Start a Free LLC in Virginia

Per the Virginia State Corporation Commission, as of September 2026, Virginia charges $100 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Annual Registration Fee costs $50 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year Virginia registered agent service, so year one costs $199.

The Clerk's Office publishes no guaranteed turnaround. Online CIS filings are generally processed faster than paper ones. Virginia does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in Virginia, choose an available name, appoint a Virginia registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the Virginia State Corporation Commission for $100. 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 the Clerk's Information System (CIS), or by mailing or delivering the paper Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011) to the Clerk's Office. The Articles of Organization costs $100.

In Virginia you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011) with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $100.

No. Virginia does not offer paid expedited processing for LLC formations. The Clerk's Office publishes no guaranteed turnaround. Online CIS filings are generally processed faster than paper ones.

Use the Virginia State Corporation Commission's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your Virginia LLC name must include "limited company", "limited liability company" or an abbreviation such as "LLC", "L.L.C.", "LC" or "L.C.", and cannot suggest it is a corporation or partnership. It must be distinguishable from every other name on record with the State Corporation Commission.

Your Virginia LLC name must include "limited company", "limited liability company" or an abbreviation such as "LLC", "L.L.C.", "LC" or "L.C.", and cannot suggest it is a corporation or partnership. It must be distinguishable from every other name on record with the State Corporation Commission. The rules are set by the Virginia Limited Liability Company Act, Code of Virginia Title 13.1, Chapter 12.

Yes. You can reserve a name for $10 with Form SCC631; the reservation lasts 120 days and can be renewed for another $10. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every Virginia LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent's office must be a physical Virginia address that matches your LLC's registered office, a P.O. box does not qualify. The agent must be a Virginia-resident member, manager, qualifying officer, or Virginia State Bar member, or a corporation or LLC already authorized to do business in Virginia (which cannot act as its own agent).

Yes. A Virginia-resident member or manager of the LLC (or a Virginia-resident officer of it) can serve as the registered agent as long as their business office is the LLC's registered office. 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's office must be a physical Virginia address that matches your LLC's registered office, a P.O. box does not qualify. The agent must be a Virginia-resident member, manager, qualifying officer, or Virginia State Bar member, or a corporation or LLC already authorized to do business in Virginia (which cannot act as its own agent). A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in Virginia.

File the LLC1016, Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. There is no fee to file it.

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

Yes. Virginia LLCs must file the Annual Registration Fee every year. The state fee is $50.

The Annual Registration Fee is due by the last day of your LLC's anniversary month every year. Your first one is due by the last day of the twelfth month after the month your LLC was formed. It is filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

Per the Virginia State Corporation Commission, as of September 2026, the Annual Registration Fee state fee is $50. It is due by the last day of your LLC's anniversary month every year. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

A $25 penalty is added to the $50 fee if you miss the due date, and the Commission mails notice that your LLC's existence is about to be canceled if it stays unpaid. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

Virginia has no franchise or privilege tax on LLCs. The only required recurring state charge is the $50 annual registration fee, which by statute applies no matter what other tax the LLC owes. Virginia does let an eligible LLC elect an optional Pass-Through Entity Tax so the business, rather than its owners, pays the state income tax on that income.

Virginia taxes an LLC the way the IRS does by default, so profits pass through to the members' Virginia individual income tax returns; a multi-member LLC files an informational Form 502. LLCs can instead elect Virginia's Pass-Through Entity Tax to pay state tax at the entity level. 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 Certificate of Registration with the Virginia Department of Taxation. Online registration has no state fee.

Before you hire, register with the Virginia Employment Commission for unemployment insurance and with the Virginia Department of Taxation for income tax withholding. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

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

Virginia does not require an operating agreement, and it is never filed with the state. Unless your articles or a written agreement say otherwise, it does not even need to be in writing, though a written one is stronger evidence of the members' deal. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every Virginia 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 Virginia or be a U.S. citizen to form a Virginia LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Virginia. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. Virginia 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. Virginia authorizes protected series LLCs: an existing Virginia LLC files a $100 designation (Form LLC1095A) to create one or more series, each with assets and liabilities separate from the LLC's other series.

Yes. Licensed professionals can form a professional LLC (Form LLC1103, $100) organized for the sole purpose of rendering their licensed service, such as law, accounting, medicine, architecture or engineering.

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

Order a Certificate of Fact of Existence from the Virginia State Corporation Commission for $6. 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 Virginia by filing the Application for Registration as a Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC1052) with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The fee is $100, and the LLC needs a Virginia registered agent.

File the Articles of Amendment (LLC1014) with the Virginia State Corporation Commission for $25. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Articles of Cancellation (LLC1050) with the Virginia State Corporation Commission for $25. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

File a Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name with the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission for $10 before you use the name. 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. Virginia taxes an LLC the way the IRS does by default, so profits pass through to the members' Virginia individual income tax returns; a multi-member LLC files an informational Form 502. LLCs can instead elect Virginia's Pass-Through Entity Tax to pay state tax at the entity level.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In Virginia it costs $100 to form and the Annual Registration Fee is $50 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A Virginia LLC costs $100 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in Virginia. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in Virginia for $100 and keep a Virginia registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year Virginia registered agent service. The state still charges its $100 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $100 state fee: Virginia LLC formation in year one, a Virginia registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Annual Registration Fee 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 Virginia State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

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.