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A South Carolina LLC costs $110 to form on paper, or $125 through the Secretary of State's online portal. S.C. Code § 33-44-1204(a)(1) sets the $110 filing fee for Articles of Organization, and a portal transaction receipt shows the online total as $110 plus a $15 "Electronic Records Access" charge, a portal charge separate from the statutory filing fee.
Beyond that fee, the costs that shape your budget are a registered agent, an operating agreement, local business licenses, and whatever professional help you choose. South Carolina charges no franchise tax and no Secretary of State annual report for default LLCs, unlike California's annual LLC tax, Delaware's annual LLC tax, and the Texas franchise tax.
Required South Carolina LLC formation costs
You pay $110 in state fees at formation, or $125 if you file through the portal, using the Articles of Organization form from the Secretary of State. A registered agent and an operating agreement round out the startup budget; Forbes Advisor's 2026 review, a third-party market estimate rather than an official figure, priced agent services at $119 to $250 a year, and UpCounsel lists $100 to $1,000+ for attorney-drafted agreements.
Required cost | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
State filing fee | $110 paper; $125 online | Online total includes a $15 Electronic Records Access portal charge |
Registered agent | $0 (self) or $119 to $250 (service) | Professional services run $119 to $250 a year; most national providers fall in a $100 to $300 band |
Operating agreement | $0 to $1,000+ | Free templates at the low end; attorney-prepared agreements run $100 to $1,000+ |
Optional formation costs
Beyond South Carolina's mandatory filing fee, a few expenses aren't required but shorten formation and cut down on mistakes later.
Professional services
Attorney-assisted formation runs $500 to $2,500 for standard LLCs according to third-party marketplace surveys, and accountant consultation for tax planning costs $150 to $500 per hour, per NerdWallet, another marketplace estimate rather than an official rate. ContractsCounsel reported an $850 average flat fee for attorney-drafted operating agreements across 157 recent projects as of August 2026.
Business formation services in South Carolina sit between DIY filing and full legal representation. Online business formation services handle the paperwork, and you still pay the state fee on top.
Additional filings
A handful of optional filings can add to your total depending on what your LLC needs:
Name reservation costs $25 under S.C. Code § 33-44-1204(a)(6) and holds the name for a nonrenewable 120-day period under S.C. Code § 33-44-106, per Form F0038.
No expedited option is listed on official SOS pages; SC Business One Stop gives a quasi-official estimate of 24 hours online and up to five business days for paper.
DBA and fictitious name registration for LLCs happens at the county or municipal level. The SOS FAQ states the office does not register DBA or trade names.
A certified copy costs $3.00 for the first page plus $0.50 per additional page through the SOS document request portal; a certificate of existence is $10.
An EIN is free from the IRS, which warns against sites that charge for one.
Local business license fees run on gross income, not profit. Under South Carolina's Business License Tax Standardization Act, municipalities must adopt the standardized business license class schedule, which the Municipal Association of SC revises using the latest NAICS codes, and licenses run for a standard period ending April 30. Rock Hill charges nothing for the license itself when a new business projects under $1 million in first-year gross revenue.
Ongoing annual costs
Recurring state-level costs for a South Carolina LLC depend almost entirely on how the IRS classifies it.
South Carolina annual report requirements: Not required at the Secretary of State for default (partnership or disregarded) LLCs. LLCs taxed as S or C corporations file an annual report with the Department of Revenue as part of their corporate return, under Title 12, Chapter 20.
South Carolina franchise tax rules/annual fee: None. Corporate-taxed LLCs owe an annual corporate license fee of 0.1% of capital stock and paid-in surplus plus $15, with a $25 minimum, under § 12-20-50(A). SCDOR guidance on corporate taxation confirms a partnership-taxed or disregarded LLC owes neither the initial license fee report nor the annual corporate license fee.
South Carolina registered agent fees: $0 if you act as your own agent; $119 to $250 annually with a professional service.
Local business licenses: typically $50 to $500 or more a year by municipality and gross income, renewed by April 30. Columbia's business license ordinance is commonly cited as assessing a 5% per month penalty for late renewal starting May 1; confirm the current rate directly with the City of Columbia before relying on it, since this figure could not be verified against the municipal code at the time of writing.
Professional services: Accounting and legal support as needed.
California's $800 annual LLC tax applies regardless of activity, per the California FTB. Delaware's annual LLC tax rose from $300 to $400 under House Bill 400, signed into law in May 2026; the $400 rate applies for the 2026 tax year, with the first payment at the new rate due June 1, 2027.
The Delaware Division of Corporations FAQ page has not yet been updated to reflect the increase, so confirm the current figure on Delaware's annual report and tax page before filing. Texas franchise tax obligations start above $2,650,000 for the 2026 report year, per the Texas Comptroller, though smaller LLCs still file a Public Information Report, while a partnership-taxed South Carolina LLC owes no recurring state-level tax or fee.
For an LLC taxed as a partnership, the recurring state bill stays at $0, which keeps compliance costs predictable for cost-conscious owners.
Simplify your South Carolina LLC formation costs with Discern
South Carolina keeps LLC formation costs straightforward: one filing fee, no annual report for default LLCs. Discern handles the Articles of Organization filing itself, and because the platform stores your entity data once, a later foreign registration or a formation in a second state pre-fills from the same record, while your dashboard shows the standing of every registration without checking state portals by hand.
Companies operating across state lines often need to coordinate formations, registered agent coverage across states, annual reports, foreign registration filings nationwide, Delaware franchise tax filings, and other state obligations across multiple jurisdictions. Centralizing registered agent and annual report workflows can reduce administrative burden and help avoid late fees.
FAQs about LLC formation costs in South Carolina
These answers cover the questions founders ask most often about what a South Carolina LLC costs to open and keep running.
Are there any hidden fees when forming an LLC?
Online filers pay a $15 Electronic Records Access charge on top of the statutory fee, certified copies run $3.00 for the first page through the SOS portal, and local business licenses, registered agent service, and any professional help are the recurring items to budget for.
Can I get a refund if my filing is rejected?
No published South Carolina SOS policy on refunds for rejected LLC filings could be located, so treat the South Carolina Articles of Organization fee as a processing charge and confirm directly with the SOS before refiling.
How do South Carolina costs compare to those of other states?
No government source publishes a national average LLC filing fee; the SBA says only that total registration cost is under $300 in most cases. South Carolina's $110 fee sits well inside that range, close to Florida's $100 base filing fee for original articles of organization (Florida also requires a $25 registered agent designation fee at filing, for a $125 total).
Can I avoid registered agent fees legally?
Yes. You can act as your own registered agent at no cost instead of paying the $119 to $250 a year a professional service charges.
Updated on
2026-09-09
