report fee but impose a flat annual franchise tax as the cost of maintaining the LLC’s existence. The most expensive state charges an $800 annual franchise tax that applies even if the LLC earns no revenue.
Late penalties are where real damage happens. Some states impose flat penalties of $400 or more for missing the deadline, and continued non-compliance can lead to administrative dissolution. Reinstatement then requires paying all back fees, penalties, and sometimes interest, plus a reinstatement filing fee. The total can easily exceed what staying current would have cost. Set a calendar reminder for your state’s annual report deadline the day you form the LLC.
Registered Agent Renewal
A commercial registered agent renews every year for as long as the LLC exists. Budget $100 to $300 annually, consistent with the first-year cost.
Multi-State Registration
If your LLC does business in states beyond where it was formed, you’ll need to register as a foreign LLC in each additional state. This means filing a certificate of authority (or similar document) and paying a separate filing fee. Foreign registration fees average around $186 nationally but range from $50 to $750. You’ll also need a registered agent in each state where you register, adding another $100 to $300 per state per year.
What counts as “doing business” in another state varies. It generally includes having a physical office, employees, or significant ongoing sales activity there. Occasional sales to out-of-state customers usually don’t trigger the requirement, but the lines aren’t always clear.
Realistic Total for a Simple LLC
For a single-member LLC in a state with average fees, no publication requirement, and minimal professional help, first-year costs break down like this:
- State filing fee: $50 to $200
- Registered agent (first year): $0 if you serve as your own, $100 to $300 for a commercial service
- Operating agreement: $0 for a template, $500 or more for an attorney draft
- EIN: $0 direct from the IRS
- Business license: $50 to $300
The low end lands near $100, with a more typical first-year range of $300 to $800. Add $600 to $1,500 if you’re in a state with publication requirements. Add $500 to $2,500 if a multi-member LLC needs an attorney-drafted operating agreement. Ongoing costs for annual reports, franchise taxes, and registered agent renewal then run $100 to $800 per year depending on your state.