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LLC formation From $99C-Corp formation From $99Registered agent $125/yrNon-US founders $899 all-inAll services & pricesState fees All 50 statesPricingAboutFAQContactStart my company

Form your LLC in any U.S. state

A limited liability company separates you from your business. It protects your personal assets, it costs very little to maintain, and it's the right answer for the large majority of new American businesses. We file it properly the first time.

Start my LLC What will it cost me?
$99Starting package price
$35–$500State fee, at cost
50States covered
Same dayFiled if ordered by 3pm ET
Why an LLC

What the structure actually buys you

Four practical things change the day your articles are approved.

A liability wall

If the business is sued or defaults on a debt, creditors generally reach the company's assets, not your house or savings — provided you keep the two genuinely separate.

Pass-through tax

Profit is taxed once, on your personal return. No corporate-level tax, and you can elect S-Corp treatment later if payroll savings start to make sense.

A real bank account

Banks want articles, an EIN and an operating agreement before they open a business account. You get all three in one packet, so nothing stalls at the branch.

Almost no formality

No board, no minutes, no annual meeting requirement in most states. In several states there isn't even an annual report to file.

What you receive

The whole packet, not a receipt

When a state approves your LLC you should end up with a folder you can hand to a bank, an accountant or a landlord. That is what we deliver.

  • Stamped Articles of Organization as returned by the Secretary of State.
  • EIN confirmation letter (IRS Form CP 575 or equivalent), obtained by us.
  • Operating agreement written for your ownership split, not a blank template.
  • Banking resolution authorising you to open accounts on the company's behalf.
  • Membership certificates and a simple ownership ledger.
  • Beneficial ownership guidance and support with the federal report where it applies to you.
  • A compliance calendar listing every state deadline you now owe, with reminders.
Stamped Articles of Organization on a desk with a fountain pen
Your stamped articles. Returned by the state, delivered digitally the day they land.
brightwater-studio-llc / documents
Articles of Organization (stamped)PDF
EIN confirmation letterPDF
Operating agreement — 2 membersPDF · DOCX
Banking resolutionPDF
Membership certificatesPDF
Registered agent appointmentPDF
Compliance calendar 2026–27ICS

Downloadable the moment the state returns your filing.

Cost

Your state, your number

Pick a state and see the real total — our package plus the government fee, with the recurring cost shown too.

State fee$300Texas · LLC
Charterline$299Standard package
Total today$599One-time, all in
Then yearly$0Franchise report

No fee below the franchise tax threshold, but the report is mandatory.

Start this filing

Want to compare every state at once? Open the full fee table.

LLC vs C-Corp

Which one do you actually need?

Most people asking this question want an LLC. The honest test is whether you plan to sell equity to outside investors in the next two years.

 LLCC-Corporation
Best forOperating businesses, freelancers, partnerships, propertyStartups raising venture capital, companies issuing options
How profit is taxedOnce, on the owners' personal returnsTwice — at 21% corporate, then again on dividends
Owners are calledMembersShareholders
Ongoing formalityMinimal — often nothing but an annual reportBoard, bylaws, minutes, annual meetings
Issuing employee equityAwkward — profits interests, not clean optionsStandard — stock option pool
What investors expectUsually asks you to convert firstDelaware C-Corp, no questions
Typical state to file inThe state you actually operate fromDelaware, in most funded cases
Can it change later?Yes — convert to a corporation when you raisePossible, but rarely worth unwinding

This is general information, not tax advice. Your CPA's view of your specific numbers beats any table on the internet.

Read about C-Corps Ask a specialist which fits
The process

What happens after you order

Name clearance

We search the state register before drafting anything. If your first choice is taken or too close to an existing entity, you hear from us the same day — not from a rejection notice two weeks later.

Drafting and filing

A specialist prepares the Articles of Organization to that state's exact requirements, appoints your registered agent, and files electronically where the state allows it.

Post-approval package

Once approved we obtain your EIN, finalise your operating agreement, and load every upcoming deadline into your compliance calendar.

LLC questions

Before you file

Only a handful of states legally require one, but you want it regardless. It's the document that proves the company is a separate entity from you — which is precisely what protects your personal assets if someone challenges the liability shield. Banks routinely ask for it too.

Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement to own an LLC in any state. You will need a registered agent with a physical address in the state, and obtaining an EIN without a Social Security number takes longer — typically a few weeks by fax or mail rather than minutes online. We handle that route regularly.

U.S. tax treatment for non-resident owners is genuinely complicated. Get a CPA who works with international founders before your first tax year closes.

No limit. One member is fine, and so is twenty. What matters is that the operating agreement spells out ownership percentages, how profit is split, what happens when someone wants out, and who can bind the company. Our Standard and Premium packages draft that around your actual arrangement.

An S-Corp isn't a separate entity type — it's a tax election your LLC can make with the IRS. It can reduce self-employment tax once profit is comfortably into six figures, at the cost of running payroll and filing a separate return.

Below roughly $60,000 of net profit it usually costs more in compliance than it saves. Our Premium package includes filing Form 2553 if you and your accountant decide it's right.

Most states charge a late fee first, then move the company to "not in good standing", and eventually administratively dissolve it. A dissolved LLC can lose its liability protection and its name. Reinstatement is possible in most states but costs more than the report would have.

This is the single most common way people quietly lose the protection they paid for, which is why the compliance calendar is included in every package rather than sold as an add-on.

File your LLC today

Order before 3pm Eastern and a specialist submits it the same business day.

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