Start a Free LLC in West Virginia

Per the West Virginia Secretary of State, as of September 2026, West Virginia charges $100 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Annual Report costs $25 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year West Virginia registered agent service, so year one costs $199.

The Secretary of State publishes no fixed processing time. Filing online through the One Stop Business Portal is the fastest method. Expedited filing is available in three tiers: 24-hour for $25 extra, 2-hour for $250 extra, or 1-hour for $500 extra. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in West Virginia, choose an available name, appoint a West Virginia registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the West Virginia Secretary of State 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 WV One Stop Business Portal, or by mail or in person in Charleston. The Articles of Organization costs $100.

In West Virginia you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $100.

Yes. Expedited filing is available in three tiers: 24-hour for $25 extra, 2-hour for $250 extra, or 1-hour for $500 extra. The Secretary of State publishes no fixed processing time. Filing online through the One Stop Business Portal is the fastest method.

Use the West Virginia Secretary of State's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your West Virginia LLC name must be distinguishable from other names on the Secretary of State's records. Entity endings like "LLC" or "Inc.", word separators such as "The" or "And", singular versus plural forms, apostrophes, and separated versus combined words do not by themselves make a name distinguishable.

Your West Virginia LLC name must be distinguishable from other names on the Secretary of State's records. Entity endings like "LLC" or "Inc.", word separators such as "The" or "And", singular versus plural forms, apostrophes, and separated versus combined words do not by themselves make a name distinguishable. The rules are set by the West Virginia Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, W. Va. Code Chapter 31B (professional LLCs in Article 13, series LLCs in Article 14).

Yes. You can reserve a name for $15 with Form NR-1; the reservation lasts 120 days. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every West Virginia LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent must be a West Virginia resident individual, or a domestic or authorized foreign corporation or LLC, with a physical West Virginia street address, a P.O. box does not qualify.

Yes. A member or manager who is a West Virginia resident with a physical street address can serve as the LLC's 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 be a West Virginia resident individual, or a domestic or authorized foreign corporation or LLC, with a physical West Virginia street address, a P.O. box does not qualify. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in West Virginia.

File the Change of Agent, Address & Officers (AAO) with the West Virginia Secretary of State. The fee is $15.

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

Yes. West Virginia LLCs must file the Annual Report every year. The state fee is $25.

The Annual Report is due any time between January 1 and June 30 of the year after your LLC is formed, and every year after that. Your first one is due between January 1 and June 30 of the calendar year after your LLC is formed. It is filed with the West Virginia Secretary of State.

Per the West Virginia Secretary of State, as of September 2026, the Annual Report state fee is $25. It is due any time between January 1 and June 30 of the year after your LLC is formed, and every year after that. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

A $50 late fee applies to an overdue annual report, for $75 total, and continued failure to file can lead to administrative dissolution. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

West Virginia repealed its franchise tax for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, so a default LLC owes no franchise tax. Only an LLC that elects to be taxed federally as a corporation pays the state's 6.5% corporation net income tax instead.

West Virginia has a personal income tax with marginal rates from 2.11% to 4.58%, so a default LLC's profits pass through and are taxed once on the members' state returns. An LLC taxed federally as a corporation instead pays the state's 6.5% corporation net income tax. 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.

Register for sales and use tax collection as part of your $30 Business Registration Certificate (Form WV/BUS APP) with the State Tax Division; there is no separate sales-tax-only fee.

Before you hire, register with the State Tax Division for wage withholding; the Tax Division shares your registration with Workforce West Virginia, which handles your unemployment insurance account. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

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

West Virginia does not require an operating agreement, and it is never filed with the state, though the LLC Act does govern the effect of any agreement the members adopt. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every West 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 West Virginia or be a U.S. citizen to form a West Virginia LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in West Virginia. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. West 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. West Virginia's LLC Act allows a protected-series LLC under Chapter 31B, Article 14.

Yes. Licensed professionals can form a professional LLC (PLLC) under Chapter 31B, Article 13; every member must be licensed to render the company's professional service.

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

Order a Certificate of Existence from the West Virginia Secretary of State for $10. 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 West Virginia by filing the Certificate of Authority (Articles of Organization, Foreign Limited Liability Company) with the West Virginia Secretary of State. The fee is $150, and the LLC needs a West Virginia registered agent. A foreign LLC's Certificate of Authority must be accompanied by a certificate of good standing or existence from its home state, and if its name is unavailable in West Virginia it may need to register and operate under a 'forced DBA name' instead.

File the Articles of Amendment with the West Virginia Secretary of State for $25. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Articles of Termination with the West Virginia Secretary of State for $25. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Register a Trade Name (True Name/DBA) with the Secretary of State for $25 before using a name other than your LLC's legal 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. West Virginia has a personal income tax with marginal rates from 2.11% to 4.58%, so a default LLC's profits pass through and are taxed once on the members' state returns. An LLC taxed federally as a corporation instead pays the state's 6.5% corporation net income tax.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In West Virginia it costs $100 to form and the Annual Report is $25 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A West 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 West Virginia. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in West Virginia for $150 and keep a West Virginia registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year West 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: West Virginia LLC formation in year one, a West Virginia 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 West Virginia Secretary of State, Business & Licensing Division, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at WV One Stop Business Center, 13 Kanawha Blvd. W, Suite 201, Charleston, WV 25302.

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.