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Formation Facts

What the state wants, and what it costs.

LLC briefings for every state

What every state asks of your LLC, and what it costs

Forming and keeping an LLC means paying the state and filing what it requires, and every state does it a little differently. These briefings explain the fee, the yearly requirements and the registered agent rule for your state in plain terms, with each figure tied to an official source. After the facts comes our opinion: the services we would use, what they charge and what happens to the price when you renew. Pick your state to start, or look at the lowest-cost states below.

Briefing by the Formation Facts team

Facts at a glance

  • States covered

    50

    Three briefings each

  • Lowest three-year state fees

    $50

    Arizona and others

  • Highest three-year state fees

    $2,490

    California

The ten states with the smallest state fee totals

RankStateThree-year state fees
1stArizona$50
1stMississippi$50
1stMissouri$50
1stNew Mexico$50
5thMontana$75
6thHawaii$76
7thIowa$80
8thUtah$95
9thOhio$99
10thColorado$100
See every state

Three briefings for every state

  • 1

    LLC cost guides

    What the state takes when you file, whether you must send in a report and what being late costs, how three years of state fees compare with the other 49, a calculator and the services we recommend.

    LLC costs by state
  • 2

    Registered agent guides

    What the agent rule means for you, who can serve, where the address must be, what the state bills yearly and the agents we recommend.

    Registered agent rules by state
  • 3

    Foreign LLC guides

    What it costs to register an out-of-state LLC, which form to use, the paper you need from your home state, what skipping registration can cost and our recommendations.

    Foreign LLC fees by state

Best services, nationwide

Methodology

How we pick the services

  1. Price over three years (33%): What the service bills beyond the state fee in the first three years, based on the first-year and renewal prices on its own site.
  2. Upkeep the price covers (26%): How much of the ongoing upkeep the price handles: the registered agent, the state report and the EIN application.
  3. Renewal terms (15%): Whether the price stays put after year one or rises.
  4. Fit with the state (14%): How well the plan suits the state's report timing, penalties for late filing and registered office rules.
  5. Plain statement of the state fee (12%): Whether the state fee is quoted on its own and billed at cost.
Read how we rank

All fifty briefings