Start a Free LLC in Delaware

Per the Delaware Department of State, as of September 2026, Delaware charges $110 to file the Certificate of Formation. Delaware does not require an annual report, so there is no recurring report fee. The Delaware annual LLC tax has a minimum of $400 a year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year Delaware registered agent service, so year one costs $209.

Processing time varies with the Division of Corporations' current volume and runs longer in its busy season. Expedited filing is available for $50 extra (next business day); same-day ($100), 2-hour ($500) and 1-hour ($1,000) service cost more. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in Delaware, choose an available name, appoint a Delaware registered agent, and file the Certificate of Formation with the Delaware Department of State for $110. Then sign an operating agreement, get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account and register for any state taxes. LLC Register files it for you as part of the $99-a-year registered agent service.

Yes. You can file electronically through the Division of Corporations' Document Filing and Certificate Request Service, or by fax or mail; a filing service submits it on your behalf either way. The Certificate of Formation costs $110.

In Delaware you form an LLC by filing the Certificate of Formation with the Delaware Department of State. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $110.

Yes. Expedited filing is available for $50 extra (next business day); same-day ($100), 2-hour ($500) and 1-hour ($1,000) service cost more. Processing time varies with the Division of Corporations' current volume and runs longer in its busy season.

Use the Delaware Department of State's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your Delaware LLC name must contain "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC", may include a member's or manager's name, and must be distinguishable from every other name on file with the Division of Corporations.

Your Delaware LLC name must contain "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC", may include a member's or manager's name, and must be distinguishable from every other name on file with the Division of Corporations. The rules are set by the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (Title 6, Chapter 18 of the Delaware Code).

Yes. You can reserve a name for $75; the reservation lasts 120 days and can be renewed for further 120-day periods. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every Delaware LLC must have a registered agent. Every LLC must keep a registered agent with a physical street address in Delaware, identical to its registered office address. No P.O. box is accepted.

Yes. Delaware law lets the LLC serve as its own registered agent, or a Delaware resident, or a domestic or foreign entity, as long as whoever serves keeps a business office at the Delaware registered office address. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Every LLC must keep a registered agent with a physical street address in Delaware, identical to its registered office address. No P.O. box is accepted. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in Delaware.

File the Certificate of Amendment, Change of Registered Agent (Change of Agent Only Amendment) with the Delaware Department of State. The fee is $50.

Serving as your own Delaware registered agent is free if you qualify. Commercial registered agents charge a yearly fee. LLC Register's Delaware registered agent service is $99 a year and includes LLC formation and annual report filing.

No. Delaware does not require LLCs to file an annual report. Every domestic LLC and every foreign LLC registered in Delaware pays a flat annual LLC tax, due on or before June 1. Missing the deadline adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month, and the LLC loses good standing until it pays.

Every domestic LLC and every foreign LLC registered in Delaware pays a flat annual LLC tax, due on or before June 1. Missing the deadline adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month, and the LLC loses good standing until it pays.

Delaware classifies an LLC for income tax the same way as for federal purposes: a partnership-taxed LLC files Form PRT-RTN and members pay personal income tax, a single-member disregarded LLC is reported on the owner's return, and an LLC taxed as a corporation files CIT-TAX or SCT-RTN. Federally, a single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship and a multi-member LLC like a partnership, unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation.

Delaware has no state or local sales tax. Instead, a business operating in Delaware needs a Delaware Business License (about $75 a year for a first location) and pays gross receipts tax on what it sells or bills, at a rate set by its business activity.

Before you hire, register for unemployment insurance with the Delaware Department of Labor on Form UC-1, within 20 days of your first day of business. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: Delaware regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the Delaware One Stop.

Delaware does not require a written operating agreement, and nothing is filed with the state. The LLC agreement can be written, oral or implied, and can be adopted before, at or after you file the certificate of formation. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every Delaware LLC it forms.

You need an EIN if your LLC has employees or more than one member, and most banks ask for one to open a business account. A single-member LLC without employees can use the owner's Social Security number for federal taxes, but an EIN keeps it off business paperwork.

Apply for free on the IRS website once the state has approved your LLC; online applicants receive the EIN immediately. Owners without a Social Security number can apply with Form SS-4 by fax or mail.

Yes. You do not have to live in Delaware or be a U.S. citizen to form a Delaware LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Delaware. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. Delaware allows an LLC with a single owner. By default the IRS taxes a single-member LLC like a sole proprietorship, reported on the owner's personal return.

Yes. Delaware allows both protected series (each with its own assets and liabilities under the same LLC) and registered series, which file their own $110 formation fee and owe a separate $100 annual tax.

No. Delaware's LLC Act has no separate professional LLC designation. A Delaware LLC may carry on any lawful business except banking, and licensed professionals still follow their own licensing board's rules.

No. Delaware does not require newspaper publication to form an LLC.

Order a Short Form Certificate of Status from the Delaware Department of State for $50. Banks, lenders and other states often ask for one as proof your LLC is current with the state.

An LLC formed in another state registers to do business in Delaware by filing the Application for Registration as a Foreign Limited Liability Company (Foreign Qualification form; Foreign Certificate of Registration) with the Delaware Department of State. The fee is $200, and the LLC needs a Delaware registered agent. A foreign LLC registering in Delaware pays the same annual LLC tax as a domestic one and must keep a Delaware registered agent.

File the Certificate of Amendment with the Delaware Department of State for $220. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Certificate of Cancellation (plus all annual taxes owed) with the Delaware Department of State for $220. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Register a trade name through Delaware One Stop with the Division of Revenue for $25. Since February 2, 2026 this is a single statewide filing that does not expire. A DBA lets your LLC trade under another name without forming a new company.

Yes. An eligible LLC can elect S corporation tax status by filing IRS Form 2553. The election can reduce self-employment tax once profits are high enough to pay yourself a reasonable salary. Delaware classifies an LLC for income tax the same way as for federal purposes: a partnership-taxed LLC files Form PRT-RTN and members pay personal income tax, a single-member disregarded LLC is reported on the owner's return, and an LLC taxed as a corporation files CIT-TAX or SCT-RTN.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In Delaware it costs $110 to form, with no annual report to file.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A Delaware LLC costs $110 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Delaware LLCs file no annual report; instead they pay a flat $400 annual LLC tax by June 1. Expedited service ranges from $50 for next-business-day to $1,000 for 1-hour turnaround.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year Delaware registered agent service. The state still charges its $110 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $110 state fee: Delaware LLC formation in year one, a Delaware registered agent, an operating agreement, and ongoing compliance reminders. Renewal is $99 a year. State fees are passed through at cost.

No. FinCEN has exempted companies created in the United States from beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. Only foreign companies registered to do business in a U.S. state still have to report.

The Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at 401 Federal Street, Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901 (mailing: PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19903).

Yes, you should. Mixing business and personal money can weaken the liability protection your LLC gives you. Banks usually ask for your filed Certificate of Formation, your EIN and your operating agreement.