LLC filing fees, annual costs and DBA fees in all 50 states

What does this table cover, and how current is it?

This page lists what it costs to form a limited liability company in each of the 50 states, what the state charges to keep it alive each year, and what a DBA or trade name filing costs. Every figure was read on the state office's own site or in the statute in October 2026. The formation cell links to the office we read. Click a state name for our page on starting a service business there. Fees change, sometimes on a set date (Louisiana's filing fees rose on October 1, 2026), so treat the table as a budget guide and confirm the total on the payment screen before you file.

Where a cell says "Check the agency," we could not confirm the answer on an official page. Missouri's fee schedule lists no LLC report fee, but we found no page that says none is due. New Mexico's Secretary of State does not describe a recurring LLC report on the pages we read. Kansas and New Mexico show no general DBA filing among their business forms.

Which states cost the least and the most to form in?

Formation fees run from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts. Montana ($35), Kentucky ($40), Arkansas ($45 online), and Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri (online), New Mexico and Utah ($59) all charge $59 or less. At the top, Massachusetts charges $500, Tennessee and Texas $300 for a one-member LLC, and Alabama, New York, Washington, Maine and Vermont all charge between $155 and $200 before extras. Alabama adds a required $25 name reservation, and New York adds a publication step covered below.

The first-year number is a poor guide to the real cost. Massachusetts charges $500 to form and $500 every year. Tennessee uses a per-member scale for both. Maryland charges $300 a year. Nevada's yearly cost is $350 ($150 list plus $200 state business license). California's $800 annual tax goes to the Franchise Tax Board, not the Secretary of State, so it is easy to miss in a fee schedule.

Several states ask nothing of an LLC each year. Arizona says LLCs are not required to file annual reports. Ohio's Secretary of State lists no regular LLC report. Idaho, Minnesota and Mississippi require a report or renewal but charge nothing for it. Montana waives the fee if you file before April 15. In South Carolina, an LLC not taxed as a corporation files no annual report with the Department of Revenue.

LLC fees by state, October 2026

The columns are formation (the state's filing fee for Articles or a Certificate of Organization), the recurring report or tax the state ties to the LLC, and the DBA or trade name filing. DBA rules often split by owner: an LLC files with the state, while a sole proprietor files with a county or town clerk whose fee you have to ask for.

What do the fee tables leave out?

Four things catch owners. The first is newspaper publication. New York requires most LLCs to publish a notice of formation in two newspapers designated by the county clerk, once a week for six weeks, then file a Certificate of Publication with a $50 fee within 120 days or lose the authority to do business. Nebraska requires notice for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper. Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska and Pennsylvania also tie fictitious name filings to a newspaper step. The paper sets its own price, and it can be larger than the state fee.

The second is the filing that looks like a report and is really a tax. Delaware's annual LLC tax is under 6 Del. C. 18-1107 and is due each June 1 for the prior year. House Bill 400, signed May 21, 2026 according to third-party reports, raises it from $300 to $400 beginning with tax year 2026, so the first $400 payment is due June 1, 2027. Confirm the amount on the Division's payment page. The tax is due June 1 with a $200 penalty and 1.5% interest per month. Alabama's report is a privilege tax return. Texas has no separate LLC report fee, but the franchise tax report is due May 15 and a missed one can cost the LLC its right to do business.

The third is the gap between the fee in one place and the fee in another. New Jersey's fee schedule lists $100 for a certificate of formation while the Public Records Filing instructions list $125. We show $125 and tell you to confirm. Minnesota's statute sets $135, and the office can add a $20 surcharge to expedited transactions, so check the total at checkout. Online filings often add a small charge: New Hampshire $2, Hawaii $1 for archives, West Virginia $1.

The fourth is the biennial calendar. Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and New York report every two years, and Nebraska on odd-numbered years. A missed report in any of them can end in administrative dissolution, so calendar the date when you form.

What if you work in more than one state?

Forming an LLC in a state does not register it to work in the others. Each state treats an out-of-state LLC doing business there as a foreign LLC with its own fee and report. This table covers only domestic formation. Many owners form where they live and work, because a Delaware or Wyoming LLC that works in Ohio still has to register in Ohio and pay Ohio's fees on top. A state with a low formation fee and a high yearly cost, such as Nevada's, can end up costing more than your home state over time.

DBA filings are local in many states. Nevada's counties each want a certificate, so a crew working in Clark and Washoe counties files twice. North Carolina lets one county filing cover several counties. Connecticut allows a single town. Write down every county or town where you trade before you budget.

What should you check before you file?

1. Search the state's business records for your name. Arizona, Mississippi and Missouri say a trade name registration gives you no exclusive rights to the name. Hawaii and Georgia say their filing fees are not refundable.
2. Decide whether you need a DBA at all. If the LLC name is the name on your truck, many states need nothing more. Massachusetts exempts an LLC using its exact registered name.
3. Read the payment screen for the full total, including expedite, agent and card fees.
4. Put the first report date on a calendar the day the filing is accepted, and sign up for the state's reminder emails if it offers them.
5. Apply for your federal EIN, then check state tax registration. Our guide on how to get an EIN covers the first.

Fees are one input. The bigger question is whether an LLC fits your risk and tax picture, which we cover in LLC vs sole proprietor for contractors and in the guide to starting a service business. Once the entity exists, the name on file should match your website, your Business Profile and your invoices.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees and deadlines change, so confirm each figure with the state office before you file.

Frequently asked questions