LLC Formation Fees by State: Explainer

A domestic LLC formation fee is the state charge for filing the document that creates the limited liability company. It is not a total-cost estimate and it is not a recommendation about where to form. For the source matrix and jurisdiction rows, use the LLC Formation Fees by State matrix.

Short answer: the formation fee is one state filing charge

The formation fee answers a narrow question: what does the state charge for the domestic LLC formation filing represented by that exact source cell? The answer must stay attached to its jurisdiction, filing context, source, and receipt status. A value from one state cannot be carried into another state, and a value from a foreign registration or later compliance filing cannot stand in for the domestic formation charge.

This explainer does not reproduce a second full state table. The matrix route remains the source of record. This page explains how to read that matrix, prints only the supported cells allowed by the current evidence packet, and leaves every other amount off the page.

What the fee includes and excludes

The filing-fee field covers the state charge for the domestic LLC formation document. It does not automatically include a commercial filing service, registered-agent service, name reservation, publication, expedited handling, tax, or recurring compliance filing. A state source may describe several of those items on the same page, but proximity does not make them one bundled formation fee.

Keep the filing stage clear when comparing records. The fee to create a domestic LLC is a different field from the charge to register an existing LLC in another state. See the foreign LLC registration fee explainer for that separate filing. Recurring state charges belong in the annual renewal fee explainer.

Printable fee cells only

Each record below is requested from the matrix through the shared fact component. The component applies the publication predicate and keeps the value beside its state source and current receipt date. The amount is not copied into surrounding prose. If a requested cell stops satisfying the predicate, the fact component withholds that record rather than leaving a stale amount in the article.

Florida domestic LLC formation filing fee

$125.00 — source: dos.myflorida.com, checked 2026-09-28

Iowa domestic LLC formation filing fee

$50.00 — source: sos.iowa.gov, checked 2026-09-28

Illinois domestic LLC formation filing fee

$150.00 — source: www.ilsos.gov, checked 2026-09-28

Kentucky domestic LLC formation filing fee

$40.00 — source: sos.ky.gov, checked 2026-09-28

Massachusetts domestic LLC formation filing fee

$500.00 — source: www.sec.state.ma.us, checked 2026-09-28

North Dakota domestic LLC formation filing fee

$135.00 — source: sos.nd.gov, checked 2026-09-28

New York domestic LLC formation filing fee

$200.00 — source: dos.ny.gov, checked 2026-09-28

Oregon domestic LLC formation filing fee

$100.00 — source: sos.oregon.gov, checked 2026-09-28

Rhode Island domestic LLC formation filing fee

$150.00 — source: www.sos.ri.gov, checked 2026-09-28

Virginia domestic LLC formation filing fee

$100.00 — source: www.scc.virginia.gov, checked 2026-09-28

The list is deliberately incomplete. A missing jurisdiction is not evidence of a free filing, no filing requirement, or an unchanged fee. It means this explainer does not have authority to print that value from the current accepted packet.

Method-dependent and formula-dependent states

Some source records need more than one headline amount. A filing method can change the charge, and a formula can make the amount depend on facts about the entity. The current brief identifies unresolved display conventions for Indiana and an unresolved member-based formula for Tennessee. This page therefore prints neither state's amount or formula.

A future value can appear only after the matrix owner supplies the exact validated display or formula cell and the claim-contract path accepts it. Softening an unresolved formula into an approximate amount would not resolve the evidence gap.

Why the formation fee is not total cost

The state formation charge is one component of a business launch. It does not establish the cost of services a filer may choose, later state filings, operating in another jurisdiction, or tax obligations. It also cannot show whether a jurisdiction's entity law or disclosure rules fit a particular owner.

Treating one filing charge as a complete price can create a false comparison. Use the fee cell to answer the filing question, then review each adjacent topic in its own evidence set. For public-record questions, use the Member Name Visibility by State matrix rather than inferring privacy from a formation-fee record.

Sources, freshness, and withheld rows

The matrix stores the jurisdiction record. The current receipt packet independently rechecks whether a cited formation-fee key is supported by readable primary-source text and whether the source context matches the entity and filing. A historical value or an old checked date alone does not satisfy that publication contract.

When the source ladder cannot support a row, this page preserves the gap by withholding the amount. The withheld row may still appear in the broader research matrix with its own status, but it does not become publishable article copy. Read the full research methodology and the source registry for the project's evidence and source-taxonomy rules.

Scope boundaries and related matrices

This page covers domestic LLC formation filing fees and how the printable subset is selected. It does not rank states, promise that every jurisdiction is currently verified, estimate a filer's total cost, compare privacy outcomes, or provide personalized legal or tax advice. The linked matrices own those adjacent facts and should be consulted on their own terms.

Legal-information notice

Private Pierce is not a law firm.

Private Pierce does not provide legal advice.

This page is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.