Start a Free LLC in South Dakota

Per the South Dakota Secretary of State, as of September 2026, South Dakota charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Annual Report costs $65 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year South Dakota registered agent service, so year one costs $249.

The Secretary of State does not publish a processing time, and there is no paid expedite option. Filing online is the fastest route. South Dakota does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in South Dakota, choose an available name, appoint a South Dakota registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the South Dakota Secretary of State for $150. 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 online through SOSEnterprise, or by mailing the paper Articles of Organization for a $15 additional fee. The Articles of Organization costs $150.

In South Dakota you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization with the South Dakota Secretary of State. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $150.

No. South Dakota does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. The Secretary of State does not publish a processing time, and there is no paid expedite option. Filing online is the fastest route.

Use the South Dakota Secretary of State's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your South Dakota LLC name must include "limited liability company," "limited company" or an abbreviation such as "LLC," "L.L.C.," "LC" or "L.C." It must be distinguishable from other names on file with the Secretary of State.

Your South Dakota LLC name must include "limited liability company," "limited company" or an abbreviation such as "LLC," "L.L.C.," "LC" or "L.C." It must be distinguishable from other names on file with the Secretary of State. The rules are set by the South Dakota Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, SDCL Title 47, Chapter 34A (registered agent rules are in SDCL Title 59, Chapter 11).

Yes. You can reserve a name for $25; the reservation lasts 120 days, and the same applicant must wait 60 days after it expires to reserve that name again. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every South Dakota LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent must have an actual street address or rural route box number in South Dakota, a P.O. box alone is not enough, plus a separate mailing address if different. The agent can be a qualifying individual or a commercial registered agent listed with the Secretary of State.

Yes. A member or manager with a qualifying South Dakota street address can serve as the LLC's own registered agent. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Your registered agent must have an actual street address or rural route box number in South Dakota, a P.O. box alone is not enough, plus a separate mailing address if different. The agent can be a qualifying individual or a commercial registered agent listed with the Secretary of State. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in South Dakota.

File the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office with the South Dakota Secretary of State. The fee is $10.

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

Yes. South Dakota LLCs must file the Annual Report every year. The state fee is $65.

The Annual Report is due by January 31 every year, no matter when your LLC was formed (this changes January 1, 2027, when you can instead choose your formation-anniversary month). Your first one is due by January 31 of the year after your LLC was authorized to transact business. It is filed with the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Per the South Dakota Secretary of State, as of September 2026, the Annual Report state fee is $65. It is due by January 31 every year, no matter when your LLC was formed (this changes January 1, 2027, when you can instead choose your formation-anniversary month). LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

A delinquent annual report adds a $50 fee on top of the regular filing fee. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

South Dakota has no franchise tax on ordinary LLCs, no corporate income tax and no personal income tax. Its only franchise tax, the Bank Franchise Tax, applies solely to banks and other financial institutions.

South Dakota has no personal or corporate income tax, so an LLC's profits are not taxed at the state level no matter how the LLC is classified for federal tax purposes. 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.

If you sell taxable goods or services, register for a Sales Tax License with the Department of Revenue through its online Tax License Application. There is no fee.

Before you hire, register with the Department of Labor and Regulation's Division of Reemployment Assistance for unemployment insurance. South Dakota has no state income tax, so there is no state withholding to register for. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: South Dakota regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the South Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services.

South Dakota does not require an operating agreement, and you never file one with the state. It governs the members' relations and the LLC's internal affairs. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every South Dakota 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 South Dakota or be a U.S. citizen to form a South Dakota LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in South Dakota. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. South Dakota 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. South Dakota's LLC Act expressly allows series LLCs, each with its own assets and liabilities under one master LLC, and an individual series files no separate annual report.

Yes. A South Dakota LLC can be organized as a professional entity only by authorized health-care licensees under Title 36; other licensed professions generally use a plain LLC or a separate professional-entity chapter.

No. South Dakota does not require newspaper publication to form an LLC.

Order a Certificate of Good Standing / Existence from the South Dakota Secretary of State for $20. 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 South Dakota by filing the Certificate of Authority, Foreign Limited Liability Company Application with the South Dakota Secretary of State. The fee is $750, and the LLC needs a South Dakota registered agent.

File the Amended (or Restated) Articles of Organization with the South Dakota Secretary of State for $60. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Articles of Termination with the South Dakota Secretary of State for $10. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

File a Fictitious (DBA) Business Name Registration with the Secretary of State online for $10. 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. South Dakota has no personal or corporate income tax, so an LLC's profits are not taxed at the state level no matter how the LLC is classified for federal tax purposes.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In South Dakota it costs $150 to form and the Annual Report is $65 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A South Dakota LLC costs $150 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in South Dakota. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in South Dakota for $750 and keep a South Dakota registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

South Dakota has no personal income tax and no general corporate income tax, so LLC profits pass to members untaxed at the state level. South Dakota is one of the few states with an explicit series LLC statute, letting one LLC hold multiple series with separate assets and liabilities.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year South Dakota registered agent service. The state still charges its $150 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $150 state fee: South Dakota LLC formation in year one, a South Dakota registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Annual Report every year. 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 South Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at 500 E Capitol Ave, Pierre, SD 57501.

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